Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Monday, July 8th, 2024

Violence Begets Violence

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Violence Begets Violence

The flawed comprehension “Violence begets an outcome” is driving narrative behind every deed executed in most if not all Muslim countries. Being born and raised in such a country we all have witnessed children being subjected to sever corporal punishment to get them learn etiquettes, moralities and discipline by parents. A similar stratagem is widely applied in community mosques and Madrassa education system, considered inevitable, where children are taught religious extremism education. Being raised in the environment of aggression, every students not only ingest enormous violence but also bear the brunt of in-depth humiliation and character assassination, are bound to reciprocate identically. Unfortunately such acts receive wide appreciation by minimally educated parents who finds that serving the interests of their children, and the society that keeps mum over very such sensitive issues.

The tale of endless violence doesn’t end here; even the children in families are put to punishment given they turn down an illogical dictate of parent or elder sibling. Father deems repression his due right to get every member of the family surrender to his very commandments. The same dominance of violence is reflected in the society where every influential and powerful person considers subjugating the ordinary people their inherent right. Seeing the unproductive circumstances the person is left with sole option of exercising utter obedience or revolt against irrational dictates and bear the consequences.

Seeing all these, what do you think; the promotion of violence isn’t self driven phenomenon in these societies? Don’t, such societies provide itself a rich ground to masses to carry forth violence? Don’t people respond violence with the violence?  And doesn’t violence beget violence? If the responses are yes, then they have to restrain their ill-findings that give rise to a motivation for unacceptable deeds such as bloodshed, murders and cruelty against fellowman on religious, racial and sectarian or etc, ground.

Life is sacred, is an ideal that the majority of people can agree upon to a certain extent. For this reason taking the life of another has always been considered the most deplorable of crimes, one worthy of the harshest available punishment. Thus arises one of the great moral dilemmas of our time. Should taking the life of one who has taken the life of others be considered an available punishment? Is a murderer's life any less sacred than the victim's is? Can capital punishment, the death penalty, execution, legal murder, or whatever a society wishes to call it, be morally justifiable?

Capital punishment is immoral is the idea that it creates a climate of violence. If a society punishes a murderer by murdering them what do we say about violence and crime? Our society teaches its children that crime and violence does not solve anything, and yet our highest form of punishment is no different than the crime it punishes. The underlying question in this issue is if any kind of killing, regardless of reason, can be accepted.

We shouldn’t be amazed that many Muslims countries practice such blind laws that promote and encourage the violence in some forms which are discussed below to support my standing. The Islamic countries undeniably posture committing such deeds to uphold the rule of biased and irrational law. The ordinary masses getting accustomed to aggression seek to find solution of every problem in severe corporal punishment. This is the reason many account holders of social media supporting ISIS cause.

Nonetheless, the biggest economy and oil rich African Muslim state Nigeria suffers at the hands of terrorist of Boko Haram who has become the main security threat to the stability of Nigeria with increasingly threats to its neighbors. The group has killed thousands of people, many of them civilians, and kidnapped hundreds while the government has struggled to forge an effective response.

Here in Afghanistan and Pakistan the masses suffer at the hand of Taliban, Al-Qaida and their affiliates who are driven mad by the motive of revival of caliphate system across Muslim world, only solve the giant problems of Islamic world. The interesting and common about all of them is; they share same ideology and similar tactics to enforce their stately law and rule of business. Henceforth, the rationalization of teachings and interpretation and execution of laws for common good must be celebrated. 

Previously, the Islamic State group released a video purportedly showing the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. In it, Goto is seen kneeling, dressed in an orange outfit, as a masked man standing beside him with a knife blames the Japanese government for his slaughter. There are countless tales of atrocities executed by terrorists of ISIS in the drive of maintenance of so-called Islamic values and teachings, they interpret. Irrespective of condemnation of the world such blind and illogical practices can’t get the miseries of masses away.

We have to reach to the very point that “violence breeds violence” is depicted from all the religiously motivated terror groups whether Taliban, Al-Qaida, ISIS, Boko Haram etc. are the product of extreme portrayal of violence and Jihad aided by lawlessness, corruption and dictatorial regimes. Decades of promotion of repression, widespread lawlessness and corruption have seen violent Islamic terrorist groups fill the power vacuum in this region and continue to turn out an alarming number of religiously motivated terrorists.

Asmatyari is the permanent writer of daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at asmatyari@gmail.com.

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