The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : In denial of terrorism

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Wednesday, Oct 01, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

In denial of terrorism

It is not only Muslims who are “in denial of terrorism” as stated by Vidya Subrahmaniam (Restoring the confidence of Muslims, September 30). The Indian public — irrespective of faith — is in collective denial of the stark truth that it is the violence and cruel discriminatory practices within our society that spawn and nurture terrorists. Just as the cadre of evil “God’s warriors” wear the masks of Islam and Hinduism to cover their barbaric violence, so too the majority of us, Hindus and Muslims, wear masks of political correctness and “secularism” to cover our own cowardice in confronting these “God’s warriors” for what they are — young men who were once innocent, taught by brutal teachers into believing that the only way to obtain salvation is to slaughter fellow humans.

In this scenario of horrific and cascading violence, when we ignore what is true, the sensationalist media only whips up mass frenzy and police-bashing becomes a mere convenience. Let us seek out and destroy the evil teachers among us and save India from the danger of disintegration.

R.P. Subramanian,

Delhi

* * *

Vidya Subrahmaniam is on the dot when she says that Muslims fear witch-hunt and every encounter involving the community cannot be fake and every such accused assumed to be innocently framed. True, terrorism of all kinds has to be dealt with mercilessly, but within the confines of justice. Agent provocateurs should not be allowed to create an atmosphere of paranoia.

Kasim Sait,

Chennai

* * *

The author strikes at the root of the grievances harboured by most of the Muslims I have met. We understand that terrorists use words such as jihad, Islam, Mujahideen, etc., and therefore it seems justifiable for the media to borrow these words liberally but the truth is that Muslims cringe and weep at the misuse of these noble words. But we request you to refrain from using words with traditional Islamic meanings that have been hijacked by terrorists. Au contraire, it is in our best interest that we distance ourselves from the language of the terrorists and leave these words to their original interpretations.

Years ago when I read about how Sri Aurobindo used to lament the adoption of the Swastika by the Nazis, I did not fully understand the extent of his anguish. But now I do.

Thehseen Zakir,

Kochi

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In denial of terrorism