When I first read about the cruel killing of 148 innocent people at a university in Kenya by the Al Shabab terrorist group, I was scandalized beyond description. The closest I have ever come to experiencing terrorism was when the night bus on which I was travelling from Accra to Tamale in 2008 was stopped by masked armed men at about 2:00AM, a few kilometers after Jema, a community not too far away from Kintampo. They ordered all passengers to get off the bus without any of our belongings. And as each passenger arrived at the door, a stoutly built masked man stood by wielding a gun while another conducted a thorough search on us. They rummaged through the braziers, skirts and under wears of every female. When one woman passenger complained because she thought the masked man was caressing her breasts and thrusting his fingers in her genitals, she was given a hot slap on her right cheek. Thereafter, they stripped her naked to teach her a lesson, one of them shouted to the rest of us in impeccable English “if anybody resists, we will kill you, we are not joking”. They searched the pockets and socks of all the male passengers, seized all our belongings including our phones and laptops. I had just returned from the UK and was travelling to Tamale to meet my parents. A few friends in the UK had given me some gift items to be given to their loved ones. They made away with all those items. And before they left, they made us lie on the floor, face down, while they walked on our backs with impunity. A gentleman, probably, in his late thirties at the time was shot, when he attempted getting up to the annoyance of the robbers. The sound of that gunshot keeps ringing in my ear.

This is my personal encounter with a lesser form of terrorism. And even I have been traumatized since then. My experience leads me to wonder what survivors of brutish, senseless, wicked attacks from all those animals living in human bodies who claim to be acting in the name of religion, would be going through.

Personally, I have recurring thoughts of the incident, I have become afraid of travelling at night, I have developed a survivor’s guilt constantly asking myself "Why did I survive? I should have done something more to save the man who was shot." I have developed a tremendous sense of loss. The bag containing the most valuable items I had acquired after several weeks of hard work had gone, just like that!

The actions of terrorists are often violent, random, unprovoked and intentional, and often are targeted at defenseless citizens. And when terrorist acts occur, surviving victims like myself, generally look for ways to cope with the acute stress and trauma. Terrorism evokes a fundamental fear of helplessness and can set off a chain of psychological events culminating in feelings of fear, vulnerability and grief. The damage that is done to bereaved families cannot be enumerated well enough in this article.

Not too long ago, in Ghana, when armed robbery (what I call a form of terrorism) became a major source of security concern, a particular foreign ethnic group, the Fulanis, were usually fingered.  It created a xenophobic feeling among many Ghanaians - a fear or hatred for these strangers or foreigners was heightened.

In 2010, I investigated a story on behalf of GTV and spoke to many Fulanis in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. Many of them admitted that some of their tribesmen were involved in some robbery cases, they were however, displeased that the activities of a negligible minority few was being used to judge the generality of all Fulanis in Ghana. A certain stereotype of the Fulani was created in those days, that portrayed them as robbers. Driving along the Bole – Bamboi road on a hot sunny afternoon, I saw a man who I thought was a Fulani, clearly stranded in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to give him a lift, but my companion vehemently resisted my compassionate suggestion for us to help him, with the excuse that “these people are robbers” such was the depth of the stereotype.

Similarly, if careful examination is not conducted to establish the real motives of these animals in human skin who attack and kill innocent people but judge them simply because they claim to be doing so on behalf of one religion or the other, we might inadvertently be promoting a general fear for very peaceful people who profess a particular religion, come from a particular geographical location or are of a particular skin colour. This can easily become a social and psychological danger.  The fear generated by terrorism can be exacerbated by a population's diversity if there is distrust between groups, categories and classification of citizens.

This is why I believe that the veracity or otherwise of these many terrorist organizations, some of who are parading in the name of Islam must be examined. For instance, if I commit, a crime outside the borders of Ghana, the mere fact that I pronounce myself a Ghanaian, will not make me a Ghanaian. I would be subjected to an identity attest. What nationality is the passport I hold? If indeed I hold a Ghanaian passport, did I acquire it through fraudulent means? And so on. Similar questions may be asked if I profess to be a Doctor, lawyer etc. and yet all my actions go contrary to the dictates of medicine or law.

Similarly, it’s about time to subject the claims of Al – Qaida, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, ISIS and the rest of them to a test to establish if indeed they represent Islam and its views as they claim. And that test must be done using the teaching of the Quran and the Prophet of Islam.

It must first be understood that terrorism, in fact, spans the entire world, and manifests itself in various forms. Its perpetrators do not fit any stereotype. Those who hold human lives cheap, and have the power to expend human lives, appear at different levels in our societies. The frustrated employee who kills his colleagues in cold-blood or the oppressed citizen of an occupied land who vents his anger by blowing up a school bus are terrorists.

