That most names and groups, who perpetrate terrorism in the world, have Islamic names played on my mind. I slowly began to be aware that this play on my mind started forming a negative image of Islam as a religion. I want to take responsibility for this and apologize for the same. For I know there are right thinking Muslims who condemn strongly the terrorist activities of their very wrong and misguided co-religionists. We definitely need to bring every terrorist to the legal system wherein due justice can be meted out. It is not enough that we treat terrorism through legal system as it could be a symptom underlying a deep problem. The deep problem, to me, is the Palestinian issue.
As I wandered in the present Israel for about three weeks I learnt that Israel came into being all of a sudden in 1948 while the then promised Palestinian state has not yet born. We have still in the world a people entitled to nationhood but unjustly deprived of it. This suppressed people have been living in refugee camps in pathetic conditions since 1947. These refugee camps are breeding grounds for desperate acts including all forms of terrorism across the world because they do not have hope. Essentially misguided Muslims sympathizing with the Palestinian cause and/or extremely fundamentalist Muslims wanting to conquer the world for their religion are committing these heinous crimes of terrorism. There is no God in their behavior. They are untouched by truth or morality. The right thinking Muslims have a great task on their hand at their own peril to distance from as well as enlighten these terrorists.
Ethically, morally, and spiritually we need to be strongly aware that any group or section of persons suffers injustice or prolonged violations of human rights can become hopeless and act in on themselves or act out on others. By acting in on themselves, persons become emotionally and mentally sick. By acting out on others, persons commit violent and senseless crimes. Violence has not solved any problems. There will always be depraved persons and violence. But by being fair to all, we can and should eliminate any just cause for violence and terrorism.
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