Finding false hope in a clouded mind

Many Islam scholars and educated Muslims have vouched that this community should change its thinking. The picture shows a security presence near a mosque in Negombo. 

After more than two weeks after the Easter Sunday bombings we are trying to understand two things; one is what these ruthless terrorists want and the other is whether the Holy Quran propagates violence of any kind. 

Sri Lanka’s diverse culture, religions and races make it beautiful in the eye of the educated individual who has a large heart for the community he or she lives in. But this might not be so for the radical religious follower who nurtures a superior psyche. To get to the point we do have some Muslims here in the island who believe that their race and religion puts them on a lofty pedestal which in turn makes people practicing other faiths look small. This is not applicable to the less scholarly individuals in the Muslim community, but relates to those who are educated and following the Islam faith. It’s the reverse in Buddhism with the educated accommodating everyone and the ceremonious Buddhists being aggressive when their faith is questioned or ridiculed. 

This is a country where there is freedom of speech and the opportunity to practise any religion. This means a lot to any person who wants to be a religious preacher; most often someone who is a layman. Extremist suicide bomber Mohammed Zaharan, who is believed to have been killed during the Easter Sunday bombings, was one such individual. He had all the makings to be a lay religious preacher. But he chose the less travelled path to achieve his goal. 

• This is a country where there is freedom of speech and the opportunity to practise any religion
• There have been calls by modest members of the Muslim community to ‘voluntarily adjust themselves
• The Quran states that ‘men are to take the lead in respecting women and should disengage from any activity that objectifies or demeans women

From what we read in the newspapers we fathom that Zaharan wanted too much too soon. Religious progress demands discipline, sacrifice and penance. Zaharan apparently made a mess of the goal he wanted to achieve because it seemed he wanted to achieve stardom through religion. He was a fanatic; a religious fanatic at that. 

This all started with the little incidents where Buddha statues were vandalised in Mawanella in December last year. Back then it was a sign that there could be an emerging force who would use religion as a tool of destruction. The majority Sinhalese just allowed anger to boil over and cloud their minds. We saw the tip of the iceberg, but failed to realize that there was something overwhelming beneath the surface which was being carefully nurtured so that one day a blow could be delivered on a section of the community who practised different faiths. 

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has staked a claim for the series of bombings in Sri Lanka, but even the National Thawheed Jamath (NTJ) is yet to acknowledge the brutal killings. It could be just a matter of time before it does so given that the findings from the cordon and search operations carried out by the security forces have unearthed so many weapons, land maintained for proposed training centres and military uniforms, all belonging to this extremist organisation. 

What’s important to note is that the NTJ has the potential to brainwash its members; some of them being academics with college degrees. We have read that this organisation has been successful even in influencing the minds of the elderly. An elderly father was among the recent suicide bombers who perished. 

Many Islam scholars and educated Muslims have vouched that this community should change its thinking. What they underscore is that the Muslims should try to get rid of their insular behaviour. 

One female Muslim journalist said in one of her recent Facebook posts that ‘Muslims should stop isolating themselves from the rest of the society’. There have been calls by modest members of the Muslim community to ‘voluntarily adjust themselves in order to maintain some dignified presence with everybody’. 

Individuals like Zaharan might not fancy being in the crowd. You’ll always find such individuals standing away from the crowd. They prefer to be alone; a characteristic of most suicide bombers, identified by eyewitnesses, who saw how they behaved in society before they blew themselves up. A peep into Zaharan’s life shows that that this man was expelled from school and even left the Sri Lanka Thawheed Jamath to form the NTJ. Despite having a limited education Zaharan had had language skills and his powers of persuasion were said to be amazing. 

Seeds of evil

Zaharan could easily sow the seeds of evil because the Muslim society, though claiming to be united, has allowed different sects to build up. If one travells to Katankudy, hometown of Zaharan, there is a strong Arabic culture setting in and a radical form of Islam being followed over there. What’s alarming is that a section of the Muslim community prefers to be cut away from the whole. 

Zaharan abandoned his wife and daughter. We have to judge him by his work and how he interpreted a much revered religious document Quran. The Quran states that ‘men are to take the lead in respecting women and should disengage from any activity that objectifies or demeans women’. Zaharan’s conduct has made his wife destitute. He is feared dead, but there is speculation that the findings from investigations can’t confirm that he perished in the blast, he featured in. 

Zaharan’s memories will haunt this nation which is now crippled because business is affected adversely and most children don’t go to school out of fear. Zaharan gave rise to a terrorist organisation and embedded in its members a distorted version of the Quran. The bottom line in his teachings is sacrifising life for honoured killings. Terrorists like Zaharan not only distort existing religious doctrines they distort the functioning brains of the members in their extremist organisation. They make fools out of the educated which makes us wonder whether distorted religious teachings are more successful in bringing people on to the path of religious thinking when compared with the traditional religious teachings methods.