The pilot who intentionally crashes 147 precious lives to death, the politician who uses age-old ethnic animosities between groups of people to consolidate his position, the head of state who orders “carpet bombing” of entire cities, the exalted councils that choke millions of civilians to death by wielding the insidious weapon of sanctions, are rarely punished for their crimes against humanity. They are not even called agents of terror.
 

In my view, it is this narrow definition of terrorism that implicates only individuals and groups, that have caused Muslims to be associated with acts of destruction and terror in the popular media. Often, the religion of Islam is held responsible for the acts of a fringe minority among Muslims. How can a faith that has over 1.2 billion followers the world over, and over 7 million in America, actually advocate the killing and maiming of innocent people? Could Islam, whose name itself stands for “peace” and “submission to God”, encourage its adherents to work for death and destruction? 

For too long, have we relied on stereotypical images in the news media and in Hollywood films, for answers to these pertinent questions. It is time now to look at Islam and its teachings and not some other sources to determine whether Islam does indeed advocate violence and whether or not these criminals are indeed Muslims.

I am no Islamic scholar, I cannot even pretend to be one, but my constant reading of the  Holy Quran  clearly shows in Chapter  6 vrs151 for instance, that  Muslims are instructed thus, ……. “…Do not take life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom……” Clearly the Quran and for that matter Islam considers all life forms as sacred. The sanctity of human life is accorded a special place among all other forms of life.

Furthermore, the Quran teaches that the foremost basic right of any human being is the right to live as stated clearly in chapter 5 Vrs 32  “……if any one killed another person - unless it is for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he has killed the whole of mankind: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole of mankind…….”
 

This is the extent and quality of the value of a single human life, so much so that the Qur’an equates the taking of even one human life, with killing all of humanity. In very clear unambiguous language, the Qur’an prohibits homicide. The taking of a criminal’s life by the state in order to administer justice is required to uphold the rule of law, and the peace and security of the society. Only a proper and competent court can decide whether an individual has forfeited his right to life by disregarding the right to life and peace of other human beings.

Even in a state of war, Islam enjoins that one deals with the enemy nobly on the battlefield. Islam has drawn a clear line of distinction between the combatants and the non-combatants of the enemy country. As far as the non-combatant population is concerned such as women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructions of the Prophet are as follows: “Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman”  “Do not kill the monks in monasteries” or “Do not kill the people who are sitting in places ­­­­­­­­of worship.”
 

Again the concept of Jihad is one that has for centuries been misunderstood even by some Muslims. By Jihad Islam simply enjoins upon its believers to strive utmost, in purifying themselves, as well as in establishing peace and justice in the society. A Muslim can never be at rest while there is injustice and oppression around her. Martin Luther King Jr., quite aptly put it,
“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”
 

Islam enjoins upon all Muslims to work actively to maintain the balance in which God created everything. However, regardless of how legitimate the cause may be, the Qur’an categorically denounces the killing of innocent people. Terrorizing the civilian population, whether by small groups or by states, can never be termed as jihad and can never be reconciled with the teachings of Islam.

Now let's subject  Al-Qaeda, Al-shabab, Boko Haram, ISIS etc,to a test.

TEST 1.

Quran Chapter  6 vrs151 “…Do not take life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom……”

QUESTION 1. Do these groups (Al-Qaeda, Al-shabab, Boko Haram, ISIS etc,) take the lives of innocent people unjustly?

ANSWER: YES.    QUESTION 2: Is that what Islam teaches? ANSWER: No

 TEST 2

Quran chapter 5 vrs 32
“……if any one killed another person - unless it is for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he has killed the whole of mankind: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole of mankind…….”
 

QUESTION 1: Do these groups (Al-Qaeda, Al-shabab, Boko Haram, ISIS etc,) “kill people even when it isn’t for murder or for causing mischief in the land” ANSWER: Yes. QUESTION 2: Is that what Islam teaches? ANSWER: No.

TEST 3

The prophet of Islam tells his followers that even in war situations “……Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman”  “Do not kill the monks in monasteries” or “Do not kill the people who are sitting in places ­­­­­­­­of worship( including churches and synagogues).”

QUESTION 1: Do these groups (Al-Qaeda, Al-shabab, Boko Haram, ISIS etc,) kill old persons, children, women, monks, and people in places of worship?

ANSWER: Yes  QUESTION 2: Is that what Islam teaches?  ANSWER: No.

THEREFORE:

Al-Qaeda, Al-shabab, Boko Haram, ISIS etc are not following the teachings of Islam! They are crude murderers, simple!

Terrorists may use religious or political labels, but no one should be deceived by their wily ways and treacherous guiles. They have nothing to do with religion. They are the enemies of peace. They must be combated at every level as advocated by Islam, the religion of peace.

May the souls of every victim of terror rest in peace and may Allah help us find an antidote to this menace.

I am a muslim, the closest I have ever come to a knife is in the kitchen, the closest I have ever come to a gun is when I watch Military men match on Independence day.