Reaction to violent acts in the world

The acts of violence that have taken place in France, Austria and Afghanistan recently tend to turn into a mass attack on the most fundamental human rights; the right to life. The terrorist incidents experienced in almost every part of the world feed an environment of chaos that includes all humanity, regardless of religion, language and race. Just as we feel sorry all together for those who lose their lives in these attacks irrespective of their identities, we should also react all together against the perpetrators of the attacks. No terrorist incident can be justified by generating reasonable reasons, nor can any pain be underestimated. Moreover, the universal human history  contains lots of examples making it be remembered as the history of peace and tranquility, not conflict. If we cannot focus on this hopeful face of history; if we do not uphold and glorify fundamental values such as the right to life, peace, tranquility, freedom, justice and the culture of living together, humanity will be completely defenseless against disasters such as othering, conflict, terror and war.

The 20th century had been engraved in memories as a period in which violence, hatred, anger and natural disasters reached unprecedented levels. While the effects of the two world wars, economic depressions, rebellions, massacres, assassinations, disasters, and epidemics that left their mark on this century have not yet been erased from the common memory, waking up to a world sowing the seeds of new sufferings will be the biggest mistake committed in the name of humanity. In this century, the first twenty years of which we have lived, we unfortunately experience the destructive events of the previous century and go through incidents that darken the future of humanity in the same way. These events, which started as local wars, continued as rebellion movements, and then turned into a human tragedy with migrations have been followed by attacks  which have occurred one after another and gradually turned into mass reactions despite looking isolated. With the outbreak of disasters such as epidemics, earthquakes, global warming and climate changes that have captured the whole world, humanity makes being condemned to a spiral of violence that increases its speed and deadly effect his inevitable fate. It is with regret that  the energy of the world is consumed by artificial agendas while we can come together and find reasonable solutions to overcome these hardships we are going through.

It is true that the perception that has lately been attempted to be created especially by juxtaposing Islam and Muslims with the concepts of terrorism and terrorist harms mostly the Muslims. However, those who think that they target the followers of a religion whose name is peace with the generated fears are very much mistaken because the fears created in different geographies of the world now feed an atmosphere of tension surrounding people of all religions and opinions, and turn into a flood of anger that sweeps way all the obstacles on its way. As a matter of fact, the pain and the tensions caused by the massacre in a mosque raid in New Zealand or in a university campus in Afghanistan are not only the problem of Muslims. Likewise, the attacks carried out in a temple in France or Austria are not just the issue of  Christians or Jews. The fear surrounding the streets, the terror blocking the roads, the violence towards people, and the depression ruining our hopes for the future are the problems of the whole world. No matter where on earth terrorism occurs, no matter for what reason it occurs and to what extent it takes place, we condemn both terrorism and terrorists with the same fierce and reject them with the same anger.

We would like to state that a racist, fascist, non-religious and atheist point of view, the signs of  which have been seen in the Western world for a long time and which has risen again especially in recent years, has hindered the minds, darkened the hearts;  deafened the ears and blinded the eyes all over the world. Some politicians led by the President of France make astonishing accusations against Muslims and the Islamic World which they identify with terrorism. The cartoons insulting the prophet Muhammad, the most precious man of all times, had already caused dozens of deaths and aroused worlwide concern and the current reintroduction of these cartoons by the state, and the French government's projection of these cartoons on the walls of state institutions are aimed to create a new 9/11 syndrome. It is apparent that those who take these steps are not at peace with civilization, peace and freedom, rights and law. On the other hand, the detention of Muslims organizing protests against these insults by using their democratic rights, the closure of non-governmental organizations serving as voluntary organizations one after the other, and the trampling of altars with police boots is a complete ravenousness. The statements of the governments in some Islamic countries whose people are Muslims justifying these unlawful practices in Europe are much more regrettable. Obviously, a common mind with global plans calculates terrorizing the Islamic world by deploying the reserve forces it has taken to the field and completing the last reasons required for a new social, cultural and even military occupation.

In the global world where coexistence is no longer a matter of preference, it is essential to protect and favor good will against discrimination, law and justice against double standards, rights and freedoms against oppression and defend them as ideals. Today, as yesterday, what we need is not more conflict but more compromise, not more capital but more share, not more selfishness but more tolerance, not more tension but more tranquility. It is because humanity has come to the limit of its strength to withstand the deadly threats created by those who ignore others to sustain their own existence and well-being or who remain silent to conflicts and attacks. No place can be considered safe in the atmosphere of chaos encountered by a world where injustices grow the spiral of grudge, hatred and anger day in day out.

In conclusion, we will wake up from our slumber in response to attacks on our common values, initiate the struggle to protect the rights and laws of all humanity with justifiable demands without discrimination, and prove that we have a universal mind and intellectual accumulation to create a new culture of solidarity. The spirit of peace and freedom necessary to reach the ideal of a new world where the righteous are strong, not the strong right is abundantly present in all Islamic thought revealed in the verse " Whoever kills an innocent human being- it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves the life of one- it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” (Maidah 4/32)

Theology and Islamic Sciences Faculty Deans Council of Turkey