Catherine Shakdam
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
July so far has been marked by Terror – from France, to Germany and of course Afghanistan, the world has awoken to the reality of radical globalization. If for the longest of time the threat of terror remained somewhat distant, in that bloodshed, insecurity and social chaos were always associated with those countries the Western world has viewed as underdeveloped or undemocratic, whatever rules we were playing by have most definitely been changed.
No more can world nations claim immunity from the strength of their institutions. No more can people imagine themselves safe from the ravages of war. Just as the West brought wars to many nations, War it appears, has turned around to face all nations, indiscriminately.
Do not see in my remarks any misplaced vindictiveness. For all the blood the West did in fact shed in the name of democracy-building, its people do not deserve to suffer for the crimes of its sociopathic elite – Justice does not require its fill of pain, it requires accountability, and reparation. Justice demands acknowledgement and change, not vengeance.
I would personally argue that vengeance only serves to perpetuate the cycle of violence we blame on our enemies. And no, I am not offering we all hold hand and break into a song … advocating justice does not equate to naivety.
But justice does require sacrifices, and a great dose of courage! Justice will ask that we get over our arrogance and own sense of political self-entitlement. Justice most certainly will require some honesty on our part – not simple navel gazing.
Before you launch at me with your criticism, remember that one enemy remains to be slain: Terror. Until we do, until we actually get around the idea that we are losing to Daesh and its abominable Black Flag army, there is little point in discussing our future – any future for that matter.
I will not argue with you the root of Terror; I categorically refuse to engage in a theological debate on the nature of Islam and demonstrate to you that its Scriptures are not filled with barbaric cries of war; because frankly, entertaining such thoughts is demeaning.
What I will do is tell you:
Forgive my arrogance but yes as a Muslim I feel entitled to my faith.
For those who still wonder about my ancestry, let me remind you that faith does not equate ethnicity. And yes lovely readers Muslims come in all shapes and sizes, colours, and denominations … warts and all!
Too many times have I heard people doubt, second-guess and reject my statements on Islam to not take offense.
Who are you to tell me what I believe? Who are you to tell me what my faith stands for when all you know of it is Wahhabism – the same Wahhabism which has called me an apostate and an infidel?!
Who are you to define me, while arguing freedom of expression?
Who are you indeed but the very product of hate and intolerance?
I was recently asked to prove that Wahhabism is, as I often stated, un-Islamic.
Let me put it this way: everything Wahhabism claims to be holy stands in absolute negation of Islamic principles.
Islam champions justice and tolerance, Wahhabism preaches political absolutism and repression.
Islam speaks of mercy, compassion, and freedom, Wahhabism screams vengeance, punishments and oppression.
Islam calls for the protection of the innocent, Wahhabism dreams itself a grand genocidal despot.
Islam commands social justice and order, Wahhabism thrives on bloodshed and despair.
If it is proof you require, if it is empirical evidences you yearn for then read my book, Arabia’s Rising – Under The Banner Of The First Imam, for all is laid bare.
Need I go on?
Oh boy can I see the smirk on your face! What a liar she is to sell Islam as a faith worthy of respect. What non-sense is this woman serving us! How very typical for Muslims to reject any form of responsibility!
Interesting word: responsibility!
Do you feel responsible for the millions of death your governments brought about when they all collectively declared war on the Islamic world? Do you feel guilt when looking onto the ruins your military left behind? Do you?
Of course not! Why would you feel guilt when it is Islam which started it!
Only Islam did not start anything … people did. People commit crimes, people kill people, people should be held responsible, NOT a faith.
Did the Bible command for the massacre of protestants in 15th century France?
Did God sanction the Crusades? Did God watch in glee as Catherine of Medici cleansed her kingdom?
Islam I’m telling you is not defined in Wahhabism. Wahhabism I’m telling you is not anchored in Islam. And while it may claim to be, and while it may present itself still as the one true version of Islam, it does not make it so.
What you hate today is what we have hated since the 18th century.
The fear you fell today is the same fear we have lived under for centuries … Can you not see that our need for justice, and reparation is rooted in the same rejection of this fascism which sits in Riyadh?
You blame Muslims for the Terror your respective governments have allowed in, and yet you do not grasp that guilt lies with those who left you defenceless.
You blame us for the bloodshed, and yet you cannot see that our blood has been already claimed by this monster we call Daesh.
Terror today is winning for we have collectively failed to call it by its real name: Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia, al-Saud …
Terror today is advancing against all of us for your governments, our governments insist on calling “friends” those, who, from the shadows have played puppet masters to mercenary hordes of soulless beasts.
We hate this terror as much as you do. We hate it more in fact for it has claimed to be of us while destroying us.
Our history has been disappeared, our shrines have been laid waste to, our Scriptures have been butchered by ignorant bigots, and our faith has been branded an apostasy … We hate this terror more than you could ever fathom.
We hate this terror, you hate us, and terrorists want our blood on their hand – what a fun place to live in!
Do not now tell me what I believe! Do not now tell me that I’m being hypocritical!
Let me tell you of this terror you cannot yet name, for you do not yet grasp its nature.
Wahhabism is neither a faith, nor is it a religion – it is a cult.
Wahhabism will be the end of all religions, all people, and all manners of belief unless we stop it, denounce it and fight it.
Terror has a name; until we learn it, it will continue to gain on us – it is really that simple!
The author is the Programs Director for the Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies and the author of Arabia’s Rising – Under The Banner Of The First Imam. She is currently a columnist for RT, a TV & radio commentator for RT, Press TV, Sputnik, and CCTV. She has also written for Ayatollah Khameini’s website, al-Akhbar, Epic Times, NEO, Katehon think tank, Mintpress, Foreign Policy Journal and many others.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.