In communities, you see people organizing campaigns to justify terror of their own. Shockingly, people even use religion to justify the terror of their own groups.Â
Religious books are used to justify terrorizing an entire population because according to the book certain people have rights to a certain promised land.
People also tend to condemn only one kind of terror, not all terror. If the terror is committed by use of a knife or suicide, we all very rightfully condemn it; but if it is committed by helicopter gunships, missiles, daisy cutter bombs, depleted uranium shells, tanks, cluster bombs, or bulldozers, many people do not even utter a word.
We also let the powerful play politics with terror. If terror is being committed by a tyrant who is our friend and our installed dictator, we tend to look the other way. On the other hand, if law-enforcing authorities kill some insurgents, it becomes an issue of world peace.
In addition, it is appalling but true that people react to terror differently depending upon who the victim of the terror is. Whether people may react in horror to a killing or will take it in stride often depends on the religion or passport of the victim.Â
Unfortunately, the value of human life is determined by the beliefs or the nationality of the victim. In fact, terrorizing a Muslim may even earn the terrorist applause instead of condemnation.
So how can we have peace if people are going to take sides on the matter of terror?
If we want to have peace, all peace-loving people must consistently condemn all kinds of terror regardless of who is committing it, who the victim is and what is the instrument of terror. Then, and only then, we can hope for peace.
Until then, I will keep dreaming and doing my best to promote a consistent condemnation of terror in the hope that if enough people do the same, terrorists may lose support and justification. And we may see peace in the society.
*** Tulisan ini merupakan salah sau artikel yang saya kirim ke goipeace foundation UNESCO pada tahun 2012 di Jepang
