The trust barrier between Islam and the West

A letter to the editor which I wrote was recently published in the Statesman, so I can't reply to this letters to the editor. However, this one letter must be replied to.

Here's the letter.

Why terrorists attack

The recent terrorist bombings of London subways and buses, which resulted in deaths and injuries of
civilians, are reprehensible and should be condemned unequivocally.

As a Muslim, I believe that Islam prohibits all acts of violence against civilians and the taking of innocent lives. The Quran clearly says that killing one innocent human being is like killing all humanity. Those who deliberately kill innocent civilians act outside the laws of Islam.

Terrorists have no religion. They use religion to pursue their ideology or agenda. Innocent Muslims are among the victims of terrorism.

What leads an individual or a group to the extreme action of killing themselves and other innocent people? Perhaps Western governments need to revisit their foreign policies, which include waging wars of aggression, supporting unpopular dictators and failing to find a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

SYED AKHTAR

Board member

Muslim Community Support Services

Austin

My response, if I could reply.

Mr. Akhtar:

Thank you for your effort to attempt to condemn terrorism. Unfortunately, your weak response only shows why the majority of the Muslim community cannot be considered an ally in the war on terror.

Your response is typical of the Muslim community. You condemn terrorism, then immediately attack the policies of the United States and its Western allies, including Israel. Until the Islamic community can wholeheartedly condemn terrorism without reservation or equivocation, there will always be an element of distrust from the rest of America and the West.

When a terrorist commits his crimes in the name of the Jewish or Christian faiths, our leaders immediately condemn the act without any justifications provided. When a terrorist commits his deeds in the name of Islam, it is all too often that his fellow travelers in the West attempt to minimize his acts or rationalize them.

Until Islam takes a stand without hesitation for moderation, nonviolence, and modernity, the majority of Westerners will, unfortunately, lump most Muslims in with the mullahs of Tehran or the Taliban of Afghanistan. Until then, to answer your question as to what leads an individual or a group to the extreme action of killing themselves and other innocent people, the answer is the failure of your community to give no quarter to those who kill in your name. During World War II, Japanese-Americans joined the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to fight fascism in Europe. When I see Muslim-Americans volunteering to join the military, law enforcement, and the intelligence services at the same rates of the Japanese-Americans of the 1940s, I will know that our Muslim neighbors are truly committed to our national values.

-Wes