Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Muslims refuse to bury militants

Muslims refuse to bury militants

The sentiment of Muslims not to bury the terrorists in their cemetery is understandable. It is a good thing to send a signal to the terrorists that their act was shameful and has no place in Islam. They also need to know that the promises made to them about hooris are a false understanding of the verses. I hope it will put a dent in the thought process of some of those who are duped into believing that terrorism is rewarding.

They need to know that their religion does not reward terrorist. It is condemned in Islam. “Killing one life is like killing the whole humanity” and “saving one life is like saving the whole humanity”. There is no offensive war against any one, you can only defend.

However, after making the point, we have to let them be buried with decency; we need to show them our civility. The best among humans are those who forgive and we need to forgive, forgiving relieves one from guilt, pain and anxiety. You are not doing them a favor when you forgive; you are doing the right thing for your psyche and the dead ones.

Revenge and punishment must be left to God. Let’s not carry the burden of the terrorists. We have to bury the dead with civility. It is also a civil Geneva Convention. You don’t trample the enemy soldier when he or she is dead.

Mike Ghouse

Muslims refuse to bury militants
By Zubair Ahmed
BBC News, Mumbai

Indian Muslims say they do not want the gunmen killed by the security
forces during the attacks in Mumbai to be buried in Muslim graveyards.

Community leaders believe the militants cannot be called Muslims
because they went against the teachings of Islam and killed innocent
civilians.

One leader said the militants had "defamed" the religion.

Nine militants died when they stormed targets in India's financial
capital, killing at least 172 people.

'Unprovoked'

In what is perhaps their first openly defiant act against "Islamic
terrorism", Muslims in India have decided they will not allow the
militants to be buried in Muslim graveyards anywhere in the country.

They said that they could not believe that the assailants, who they
said had "killed innocent civilians unprovoked", were true followers
of Islam.

Ibrahim Tai, the president of the Indian Muslim Council, which looks
after the social and religious affairs of the Muslim community in
India, said that they had "defamed" his religion.

"They are not Muslims as they have not followed our religion which
teaches us to live in peace.

"If the government does not respect our demands we will take up
extreme steps. We do not want the bodies of people who have committed
an act of terrorism to be buried in our cemeteries.

"These terrorists are a black spot on our religion, we will very
sternly protest the burial of these terrorists in our cemetery," he
said.

Other Muslim groups have written to their local assembly
representatives to say that if the authorities force the militants to
be buried in a Muslim graveyard, they too will come out on the streets
in protest.

The council move found some support in Mumbai.

One Muslim housewife, Ruksana Sayeed, said: "We Muslims do not even
kill an ant, our religion does not teach all this, we are against all
these terrorists and I completely agree with the Muslim Council's
argument."

However, Naseem Ahmed, a Muslim worker in the city, said the council was wrong.

"They are Muslims and they can be buried even if they have done
something wrong. Our religion does not say that those who have done
evil can't be buried in a cemetery," he said.

The gunmen held dozens of people hostage in two luxury hotels and a
Jewish centre for over 60 hours before they were killed by commandos.

India is believed to have the world's largest Muslim population after Indonesia.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7758651.stm

1 comment:

  1. TWO MONTHS LATER:

    Tom Friedman writes, what I wrote in the above column

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/opinion/18friedman.html

    ReplyDelete

MUSLIM SPEAKER

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Voice of Moderate Muslims

Voice of Moderate Muslims
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Moderate Islam Speaker

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quraan burning

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 2013| Dallas, Texas

Mike Ghouse
Text/Talk: (214) 325-1916
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Mirza A Beg
(205) 454-8797
mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com


PLANNED MUSLIMS RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING BY PASTOR JONES ON 9/11/13 IN MULBERRY, FLORIDA

We as Muslims plan to respond to pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 3000 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.

Our response - we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an” (Muhammad Asad Translation Note 31, verse 41:34). It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.

We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3000 copies Quran on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety – We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.

Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and Fire Chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the City’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

We thank the Media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.






URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html



Thank you.

CIVIL DIALOGUE

The people in Dallas are making an effort to understand and clean their own hearts first, when we are free from bias, it would be easy to share that with others. Islam teaches us in so many ways to "respect the otherness of others" and it is time we find simple practical ways of doing it.