Not connected

Muslims killing in the name of Islam is anathema to several columnists, writes Aziza Sami

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The killing of 12 Nepalese workers and the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq, part of ongoing operations undertaken by groups brandishing Islamic names and terminologies, brought on strongly worded- condemnations by leading commentators. To the itinerary of events was added the stand-off in a Russian school which left over 300 dead and which led Russian President Vladimir Putin to vow to put his resources at the disposal of the fight against "international terror."

Writing in the national weekly magazine Rose El-Youssef on Saturday, Editor-in- Chief Mohamed Abdel-Moneim chose as the headline of his article which was also on the cover: "The slaughtering of hostages and random killings rally the world against Arabs and Muslims". Abdel-Moneim wrote: "What is happening around us from Iraq to Palestine and Afghanistan to Russia and France, whatever the country, its orientation, religion, or policies is a question about which Muslims can no longer remain silent. I refer here to terrorism and religious extremism which have become synonymous: a phenomenon stigmatising (Muslims) and tarnishing their reputation internationally. This has happened because of terrorists and extremists who have plunged to the lowest depths. They have massacred their victims, hailing from all nationalities and religions, as if they were animals. And the tragedy of it is that these crimes are committed in the name of Islam specifically, and of its great Prophet (Mohamed) who was the first to establish rules for the treatment of prisoners of war in a humane, civilised manner. The situation has become very serious and its dangers will inevitably rebound and hit us. Muslims need to take a stance and say: 'No, these (criminals) don't belong to us nor we to them'.

"The neo-terrorists of the Arab and Islamic world are working hard to realise the 'clash of civilisations' and embody it in the most sordid manner. Faced with this, we Muslims remain silent and terrorised, giving them the exact response they want, becoming the majority in fear of the small and extremist minority. Our fear has become their fifth column, working in their favour. Those who appear to believe that a clash of civilisations is in the interest of the Muslim world are either excessively stupid or agents. They will work to instil even more fear within us till the catastrophe comes and we have all become stigmatised."

On Thursday in the national daily Al-Ahram, columnist Salah Montasser's headline was: "A stifling feeling". Elaborating, he wrote, "Any Muslim must feel stifled, unable to breathe, when a group in Iraq calling itself 'The Army of Supporters of the Sunna (denoting the Prophet Mohamed's traditions) announces that it has 'with the grace of God realised His will and executed 12 Nepalese who came from their country armed with (the doctrine of) Buddha, to fight Muslims in their lands.'

"Likewise, one is stifled when another group calling itself 'The Islamic Army in Iraq' announces its responsibility for the kidnapping of two French journalists, threatening to slaughter them if France does not repeal its law banning the hijab (Islamic head scarf) in public schools. There isn't a stronger manifestation of repugnant terrorism than these two instances. If the kidnappers think the French government will succumb to their demands, then they are deluding themselves. If France gives in to such blackmail, then the world must not. The chaos in Iraq makes us suspect that the perpetrators of these crimes who falsely claim to be Muslims are in reality not so. Surely they must be a façade, agents to parties conspiring to tarnish the image of Muslims and stir public opinion against them."

Galal Dowidar, the editor-in-chief of the national daily Al-Akhbar on Friday also wrote in a headline, "The kidnappers are agents". The writer asserts, "Those who kidnap innocent and destitute people in Iraq belong to one of three categories: the first is probably agents working for the American occupation whose aim through such operations is to demonstrate the barbarism of Arabs and Muslims and so justify Washington's war on Iraq and its war on purported 'terror'." The second category according to Dowidar "are thieves and criminals looking for ransom. The third must be a group resorting to kidnapping as a means of pressuring the occupation to withdraw from Iraq." On this last item, however, Dowidar seems to be sceptical. "There is no proof that this category actually exists. The kidnapping of French journalists has revealed the depths of this conspiracy whose goal is to whip up emotions among the French people against their government which opposed the war on Iraq. The kidnappers thus wanted to serve the occupation, by showing how they were returning the favour to France which has stood by Iraq's sovereignty and constantly supported Arab rights."

The cover of the national weekly magazine Akher Saa on Wednesday carried a photograph of the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center, the headline reading: "The world, terrorism, and spectre of 11 September". "Terror inside a school" was a feature devoted to the tragic standoff in the school in Russia. The reporter, Khaled Hamza, underscored the ongoing debate within the US administration, as well as the European Union, on Russian President Putin's policy concerning Chechnya's struggle for independence. "The tragedy has raised concerns within the US administration and the EU about the manner with which the whole affair was dealt with (by Russian security forces). There are also questions on Russia's policy vis-ˆ-vis Chechnya overall, in which the EU specifically has expressed concerns over the brutality with which the Russian army is dealing with the Chechens. As for Putin, his view is that giving in to such operations (as the school stand-off) can only set serious negative precedents in the international war against terror."

And as usual, never content with simplistic prognoses, Al-Ahram columnist Fahmi Howeidi on Tuesday wrote of "The seeds of terrorism and its practices". Spanning the situations in Iraq, Palestine and Chechnya, Howeidi distinguishes between acts undertaken by Palestinian and Chechen freedom fighters on the one hand and organisations which are "attributed to resistance" in Iraq. He writes, "The common denominator bringing them together is that they were all born out of the womb of terrorism to which their peoples were subjected by an overwhelming and crushing force." The writer is thus critical of "the excessive concentration by the media on daily happenings such as the horrific massacre of Nepalese in Iraq while diverting attention away from the sources of evil and its roots."