| Jordan Times Sunday, September 16, 2001 Opinion Unequivocal condemnation Walid M. Sadi LAST WEEK's events were overshadowed by the massive terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. The first order of business is to condemn in no uncertain terms the acts of terrorism that occurred last week in the US. The condemnation must be categorical and absolute. The time for reflection and analysis will come later.The deliberate killing of innocent people cannot be justified by any norm or rationale. Killing innocent people is anathema to our own religion and traditions. We need to be true to ourselves and to our religion, which we take pride in and which is unequivocal in denouncing taking the lives of innocent people under all circumstances. I remember when attending a series of conferences on the development and codification of humanitarian law in Geneva in the seventies, the Arab and Muslim nations were in the forefront of countries expressing pride in the progressive Islamic humanitarian law. We took special pride in reminding the conferences that Islam does not even condone cutting trees in times of war, much less taking the lives of children, women and men not in military service during a combat. We need to be honest with ourselves and renounce the killing of innocent people. That's why our condemnation of terrorism in New York and Washington must be loud and clear, without any qualifications or explanation. There will come a time when the acts of terrorism that occurred will come under the microscope of deep reflection. In good time, the US and the rest of the international community will need to take stock of the circumstances that may have led to the terrible catastrophe that hit the American people. It must be borne in mind that this was the first time ever that “war” was brought home to the American soil. The US fought many wars against foreign powers but never did the war reach the US soil. The US has been till now a fortress immune to all external threats. Never did any of the American cities experience the kind of bombing and destruction that London, Paris, Moscow, Berlin and Leningrad, to name only a few, were subjected to during the two world wars. This is not to mention the untold destruction and mass killing of innocent people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The painful and despicable destruction to which two US metropolises were subjected few days ago were a common experience for the inhabitants of London, Paris, Berlin and Moscow, especially in World War II, yet no one can condone, in any way whatsoever, taking the lives of innocent civilians, for whatever reason. I believe that all of us in the Arab world should stand up in one voice and condemn in no uncertain terms the catastrophe that has hit the American people. |