Beheading in daylight: Has religion poisoned London's multiculturalism plan?
The murderers were British. The victim, a British soldier. The government quickly called it a terrorist attack. Some others called it an Islamist-style attack. What has brought this upon a country so heady about cultural diversity?
London is shocked. A soldier was beheaded in daylight on a busy Woolwich street in Southeast London by two crazed men. These men didn't leave the scene of crime. They hung around speaking to people, explaining their barbaric act and how!
"We are sorry that women had to witness this. But in our land, women do the same. Why don't you leave us alone?"
The murderers were British. The victim, a British soldier. The government quickly called it a terrorist attack. Some others called it an Islamist-style attack. But no one seems to have a clear answer to the question: What has brought this upon a country so heady about multiculturism? After the incident, the rightist nuts have well gone nuts and would rather demand a white, Protestant country for White Protestants. The Leftsists want introspection. As it happens in moments of shock, the centre just vanishes. And definition of terrorism gets jumbled up so badly that the easiest route is to call any such incident terrorism.
What's terrorism? Broadly, terrorism is an act of violence to instill fear among a large group of people and the act has a political or ideological motive or goal.
Two young, black British men may have the grand illusion of a political/ideological motive but their act didn't have a goal. They stood around to be shot. Yes, they were radicalised and wanted to be martyred. But they were British, born and raised there. That was their land, not Nigeria or Somalia. It's clear that ghettoised multiculturalism hasn't made London multicultural.
London has to wake up to this powderkeg. There are many young men and women from different ethnic origins who haven't become British, in spite of being born there. The counterargument is that it's a fringe, a small number. But it's the fringe societies need to worry about. This is as small as a group can get. Just one more than what would have been termed as a lone wolf. But this small group's sickness has bloodied the psyche of a nation.
In the name of freedom of religion, most countries allow evil to spread. When the killer with blood on his hands says 'leave our people alone' or talks about 'our land', what land does he refer to? Nigeria? Yemen? Afghanistan? Palestine? Kashmir? Some radical Muslim priests continue to brainwash people into believing that all Muslims are 'your people'. They are made to identify with exaggerated stories of brothers in trouble in countries they wouldn't normally bother about. They can kill, chop, cut the deemed enemy because they believe they are doing god's work.
We have a bloody, long history of religious violence here in India. But the history of religious terrorism doesn't really go long back. Indian Mujahideen and its various modules have sprouted at various places, with independent modules. They aren't a political/ideological group but just a bunch of wayward brainwashed nuts, but they continue to bleed us by cuts.
There are Hindu groups too. Who have followed the same modus operandi and killed people, because they believe Hinduism is in danger and needs armed protection. Their sickness results in copycat revenge attacks like Samjhauta train bombing, Ajmer and Malegaon blasts.
Democracies still believe people have a fundamental right to preach. Politicians don't tire of telling us that all religions teach us to live in peace. Turning a blind eye to the fact that religion is divisive, religious texts justify what they call righteous wars. The self-righteous believe god would be pleased if he sacrificed his life at god's work. That's a problem that not only Britain but the every country on the planet needs to think seriously about.
Religion is over its use-by date. People must live by laws, constitution created by them. Governments need to start putting citizen-made laws above the divine laws. And say with authority vested in them by the people: In Law, We Trust. Not, In God, We Trust.