Terrorism is terrorism whoever carries it out

The Quran asks Muslims to occupy the moral high ground by saying: “And do not let the hatred of a people stop you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.” [5:8] It is sad that we have lost that moral high ground and fallen to the level of those whose drones and other aerial bombardments have been killing innocent men women and children in many Muslim countries.

In the following saying, the Prophet Muhammad (s), has laid down the standard of morality by which Muslims must live: “Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong to them. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong (even) if they do evil.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

And that is what the world, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, has forgotten. The West has been every bit as responsible for such heinous crimes as are the Muslims. So long as they serve their interests, Western governments support brutal dictators and brutal organisations. There are many such examples. When terrorists killed Russians in Afghanistan, they were ‘freedom fighters’ and Hollywood made movies to eulogise their exploits. When the same people turned on the Western powers they became ‘terrorists’. It is these double standards which are the cause of the turmoil we see in the world today. And yet, neither Muslims nor non-Muslims have learnt anything from the events unfolding before our eyes. Terrorism, whether state-sponsored in the form of attacks on the innocent in Iraq and Afghanistan by Messrs Blair and Bush, or the killings in England, Spain and other European countries should be deplored in equal measure. As should be the lucrative contracts for arms and ammunition with regimes that deny people, especially women, their basic human rights.

Violence has always bred violence and will continue do so, if we could only see.

The Ahmadiyya Association for the Propagation of Islam (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam) was established in 1914 at Lahore to promote the informed understanding of Islam in the West. In the UK it operated the Shah Jehan Mosque in Woking until the early 1960s. Its new headquarters is at Dar-us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, HA0 4JQ. In 1924, it built the first mosque on the Continent at Berlin. This mosque is now recognised by the German government as part of the German national heritage. From its European and other centres around the world this organisation has taught that Islam promotes peace, harmony and mutual respect between all communities and nationalities.