The importance of collective action to oppose violent, extremist agendas in the name of religion was highlighted at a recent International Counter-Terrorism Conference, by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to The Netherlands, A.M.J.Sadiq.
Speaking at the conference on the theme, “Lessons from the Past, Dilemmas of the Present and Challenges of the Future: What is an effective Counter-Terrorism Strategy?”
at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague, last Friday, 17th May 2019, Ambassador Sadiq in his remarks stated that Sri Lanka was no stranger to terrorism. He pointed out that the country was on the eve of marking the10th anniversary of the victory over terrorism, when the island’s relative peace and stability was shattered on Easter Sunday, 21st April 2019 by the multiple suicide terrorist bombings that struck the nation, which came not only as a rude shock to the people of Sri Lanka, but outraged the conscience of the world for its sheer barbarity and well-coordinated nature. The Sri Lankan Ambassador took the opportunity of sharing his personal perspective as a Muslim to strongly denounce the Easter Sunday carnage, for which the ISIS has claimed responsibility.
Speaking further, he said, “Islam literally means “Peace” and is a religion of moderation. Therefore, associating Islam with extremism or terrorism is downright wrong, just as much as linking the cold blooded slaughter of 51 Muslims attending Jummah prayers on Friday, 15th March this year at 2 mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand with Christianity.
While not in any manner trying to diminish the savagery or the magnitude of the Easter Sunday carnage in Sri Lanka, a lesser known fact is that ISIS and its affiliates are responsible for the killing of more Muslims, than non-Muslims”.
He informed the Conference of the action taken by the Government to declare a ‘state of emergency’ and invoke the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 to apprehend the perpetrators of the local terror network of the ISIS, the National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ). More recently, on 13th May, the government proscribed the NTJ and two affiliates, namely, Jama’athe Milla’athe Ibrahim (JMI) and Willayath As Seylani, under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Ambassador Sadiq, speaking of the challenges ahead, stated while the authorities have been successful in rounding up most of the active members of the local terror network, the bigger challenge, not only for Sri Lanka, but for the entire international community is to combat and root out the evil ideology which motivates so-called “Muslims” to kill innocent people.
Drawing from the Holy Book of the Muslims, the Qur’an and the ‘Charter of Privileges’ which had been granted to the Christians by Prophet Muhammad in 628 AD, the Ambassador said that terrorism or extremism has no place in Islam.
In this context, he further stated that, “Whether it is ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Al-Shabab or Boko Haram, all these terrorist outfits derive inspiration from a deviant and satanic cult that purports to be authentic Islam. What makes this ideology toxic and a threat to world peace and security is the Takfir doctrine, underpinning it, by which its followers claim the right to kill non-Muslims, as well as Muslims, whom they brand as heretics, such as Shia and Sufi Muslims”.
“Mainstream Muslims utterly reject this doctrine as antithetical to the core principles and beliefs of Islam. Even prominent Muslim Brotherhood theologians such as Hasan al-Hudaybi and Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi have denounced Takfir as un-Islamic for its bigotry. The need of the hour is to build a strong consensus among the leading Islamic academics and theologians in the world by taking a collective and unified stand against the Takfir doctrine, which defines the 18th century ideology, claiming to be the true and pristine Islam”.
In conclusion, Ambassador Sadiq highlighted the need to raise worldwide awareness of the Charter of Privileges granted by Prophet Muhammad to Christians, which he said could also be extended to everybody, irrespective of their affiliation to a particular faith or no faith, to effectively counter and oppose the extremist agendas of those who have insulted and sullied Islam by encouraging violence and hatred in its name.
