O mankind! Have fear of your Lord, the One, who created you from a single soul, from that soul He created its mate, and through them He spread countless men and women. Fear Allah, the One in whose name you demand your rights from one another and the ties of relationship; surely Allah is watching you very closely. Quran 4: 1 Verily your blood, your wealth is sacred like the sacredness of this day (day of Arafah) of yours; in this day of yours, in this month of yours -Prophet MuhammadTONIGHT, I can report to the American people and to the world that Osama bin Laden is dead.With these words, President Barack Obama delivered the message expected from him by Americathe triumph of America over its enemy, Osama bin Laden. America, he was emphasising in that speech, represents half of the world, America comes first, the world comes last.We had just finished observing the early-morning prayer, I then turned on the television. And there on the screen was the news. It was emblazoned with red ink. It was there on al-Jazeera Television network - a breaking news. Experience has taught me that all breaking news were evil. Ted Turner, the founder of the Cable News Network (CNN) once said he does not listen to news that news are evil.But curiosity got the better part of me. So I tarried a while. The newscaster appeared once again: Osama b. Laden had been killed in a gun battle involving American marines in an area known as Abottabad outside Karachi. A short while thereafter, images of Americans shouting USA! USA!! USA!!! was broadcast by all the satellite television stations including the BBC and the CNN.My eldest child was surprised. Why are they celebrating the death of Osama b. Laden she queried. I looked her in the eyes. Momentarily I could not utter a word. How do I begin to tell this young mind about the histories of the violent interface between elements, which claim allegiance to Islam and the West How do I narrate the odyssey of Osama bin Laden from the trenches in the mountains of Tora Bora in Afghanistan down to the hungry land of SudanHow do I construct the histories of terrorism in such a way that a child who was in the cradle 10 years ago would be able to derive meaning from the differences between terrorism of the powerful (the West and Western governments) and the terrorism of the weak (al-Qaidah and the Taliban)How do I tell that young girl about the events of 9/11 and the death of close to 3,000 Americans How do I tell her that since September 11, 2001, over 50,000 Moslems and, indeed, non-Moslems have been killed both by the West, at the behest of America, and individuals working under the canopy of al-Qaidah How would she make sense of the wanton destruction of lives and property that has taken place in Kenya, Tanzania, Bali, London, Baghdad and KarachiThen I muttered, those American are jubilating probably because they thought the death of Osama b. Laden represents the attainment of victory over their number one enemy. My dear, Osama bin Laden may be dead, but the Osamas are alive.Yes. Osama b. Laden may be dead but what he thought he was fighting against remains alive and with vigour - America is alive! The history of Osama b. Laden is riddled with ironies. Even though he received his training from and fought on the side of America against the Soviets, ironically, however, he has now been killed by America. Osama b. Laden could have thought he was fighting in defense of Islam.Ironically, however, his death has brought relief to some sections of the Moslem world including his birth-place, Saudi-Arabia. Osama could have thought he was fighting for the liberation of the Arab world from the jackboot of America-backed lame-duck regimes in the East.Ironically, however, at least two of these countries have liberated themselves in the most peaceful way, through popular revolt. Osama b. Ladan could have fought against the American empire from annexing parts of the Moslem world, ironically, however, the day he was said to have been killed, America entered the airspace of Pakistan and there was nothing the government in Karachi could do!But is Osama b. Laden actually dead Has he not been dead long time ago A brother sent the following to me as a premise for his refusal to believe that the Americans have done it, that Obama b. Barack has killed Osama b. Laden.He says, Osama b. Laden was earlier said to have been killed more than once in the recent history of Americas so-called anti-terrorism campaigns. I therefore found this new news about his death highly intriguing. To convince me of this, he encouraged me to check a site on www.youtube.com.My brother equally considered the news of the killing of Osama (by the way the proper rendering of the name is Us mah) as a strategy, on the part of President Obama (this name has no historical equivalence or value in Islamic annals), to shore up his rating ahead of the next general election in America. Thus in order to be seen as a strong leader, a military gimmick, like the one scripted Monday morning became ideal.Arguments against the story that Osama b. Laden was actually killed on Monday also include the assumption that the U.S. wants to pull out of Afghanistan and Pakistan and close down Guantanamo Bay. But the American government needed a premise to do this. Thus the announcement of the killing of Osama bin Laden represents an ideal platform upon which they could convince Americans that it was high time America left Pakistan and Afghanistan.My immediate reaction to the above was to say as follows, whether Osama b. Laden had long died or was killed Monday morning holds little importance. Of more importance is the fact that he has become an archetype. Osama b. Laden has become a metaphor for the world we now live in, his figure remains a sad commentary on the authorities that control todays world. Thus his death serves as a reminder of a world, which is full of injustice and oppression. His death incarnates the loss of human worth and the triumph of evil.But I thought Osama b. Laden has, indeed, not died. He is there on the rigid terrain of Maiduguri where failure of governance has energised non-state acts of terrorism. Osama b. Laden has emerged in Deraa, where Bashir Asad is unleashing terror on innocent citizens of Syria.There is an Osama b. Laden in Anambra, who is terrorising returning officers (RO) who dared to declare his loss in an election!Prophet Muhammad once said, if you knew what I knew, you would have laughed a little and wept much. Thus while Osama b. Laden was been buried in the sea, I hope his undertakers remembered that some nations in the past were equally buried in the sea, that some may be buried there in the future!guardianfridayworship@gmail.com
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