Civilization and Humanity?

Niraj Aryal

The horror that happened in a School at Beslan, cannot be explained in words.

Watching on television the scene of terror which contained the infant’s bloodied innocent faces running here and there naked was something that cannot be explained in terms.

Those grim faces that survived the atrocity and others whose relatives or children were killed cruelly were expressing what a terrorism-a modern world’s menace, has bestowed to this civilization.

This heinous act of terrorism, whether they have been carried out by an Islamic terrorist group or by a separatist group close to Shamil Basayev (a Chechen rebel leader) has put a question mark to the entire human being (?) with the existence of words like "civilization" and "humanity".

Man is surely behaving inhumanly.

In the recent past Russia has been the terrorist’s major target of attack.

From the recent suicide attack when two civilian aircrafts were bombed killing 100’s and another bombing in Moscow at a public place, which left 10’s killed, shows Russia cannot remain aloof from becoming a major terrorist target.

There are other nations as well on the list of major terrorist attack.

The response from the Russian government side was prompt on all those occasions.

President Putin quite rightly indicated the Beslan incident as Russia’s 9/11.

"However, how many incidents of such magnitude will Russia face in the future is something no body knows", said Shamil Basayev while condemning the incident.

"If you want to end terrorism, you have to look beyond the blood, the mangled bodies, the horror and anger. You have to go to the root causes and address those. What drives ordinary people to become terrorists? Why are they angry? What are the aggravating factors?" asks a Muslim writer in one article published in DAWN, Pakistan quite recently.

The Muslims have of course the right to ask questions of these sorts.

Now it appears that they are clashing with the rest.

Why it is so?

Is it that the rest are unable to understand their feelings and setting obstructions in their way of life?

Is it the cultural diversity that has to be adjusted between different communities and civilizations?

To me yes, it appears so.

Islam is a way of life, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had said.

Muhammad had shown the world how to behave and live life in a right way.

Islam, the youngest of all existing religion has shown the world of being modern and moral at the same time. Islam certainly does not teach violence and terror. Nor does the Quran teach to incite violence.

What for Jihad then?

Questions like these others can also ask. Islamic scholars need to respond.

Rest of the world has to learn fast how to live with differences, if differences mean unity.

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