OSAMA BIN LADEN -- AN ICON NO MORE

The death of the most hunted terrorist in modern history marks not just the death of a man, but the end of an iconic symbol of anti-Western and specifically anti-American sentiment in the hearts and minds of Jihadist Muslims. It is certainly bankable that Al-Qaida and the Taliban (in all their forms) won’t be dissuaded or prevented by the death of Osama Bin Laden from committing future acts of terrorism. In fact, just the opposite will inevitably occur. We are bound to see revenge attacks frequently and soon.

What has been dealt a death-blow is the extremist Muslims’ fervent belief that Bin Laden was and always would be protected by God from the wrath and retribution of the “infidel” West. On May 1^st in the dead of night, in Bin Laden’s high-security compound in Pakistan, justice was decisively served by U.S. Navy SEALs.

Some say Bin Laden has been dead for years now, based on the fact that the most recent photo of him dates from 2000, while some don’t believe he was killed May 1^st because his body was buried at sea, so there’s no way to prove that it was, in fact, Bin Laden.

In answer to these two “scenarios,” if the first were true, then the Al-Qaida leadership would be guilty of a massive fraud to bolster recruitment and their followers’ morale by not telling the faithful that Bin Laden was already dead. And since “Uncle Osama Wants You!” doesn’t work very well without the Uncle, it would serve Al-Qaida to keep him alive.

In answer to the question “Is Osama really dead?” there are only three plausible possibilities regarding the fate of Osama Bin Laden: 1. He died years ago and an imposter look-alike was killed May 1^st in Pakistan; 2. the real Osama was killed May 1^st and buried at sea to prevent his land-based grave from becoming a shrine for future Jihadists; or 3. the real Osama was captured alive on May 1^st and is being secretly interrogated by the CIA for useful intelligence data, in which case he will never see the light of day or publicity anyway, so he’s still “dead” as far as his followers are concerned. And whichever scenario is true, in the end, Bin Laden is out of the picture.

And what is equally undeniable is that these misguided extremists have lost their celebrity Poster Boy for violent Jihad and no one will ever be able to replace him. No Taliban or Al-Qaida member can ignore the fact that God did not protect Osama Bin Laden from the “infidels.” He is no longer leading the faithful in a Jihad against the West to restore the lost glory and worldly empire of Islam through war and political caliphate. That dream is dead and will never be a reality anyway. Why? Because Islam forbids everything that Osama Bin Laden represents.

In the Holy Quran, God says that those who are the aggressors in a war are the wrongdoers, and that those who kill the innocent or create disorder – terrorism -- in the land deserve capital punishment; that the murder of one innocent person is akin to the murder of all mankind.

Muslims are even commanded to be the first to police their own law-breakers, and should they fear or fail to do so, as is definitely the case in Pakistan where terrorism and the protection of terrorists goes hand-in-hand unchecked, that duty will fall to others.

In the Quran, God repeatedly warns Muslims to be righteous, humble, compassionate, forgiving, peaceful and tolerant; to not knowingly commit evil and immorality or else they will suffer the evil consequences of their actions.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also warned the Muslims similarly, promising that if they forget God and reject righteousness and turn instead to Satan and choose a life of selfish pleasures and evils, they will be given the punishments of ignorance, poverty, debasement and the tyranny of evil, corrupt spiritual and worldly leaders. Is this not the sad condition of the majority of Muslims today? What then is the solution?

The solution lies in the adoption of an Islam that is enlightened, peaceful, tolerant, non-violent, rational and committed to love of God and humanity, education, human rights, justice and the freedom of religious expression for all, whether they are Muslim or not. The Quran clearly states there shall be no compulsion to accept the faith of Islam, nor shall there be any worldly punishment for leaving it.

The Islam that proclaims and strives to live by these truths does exist in the world today, and has existed for over 120 years. That Islam is the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, established in 1889 with 40 members, now has tens of millions of “Muslims for Peace” in nearly 200 countries who believe in the Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. Their motto is “Love for All – Hatred for None.” This is the Islam that will defeat the “Islam” of Al-Qaida and the Taliban. Ahmadiyya Islam is the only Islam that can rescue the religion from its Jihadist abductors.

[ Ghosted with Imam Shamshad A. Nasir -- ran May 19th, 2011 as “Jihadist lost their poster boy in Osama bin Laden” in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the San Bernardino Sun and at AhmadiyyaTimes.com at http://ahmadiyyatimes.blogspot.com/2011/05/eye-on-extremism-jihadists-lost-their.html ]