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'Demonstration in front of
10 Downing Street, Petition to the Prime Minister - No Terrorism in the
name of Islam'.
Response to the letter below from David Cameron
(UK Prime Minister) Page
1 Page
2 Rt. Hon. David
Cameron MP Honourable Prime
Minister, The United Kingdom 28 September 2014 Sir, Subject: ‘No Terrorism in the name of Islam’ demonstration dated 28 Sept. 2014– protesting the brutality of the so-called IS. The so called IS extremists are on a gruesome killing spree. The video of the beheading of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, French mountain climbing guide Herve Gourdel and most recently the Female rights lawyer Samira Saleh Al Nuami, disseminated worldwide, is only the latest reminder that, unless nipped in the bud, IS will kill and maim anyone crossing its path as it attempts to enforce its nihilistic ideology in large swaths of Syria, Iraq, Kurdistan, and elsewhere. Hundreds and thousands of Syrians are fleeing IS terrorist attacks : A spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Refugees at the UN, Melissa Fleming, revealed that "Turkey received 138,000 refugees in three days, which is equivalent to what was received by Europe throughout the past three years," The so called IS, “have rampaged across cities and villages killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. They have murdered Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can, for no other reason than they practice a different religion.” You quite rightly said: ‘the brutality is staggering – the beheadings, crucifixions, the gouging of eyes, the use of rape as a weapon, the slaughter of children’. We say: IS lack Islamic knowledge and that their vision of Islam is anything but Islam. Conscientious people everywhere, particularly Muslims, must rise to
stop the IS. Why particularly us, Muslims? Because the IS consists of so-called Muslims who have vowed to establish a blood-drenched Caliphate in which only their distorted version of Islam - a fusion of misogyny, intolerance and mayhem – will hold sway. We have an obligation to snatch our faith from the clutches of
fanatics. To defeat this lethal organization will require the organized will of nations for PEACE. The United States has started bombing areas around Mosul in Iraq and other IS strongholds. The House of Commons in the UK has passed a vote to air strike. Air striking alone will not be able to destroy IS. We have seen that these resulted in more chaos as in the cases of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. The intention for political solution has to be there to get the support from people ie an inclusive Iraqi Government, empowering the people on the ground It is a crisis rooted in politics. Muslim nations must leave their internal divisions aside and unite to support other nations in whatever capacity they can to defeat the IS. One of course needs to ask: Who is this ‘IS’ and how did it come into existence so swiftly to carry out such a blitzkrieg that the established Syrian and Iraqi armies had to just melt away and give up large swathes of territory — from the east of Syria, parts of Kurdistan and north and west of Iraq right up to a short flight away to Baghdad? How did they achieve such military success in a matter of months and why was the West caught completely unaware and off-guard? The intelligence report claims that ‘IS’ is the richest terrorist group ever in the world with well over $2billion cash reserve, with a streamline of oil revenue and a very well equipped fighting force. Where are they getting the money and the latest war machineries from? Who is instigating such barbarism? The United States, the United Kingdom and allies should tackle the IS at its sources - stop its fundings from the Gulf, stop its flow of manpower from Syria, Iraq, from across the Turkish border and from overseas, find a durable solution to Sunni Shia civil war, stop Israeli barbarism in Palestine and find a permanent solution to the sufferings of people by creating and protecting an independent state of Palestine. Find peace for the middle East. Meanwhile, we ordinary Muslims everywhere must unequivocally condemn the IS and its practices. We cannot indulge in selective outrage in our protestations. We march in the streets (as we should) when non-Muslims kill Muslims but are often unfortunately silent when Muslims kill non-Muslims. We need to say, when a Muslim is harming another Muslim, they are damaging each other. But, when a Muslim is hurting a Non-Muslim, he/she is damaging Islam, hurting Islam and dishonouring Prophet (PBUH). We need to come out in hundreds and thousands to say: ‘Islam is for Peace’, ‘Terrorist is a Terrorist, not a Muslim’,
‘Terrorism has no religion’ and that; ‘No religion supports Terrorism’. Tragic events such as the attack on the twin towers in New York, the bombings of Bali, Madrid and London are assumed to be justified by Islam in the minds of some people. This idea has been fuelled further by many media channels which defame Islam by portraying these bombers as ‘Islamists’ or ‘Jihadists’, as though they were sanctioned by Islam, or had any legitimate spokepersonship on behalf of Muslims. The actions of a few fanatical individuals who happen to have Muslim names or ascribe themselves to the Muslim faith should not be a yardstick by which Islam is judged. For the same reason, that one would not do justice to Christianity if it were perceived as sanctioning the genocide of the Native Americans, the atrocities of world war II or the bombings of the IRA. To understand Islam’s stance on terrorism, one must refer to its original sources, the holy Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), peace be upon him, which are explicit in their prohibition of any form of injustice including that of wanton violence which seeks to instil fear, injury or death to civilians. The holy Quran turns our attention to the high value of human life,
whether it is Muslim or Non-Muslim and makes it absolutely forbidden to take
an innocent life unjustly. The gravity
of such a crime is equated, in the Quran, with the killing of all humanity. In mosques, we must use the platform of the Friday sermons to take a stand against the IS. To say No to terrorism in the name of Islam and that Islam does not support these killings. Islam is for Peace. Peace is Islam and that Shia and Sunni are brothers and sisters in Islam. Good governance in Iraq and Syria can reverse the process in weeks. The moment Iraqi and Syrian governments start treating Sunnis and minorities as equal citizens, ISIS would become a spent force. If the Obama administration can withstand the pressure from the Military-Industrial Complex and warmongers in America Iraq and Syria can resolve their internal problems and end the ongoing civil wars and anarchy. The Obama administration can play a positive role by withdrawing moral and logistical support from anti-Assad forces in Syria; by leaving Iran to itself and withdrawing all sanctions against the country; by ensuring good and inclusive governance in Iraq; by pushing Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to stop supporting Sunni extremism and anti-Shiite/anti-Iranian activities; and last but not least, by pushing Israel to accept the pre-1967 War border, demolish all Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories, and to make the Palestinian State viable by allowing free flow of goods and people between Gaza and the West Bank and ensuring other rights to the Palestinians within Israel, West Bank and Gaza. Any half-hearted measure by the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia; and further belligerence to Syria and Iran cannot neutralize and crush the ISIS menace permanently. Winning the long term battle, which is peace, is the ultimate
solution. We British Muslims need to defeat the trend that produces terror. We want the UK Government to support us Muslims win that battle to reduce the terror threat. Despite Iraq war and everything, UK is still looked upon by many across the globe as a country whose culture is based on rules of law. We want to see that this fundamental principle is not compromised because of a bunch of armed killers called ISIS or IS. Thanking you for allowing us to come to 10 Downing Street and to be able to share our pain, worries and agonies with you. With best regards, Yours sincerely, Dr. Hasanat Mohammad Husain MBE Convenor, Voice For Justice World Forum |
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