Iran responds...two British hostages killed.
For ages I've been trying to work out why nobody kicks up a fuss about the British hostages that had been held for two years in Iraq. It was almost as if nobody cared, there would be a cursory news story about the latest video, a condemnation from the British Foreign Office, and then - nothing. These men were the forgotten.
I have to hand it to them, the Iranians are smart. When the Queen presented an award to Salman Rushdie a few years ago, the Iranians captured 11 British sailors and held a media circus with them that humiliated both Britain and the United States. On Friday, Ayotollah Khamenei called the British government the most evil on earth and Motaki has accused Britain and the United States of "interfering" with Iran's internal affairs. Then we hear of the deaths of two of the hostages. Nobody else would hold hostages for two years, feeding them and looking after them. If it has been al Qaeda or some crackpot movement in Iraq, they would have died a long tim ago. Instead, like winning cards they were held until it was prudent for them to be used. The Foreign Office knew it was the Iranians holding these five men but it did not make a big sensation of this as was the case with Ken Bigley for example. If you ask yourself why then you might begin to realise the scale of what is happening.
5 comments:
I don't know how Islamic it is to use human life as chess pieces.
It's ok when those pieces are mercenaries and besides, they knew the risks and were getting paid for it so don't worry - their own government wasn't.
Incorrect. الله tells us that we have the right to defend ourselves when attacked, but only until our enemy relents. All life is sacred, no matter its ideology. We, as humans, do not have the right to determine its purpose.
Abouzeide,
الله also tells us to fight those who fight us and that the punishment of a سيئة is a سيئة مثلها. It is not, as you say, until the enemy "relents" but when يجنحو للسلم which has not happened has it? The second two sentences you mention can be answered simply. You are basically repeating the notion that nobody except Allah has a right to take a life, which would be true were the phrase in the Qur'an, "except with a right" not added to the do not kill command. But as a result, humans do have a right, which means your conclusion is not true. How this is applied depends on the justice of the act which must be in accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
فان تنتازعتم في شيء فردوه الى الله و الرسول
You or I do not know the full story and can neither condemn nor praise such an act as just or unjust. Remember the story of the Prophet Moses in Surat al Kahf and the lesson he was taught. As you can see, all I've mentioned here is that a reaction to an event took place, but I haven't got a full picture of the details.
I don’t see how executing a captive for political motives is acting in the defense of Islam. The right that you mention is in the interest of protection, not a show of who is stronger. You and I, however, are looking at this differently. On a related but different note, Ayatollah Montazeri (as well as others) has issued a fatwa declaring the killing of protesters “forbidden”.
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