A Muslim-Jewish call for human dignity

[Public Diplomacy Network]

A Muslim-Jewish call for human dignity

 

By Eric Scharf

 

07/04/2016 - When Abu Sayaf, the financial head of ISIS, was killed in a US military strike in May 2015, a treasure trove of documents was found near his body, revealing horrific insight into the terrorist organization’s methodology.

Among these astonishing documents was an indignant fatwa decreed by ISIS regulating when and which sexual slaves could be raped. The trove also included a pamphlet entitled “Safety and Security Guidelines for Lone Wolf and Small Cells,” advising ISIS fighters how to avoid “enemy” security measures or detection while planning and executing attacks in the West — for the most part tips on how not to appear Muslim, such as steering clear of mosques, dressing as a Westerner and keeping a cleanly shaven face.

These are just a few behind-the-scenes indications of repugnant aggressions against the world and human dignity, by no means limited to sexual servitude against women, or terror attacks against Brussels or Paris.

They are also brutal examples of how a religion can be taken hostage by radical, as its moderate majority passively allows it to. Moderates prefer peaceful coexistence with their non-Muslim neighbors, while Jihadists seek to impose Sharia Law throughout the caliphate they wish to establish. These two kinds of Islam are impossible to reconcile. The means jihadists take to subjugate infidels in no way match the peaceful approach of moderate Muslims. For these jihadists, terrorism in the name of “holy war,” is necessary. And this war has gone global; the whole world is now a target.

ISIS is the largest and most immediate threat to the Western world, but it is by no means the only radical Islamist terrorist organization. Over the course of 2016 Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shabab, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Abu Sayaf and Hezbollah have carried out attacks in Israel, India, Libya, Turkey, Iraq, Indonesia, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya and the Sinai Peninsula – along with dozens of other places on a list too long to name here. Yet for some reason, ISIS is the only threat garnering significant coverage from the media, as if readers have no moral interest in reading front page stories about horrors that don’t touch them directly.

Will we ever be able to rid the world of this sick hate indoctrination and the glorification of suicide bombers, of the radical obsession with murder as the path to “eternal life”? What kind of future will there be for mankind if new generations continue to learn violence and terrorism instead of tolerance, respect and coexistence with others, no matter their differences?

Our challenge as human beings is to win the battle against fanaticism, ideologies of hate, terrorism, decapitations, oppression of women, and other horrendous acts committed in the name of faith based on extremist holy doctrines.

The authors of this piece, a Muslim and a Jew, have decided that the time has come for us to take a step together toward winning this battle of good over evil. Our obvious religious and cultural differences notwithstanding, we wish to defy the historic friction between our peoples.

Together, we promote joint lectures in Costa Rican schools to discuss similarities of our peoples and to show how all of us, as human beings, can sympathy and coexist.  Together, we are also developing joint social responsibility projects, to demonstrate that Jews and Muslims can work together for the good of others.

Read more on http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-muslim-jewish-call-for-human-dignity/