This Endless Cycle of Violence Serves No One

Shaykh Jihad H Brown

The shock of unexpected violence and death can bring about trauma in the lives of the living that is difficult to make sense of, let alone bear. Muslim families are uniquely placed to empathise with the families of victims, as this has been their own daily reality in a region of the world plagued by uninvited violence for more than six decades now.

So it is with great sorrow and sympathy that we respond to the grief of the families connected to the tragic event at Fort Hood in Texas. The actions that led to the deaths of 13 people and the wounding of more than 30 warrant condemnation.

The killing of unarmed civilians is unconditionally prohibited in the sacred law of Islam. As an American citizen and a soldier in the US army, Major Nidal Malik Hasan had a covenant with the people of the United States, who were his neighbours.

This relationship is sacrosanct. Neighbours have no choice but to rely on one another, and to violate that trust is to undermine society itself.

In addition to this, soldiers who are unarmed and outside a combat zone are not actively engaged in harming others. In such circumstances, they may be tempted to reconsider their own involvement in violence. Violating this assumption of safety in the environment of civil society undermines the principles of trust and reliability that are held so dearly by the followers of the Prophet Mohammed. The traits he was known most for, even by his enemies, were truthfulness and trustworthiness.

If anyone, soldier or citizen, finds himself unable to continue in the covenant or obligation into which he has entered, he should seek to extricate himself publicly through the official and recognised means provided in the terms of the obligation. Conscientious objector status, honourable discharge or, if need be, the direct refusal to be involved in harming innocent human beings are all correct courses of action. Taking people’s lives, even if not civilian, outside a recognised combat zone, is not acceptable.

At this time, however, it is important that we call on everyone to reflect on the continuing tragic state of affairs in our combined lives, domestically and globally. It is not correct to continue to treat each of these painful ruptures in our routine lives as isolated moments without having responsibility for, and consciousness of, a wider state of affairs.

We seek sympathy in the moments of our own discomfort. But let us recognise that we seek that sympathy from people when we are prepared to be indifferent to the discomfort that is so often visited upon them.

The point I am making is that globalisation should have thoroughly driven home to us by now that we are all in this together. Just as Gandhi said that an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind, the Prophet Mohammed considered the entire world to be his community. He said about that community: “It is as one body, when one limb is in pain, the rest of the body lies awake in fever and sleeplessness.” Empathy has to complete the full circle.

We are the sum of our choices and as such bear responsibility for them before God. The continuing wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan were born in ethical controversy. And when violence is born out of ambiguity it will inevitably lead to circumstances of moral confusion.

Violence begets only more violence. Leadership and courage are required to stop the vicious circle. The global public has yet to see that leadership or courage on any side of these conflicts, yet it is they who continue to suffer the consequences, as disproportionate as that suffering may be. 

There continue to be American citizens, both Muslim and otherwise, who feel just as strongly about the illegitimacy of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as did Nidal Malik Hasan, but have found other ways of expressing that dissent than more violence. If we have learnt anything from the great men of history – the Prophet Mohammed foremost among them – it is that compassion always wins in the end.

Hurt is hurt. And a Muslim family that has experienced the bitterness of tragic loss would never wish that upon another. Muslim community leaders continue to implore their respective constituencies to stand by their principles, to be balanced and responsible citizens, and to renounce wanton violence.

Let us hope that other leaders will likewise hold up their end of responsibility. Now is the time for healing. And just as healing is a historical trait of Muslims, resilience is the proven trait of Americans. Would that the two could come together.  

Shaykh Jihad grew up in the United States and currently resides in Abu Dhabi where he serves as the Director of Research in the Tabah Foundation and teaches and delivers the Friday sermon. For more information please refer to the “Classes” tab above.