Okay, so Yassin is dead. Another so-called religious leader espousing humanist values of tolerance, peace, and the brotherhood of man is gone. I, for one, will not grieve for him. He chose violence as a solution and he died by the very actions of the words he preached. What I will grieve for is the end of any hope for stability and peace in Palestine and Israel. Lets call this what it is, the assassination of one terrorist by another. Israel is complicity in the formation of Hamas to further its own aims by creating instability and a power struggle to the Palestinian Authority. They spawned Hamas and now the son wants the father's power. The Arabs are either too blind or too stupid to realise that they, once again, have been manipulated in believing their salvation lay with a corrupt and ineffective leader or with a killer in sheikhs clothing.
The Muslim world is up in arms and indignant at the assassination of one man. His death does not cause me to lose sleep. I am, however, sad that the rule of law was subverted, that targeted killings stray off target, and that violence begets violence. Yes, once again, we Muslims raise our voices for the killing of one man. We want justice. We are in the right. Fine. But where were our voices when hundreds of Shia Muslims were massacred in Iraq and Pakistan not by Sharon and his evil henchmen, but by our fellow righteous Muslims. Where were the demonstrations in Muslim countries against the horror in Madrid? We will come out in droves to protect a piece of cloth on a women's head, but bury our heads when it comes to calling for equal justice when we ourselves are the perpetrators.
We as an Ummah cannot call for justice when we are blind to it if we not the victims but the criminals. This hypocrisy is a wound in Muslim societies. We are so defensive about any criticism that we are silent. And when we are silent, there is no shortage of voices willing to speak for us. Be it the media, hostile governments, or policy wonks. What I would love to see is major demonstrations in places like Cairo, Karachi, and Beirut against militant Islam and leaders of these factions that use violence to kill people and, in so doing, kill the very spirit of Islam. If that hostility was harnessed towards a more positive enterprise, perhaps I would be less afraid of flying or taking the train. I am not saying that Muslims are only to blame, but I would like to clean up my own house first before tearing down others.
I know, I know, you will raise the issue of Palestinians rights, and the injustices done to Chechnians, and Kashmiris and Muslims worldwide. What do you propose? Lets all strap on belts with TNT and walk into the nearest Pizza Hut. That will make things better. Your logic is insane. And in the mean time, people are dying and Islam is under siege, and not by the usual suspects such as the Americans, Jews, or JLo. Remember the lines from Pogo Possum when recalling the Vietnam War " I have seen the enemy, and he is us".
Bury Yassin. Bury him in the rubble of other morally corrupt and decaying ideologies. Lay him besides Zionism, Nationalism, and Fascism, and hopefully one day Cuba Gooding Jr. His movies are crap.
