– Salil Gewali, Shillong (India)
“Ramadan” is a holy month for Islam which we all must respect. More so when it’s observed with the rigorous austerity, renouncing the material indulgences. True, always through the “austerity” one’s mind, inner heart and soul can be cleansed that finally raises one’s spiritual level. Throughout the holy month those who fast should not at all be hurtful to anyone, even the non-human creatures whether through the speech or action. Also, the mind must not harbor anything that precipitates the negativity.
But when this holy month is desecrated by the gory incidence of blasts — the most ungodly acts, how could we link it with Islam? Is it a prelude to a bigger mission that it started with the Manchester’s suicide explosion on 22nd May that shattered the euphoria of the concert-goers leaving 23 people dead, 129 others grievously injured? This is followed by the May 26 episode when a scary masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Christians.
The incident left 26 men dead, including many children in Egypt’s Minya. After a brief lull of four days, on May 30, a car bomb hit an ice-cream shop in Baghdad killing 15 wounding at least 30. Then immediately the next day a massive blast tore apart the diplomatic quarter in Kabul near the German embassy, killing about 90 people, sources put the injured count at whopping 460. Then followed another deadly carnage early Friday morning in the Philippines when a gunman burst into Manila hotel, who later set himself on fire, that left 36 people dead due to suffocation and at least 54 severely hurt.
Then on May 3 at London bridge three vicious attackers with lethal knives killed 6 civilians grievously injuring 30 others. The killer had boldly shouted – “this is for Allah”. Now how many more horrendous tragedies will happen until the end of Ramadan…? Peoples are worryingly apprehensive.
One very thoughtful friend of mine from Mumbai (India) — Mr. M. Nazeer, in a sorrowful tone, laments – “These all are the heartless attacks on humanity which only sink the holy spirit of the true believers of the Allah, we are not feeling safe on our own”?
I guess he is right. Of course, no one can disagree that the principle teaching of the Quran or the Bible or the Gita — ‘Love all and serve all’ should ever be allowed to be misinterpreted and harm the humanity? One strongly feels that those who kill and those who get killed, are both created by the “One Almighty”. What is our maximum life span on this moral world? Not more than 100 years. Then why is there bad blood among ourselves and brutal hostility? One feel that we should firstly determinedly practice to believe that we all children of the same GOD.
The time is ripe that we all must introspect with all sagacity and human compassion. The merciless killing is never the way to the Almighty.
Salil Gewali
(Journalist & Writer)
Gewali Cottage
Upper Mawprem, Shillong-2
Meghalaya
