Obama’s re-election chances seem to have hit a new high; one of his major election promises is fulfilled and the American nation seems to have ultimately found ‘justice’. It was all accomplished by tracking down and eliminating a fugitive hidden in some godforsaken land. And parity is restored by wiping him of the face of the earth and burying him at sea. Of course he did not deserve a trial, he did not deserve to present his case before a jury—an open and shut case—the President of America was Judge, jury and executioner and that is the end of Osama…
So what were the charges against Osama…?
1. He would not negotiate and reason out peace
2. He declared war on America
a. Because he wrongly felt that he had a clash with the non Islamic world
b. Because he was wrongly put off with what America stood for
3. He used Terror to intimidate
4. He targeted innocents (and succeeded in eliminating many)
5. He used brainwashing to misguide ignorant suicide squads to walk to their deaths
6. He indulged in breaking all kind of economic, national and international laws to achieve his aims
So did he act in accordance to the tenets of Islam in the pursuit of what all he did…?
Charge 1: Islam definitely asks a devout to go great lengths to make peace; talk out things even with the infidel, explain the alternatives… and go to war only if an unjust war is declared on him… did Osama negotiate; or rather make his case for righteousness?—No he did not give much scope for that…
Charge 2: What, according to Islam, are the conditions under which one may declare war on a foe…? did Osama scrupulously adhere to those instructions before declaring war…?
His fist justification a) is that it is a holy war in which he perceives that it is either ‘them’ or ‘we’ in respect of the Jews and the Christians. Now this is amazing… check out this verse from the Quran…
Sura2: Al-Baqarah; Part 1;Verse 87:
“And indeed, We gave Musa (Moses) the Book and followed him up with a succession of Messengers. And We gave ‘isa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), clear signs and supported him with Ruh-ul-Qudus [Jibrael (Gabriel)]. Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant? Some you disbelieved and some you killed.”
Now is it just possible that one can take a stand that a lot of passages from other parts of the Holy Quran may be taken up, and conclusions drawn from them, that is just opposite in meaning to these stated facts in the beginning of the Book as in the above verse… one doubts it… therefore, may we conclude that the Holy Prophet has nothing against Yahweh of Moses or The Father of Jesus Christ? May we therefore conclude that even if there were one American who was a true believer of Yahweh of Abraham or The Father of Jesus Christ, Osama cannot declare war on America?
As for his second justification b): Have the Americans really done injustice? Has he truly listed out his charges against the Americans? Does his religion not ask him to take up the charges against his foes through diplomatic channels first? Does his religion not ask him to use war only as the last resort? Where do Osama’s actions figure out in this in respect of Islam?
Charge 3: Is it justified to terrorize people into submission? It is said that if you wish to know what frightens a person look at what he does to frighten others… so then does terror frighten him? Now if it does it is un-Islamic, for a true believer in God fears nothing but God himself… he can never be terrorized… and why would such a one go around terrorizing other people?
Charge 4: He targeted innocents. This is a crime by all standards, let alone the high standards of the Holy Quran. If someone quotes from the Holy Quran to justify murder of innocents then that person is indulging in subverting its contents… Innocents cannot be targeted… full stop.
Charge 5: He used brainwashing techniques to send suicide squads to their death in the name of creating terror and for targeting innocents… definitely un-Islamic. Having no fear of death is right. Having the courage to face death for a righteous war speaks well for the faithful, but ending one’s life to terrorize people and kill innocents cannot be amongst the approved things to do in Islam.
Charge 6: Breaking laws… probably following the dictum that all is fair in war… but then one doubts whether that is what the Ideal in Islam is. These charges against Osama need to be specific and detailed but they are of little consequence in this discussion; it will suffice to say that there is no ‘all-is-fair-in-war’ sanction in any religion.
From our considerations above it becomes evident that Osama has fared badly in respect of the guidance offered by Islam… True that he may have been diligent in his practice of his faith but then he seems to have missed out on the more subtle fundamentals of his faith…
If then he was not following the tenets of Islam was he truly fighting his own war? What is it that was driving him? What is it that was guiding him?
First: The whole world is more or less resorting to shouting at one another; each one calls the other a devil so negotiation is low priority business in the present world… Osama also just did that…
Second: If Osama finds the Christian or Jewish or Hindu world offensive it is because the theory that rules the roost today is “Clash of civilizations”. So he believed in this divisive theory rather than in the idea that there is an “universal” power that controls all humans. So instead of following The Holy Book he is more taken up by this other (Samul Huntington’s) theory. Next, once he has spotted the enemy he only goes on to declare war against enemies who have in turn declared war against ‘terrorism’ and have declared him as the ‘enemy’. Check out ‘echo’ effect in Psychology. That feeling is mutual… If war is declared on him, he too declares war…
Third: Using Terror is very much a contemporary principle. When America took out Hiroshima and Nagasaki what exactly were they trying to achieve? They terrorized Japan into submission… accepted principle in modern world
Fourth: Targeting innocents… Hiroshima and Nagasaki again… but yes it was war, and Perl Harbor was attacked without provocation… that is the justification for having targeted innocents in Hiroshima and Nagasaki… well so Osama too targets innocents of America and finds justification in the statics of deaths of the Islamic faithful across the world, in various conflicts, which he incidentally attributes to Americans and their policies… Americans do Tit for Tat and so I also do Tit for tat… Just following the Americans
Fifth: Brain wash…. A technique he learnt from the Americans in their support to him to throw out Russians from Afgan soil…
Sixth: all is fair! If it is fair to send an assassination squad into Pakistan without the knowledge of that country, if is fair to hold prisoners in Guantanamo bay without trial, if it is fair to do ‘anything’ to protect a nation’s interest, then all is fair in Osama’s war against his enemies too…
The truth therefore is that Osama is at fault because he followed current principles of war rather than the ideals enshrined in the Holy Quran. For practices he must have been following his own faith but In the matters of principles he has been following the Americans.
So who then is the enemy?! In killing Osama has the enemy been destroyed?
Christianity unambiguously states that only ‘God’ is good—no person must be called ‘good’. The corollary is that only the ‘Devil’ is bad—no person must be called ‘bad’ either. So can Osama be called ‘bad’ then? Can his killing be equated to the destruction of the devil?
The Americans he was after were not lambs lead to slaughter like Jesus Christ was—a lamb—innocent. And even Jesus Christ did not hold it against those that put him to death. To hold out against Osama that he is a devil because he followed current practices of war is highly inappropriate.
This celebrating over having killed one individual is misguided euphoria. The cause for all the trouble is perfectly in place. Little minds discuss personalities, average minds discuss events and great minds discuss principles. One man is killed, noting has happened, the principles are where they are.
Both America and the terrorists must begin following the principles of Islam—therein lies the true solution to the present disposition.
