Act of hypocrisy

Terrorists have no religion and this is something that needs to be understood clearly by all

The crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320 into the French Alps this week, which killed all 150 people on board, was a tragedy. But it also brought out acts of extreme hypocrisy and bigotry. As soon as reports came out stating that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who deliberately crashed the plane was not a Muslim, the crash was declared not to be an act of terrorism. It is unclear what Lubitz’s religion had to do with terrorist actions. We can be almost certain that had it been shown that he had connections with Islamic groups, this would not have been the case.

The stereotyping that we see is becoming frightening. Essentially, terrorism has become an act which the world holds is carried out just by Muslims. In doing so, the world ignores the numerous acts of murder and mayhem which, say, the state of Israel has carried out over the years against hapless Palestinians.

There also seemed to be an anxiety to associate Lubitz, who apparently suffered from severe depression, with a particular religion. Even now some conjecture as to this is being eked out by the media despite the lack of evidence. This tendency has to be challenged. There has been too much of it in recent years. Persons of other religions, as the Germanwings crash proves, are quite capable of terrible acts of violence motivated by various factors. It is this that brought the plane down to its terrifying end. Right now, we see what amounts to virtual disappointment at least in some sections of the global media that the French prosecutor has denied that Lubitz had any Muslim connections. The bias is coming through loud and clear. A louder voice against these tendencies needs to be raised across the world and it must be ensured there is more balance in the coverage of events. This balance was completely missing as news of the crash broke. Indeed, deliberate attempts at manufacturing what people wanted to hear seemed to have taken place. Terrorists have no religion and could be loosely associated with any belief. This is something that needs to be understood clearly by all.

Published in The Express Tribune, March  30^th,  2015.

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