I am a Muslim woman and an anti-war activist who vehemently opposes imperialism, neo-liberalism and occupation. Having seen the global Muslim ummah (community) undergo some of its darkest moments, I have come to see Islamic extremist groups as the enemies of the faith whose interests they claim to advance.
They have become self-serving agents, whose glorification of martyrdom as an end in itself now supersedes their stated objective — ridding the Middle East and Muslim states of Western occupation, foreign troops and “infidels”.
Islamic extremism has come to represent an ugliness within Islam.
And so I address myself to them. With your bombing of public places — where many Muslims are killed, together with people of other faiths — beheading of civilian captives and regular public declarations of more attacks to come, it is hard for me to believe you are fellow Muslims, advancing the Muslim ummah.
I expect barbarism from American and other Western armed forces, not from Muslims, or even Muslim militants (and I believe militancy has a role to play in legitimate resistance).
Who appointed you to speak on behalf of Islam, and carry out violent acts in the name of Islam and God, using the banner of jihad? I would not object to a jihad against Western imperialism and occupation that did not entail the killing of innocents and civilians.
If American and British forces kill innocent civilians, does that give you the right to do the same? If they use violence, must you respond by capturing civilians and beheading them, or killing civilians with your bombs?
I watch in horror as you continue to plant more bombs in Iraq and take more lives. Ordinary Iraqis had to endure 20 years of Saddam Hussein’s repression, then had to deal with the United States and coalition forces bombing, invading and occupying their country. Now they have to deal with your indiscriminate attacks on the shattered remnants with which they must rebuild their lives.
You think that by bombing centres recruiting police or soldiers for the new Iraqi forces, you are hitting at the coalition — but you are just killing more fellow Muslims. Another mother mourns the death of a son; a wife is widowed; a child orphaned. Is this your Islam?
What do you expect the Iraqis queuing for jobs to do, go jobless and hungry? Are you going to feed them or employ them, seeing that you are doing everything possible to prevent them from making a living? Has it occurred to you to confront the agents of Western imperialism more intelligently; to use the institutional instruments with which Western governments oppress the Third World and Arab and Muslim countries against them; to engage broader civil society to take on Western hegemonic interests?
Your concept of martyrdom is highly problematic. You promise heaven and 70 virgins if suicide bombers carry out your plans to kill infidels. No doubt your marketing ploy is very attractive to impressionable young people.
But how can you be sure heaven will be their reward? Only God is all-knowing, and he might not take kindly to the killing of innocent children — or the fact that the bombers are children themselves. He might hold you accountable for having the blood of innocents on your hands.
Yes, there is frustration, because imperialists have occupied territories that are not theirs. They continue to kill and maim. But surely it is only if the youth are alive that they can continue to fight. If you advocate that they kill themselves by strapping a bomb to their bodies you are robbing them of the chance to fight for a better life.
Your modus operandi has failed in its original objective of kicking the occupation forces out of Iraq. Has it not occurred to you that a government led by Iraqis is strategically useful, even if they are perceived as US puppets? Strategic politics demand that certain things must happen first, to achieve more fundamental objectives.
You cannot use theological arguments to support your actions, because you also kill Muslims in your random attacks. And you are not expelling the infidels from Islamic states. Instead you are making life much harder for ordinary Muslims worldwide, who are being attacked and harassed.
are you working for the pleasure of God — every Muslim’s duty — or for your own pleasure? This world is his, not yours, to destroy.
Then there is the gender issue. I have always believed Islam is the most progressive faith on women’s rights, as it gave independence to women in the seventh century, long before Europe.
I am incensed by your patriarchal assumptions, which are counter to Islamic teachings on the sanctity of womanhood. Have you given a moment’s thought to how you destroy mothers and families with your policy of killing and martyrdom? And what of revelling in the prospect of conquering 70 virgins in the hereafter? I expect Muslim men to have more elevated ideals.
I am not an agent of Western interests, as you will no doubt argue. I appeal to you to cease violence as a way of resistance. We know some Western nations engage in barbaric practices. How different are we Muslims, if we resort to worse methods of killing, such as beheading?
Lubna Nadvi is a community activist and a lecturer in the political science department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal