I often wonder from where the wild conspiracy theories that are
some-times rampant among Muslims come.
To this day, I listen with incredulity to Muslims who refuse to believe that
Muslims were behind the attacks of 9/11. The same is true with other attacks
committed by Muslims: in Casablanca, Taba, London, and now, sadly, Sharm El
Sheikh. Yet still it never ceases to amaze me how someone could look me straight
in the eye and deny the fact that there are Muslims who commit horrific acts of
terror in our name. I do not think I will ever understand it.
Having said that, however, the London attacks offered a glimpse
into a possible reason. When I first learned of the attacks, my heart sank into
deep despair. "Not again," I said to myself. When the alleged perpetrators were
identified as home-grown British terrorists that despair turned into shock and
disbelief. And I must admit that the thought – "These people can’t be Muslims!"
– did cross my mind, if only briefly.
Yet why did this happen? Why did that thought – which is the
seed of conspiratorial thinking – even make it into my mind? Because I simply
can’t put my head around the fact that a Muslim – born and raised in Britain –
would put a bomb in a rucksack and ride the Tube and a bus and kill himself and
his fellow Britons. It does not register with my neurons. Yes, I was upset at
the invasion of Iraq. Yes, I am not a fan of many aspects of the foreign policy
of my government. Yes, I believe America can do better across the world.
Nevertheless, I would never, ever, ever even contemplate strapping a bomb on
myself and killing my fellow Americans. That thought would never, ever, ever
even cross my mind.
Not because I am a doctor, someone who is trained to try and
save lives. No. But because I am a Muslim. I worship and serve Allah, Yahweh,
Eli, Eloh, Elohim, Alaha. I worship and serve the Lord of Hosts, the God of
Israel, the Most Merciful. I worship and serve I AM, the One God of Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Because of that fact, there is absolutely
no way I could murder another human being. My Master told me that life is
sacred, that I must never take the life of someone else. My Master told me that
murdering an innocent person is the same as killing all of humanity. My Master
told me to never let the hatred of a people toward me move me to commit
injustice or transgression. My Master told me never to fall into the moral
cesspool of "yeah, but."
My Master never told me that all "infidels" are to be killed. My
Master never told me that I am supposed to murder "apostates". My Master never
told me that the "end justifies the means". My Master never told me that to kill
people in a London subway is wrong, but to kill people at a Tel Aviv pizza
parlour is okay. No. I am a Muslim, a servant of the One God of all, and He
never told me any of those things. Thus I simply cannot fathom how someone can
claim to serve Allah and kill children in Beslan. I simply cannot fathom how
someone can claim to serve Elohim and kill children in Tel Aviv. I simply cannot
understand how someone can claim to act in the name of god and bomb London
subway trains. I just cannot understand it because my Master – Allah, Elohim,
God – never told me that I can do such a thing.
And I am certain that the overwhelming majority of Muslims
believe the exact same thing. Thus they conclude – in the pain of despair at
seeing their faith smeared by the sins of the violent mutant fringe – that the
perpetrators of these horrific attacks just cannot be Muslims. This stems from
only one thing: denial. Denial can be deadly. I have seen patients present with
advanced breast cancer, after any effective treatment can be rendered, who –
when asked – first noticed the lump several years previously. It is a very
powerful defence mechanism, and there are so many Muslims who suffer from such
denial. And being of Egyptian ancestry, I know denial: and believe you me, it is
not a river in Egypt!
Yet we cannot afford to be afflicted with denial. Not in this
day and age. We must all wake up to the fact that there are Muslims who claim to
worship the God of Abraham and kill innocent human beings. In fact, they cry out
"Allahu Akbar" while doing it! There are Muslims who brutally behead innocent
people under a banner that reads: "There is nothing worthy of worship besides
God, and Muhammad is His messenger". There are Muslims who have absolutely no
qualms about blowing themselves up at a resort hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, killing
dozens of fellow human beings. It is a painful reality, for sure. But it is
reality nonetheless.
To be honest, this isn’t the first time this sort of cancer has
grown within the Muslim body. At the time of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs,
the Kharijites maimed and murdered innocent Muslims all the time. They even
killed Ali himself. Muslim "insurgents" – from Iraq, of all places – killed
Uthman, the Prophet’s son-in-law. The soldiers of Al Hajjaj ibn Yusuf killed Al
Hussein, the Prophet’s own grandson. Muslims, despite all the exhortations of
their Master, can be particularly brutal. But so can Christians. I mean, it was
the "Soldiers of the Cross" who killed the Muslims and Jews of Jerusalem in 1099
until blood was knee-high to the horses. But brutality is not a Christian trait,
or a Jewish trait, or an Islamic trait. It is a human trait, and so long as the
followers of religion are human beings, there is going to be violence in the
name of religion. It is a painful reality, for sure. But it is reality
nonetheless.
Yes, they absolutely can be Muslims. Even though we don’t
understand their logic and reasoning, even though we don’t agree with their
religious justification, even though we ardently oppose their tactics,
terrorists can most definitely be Muslims. The sooner we wake up to that
reality, the sooner we can get working on how to defeat these monsters once and
for all. n
