Searching Through the Debris

I find myself trying to write a blog at a time when I know I can't find the right words. And yet I feel compelled to write something.

I have been reading about today's car bombing in Pakistan. Yes, another car bomb.

But this one shook me.

Earlier today, a car exploded outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. Early reports indicate at least 6 dead and approximately 35 injured.

Many suspect that al-Qaida is behind this bombing.

Background information:

You might remember back in September of 2005 when Denmark published some political cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. These cartoons infuriated some followers of Islam because they believe it is wrong to depict Muhammad in any way. To do so could lead to idolatry, and for that reason it is prohibited.

These cartoons, appearing in Danish newspapers, have sparked riots and deaths on more than one occasion in the past three years.

But why now, you might ask? Well, supposedly, al-Qaida bigshot Ayman al-Zawahri encouraged Muslims to attack Danish targets because of these caricatures of Muhammad. According to Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080602/ap_on_re_as/pakistan;_ylt=Avr.4yXzmyqMq0wcvWk.9mwZO7gF),
IntelCenter reports that al-Zawahri recently said, "Denmark went too far in its aggression against Muslims by repeatedly slandering the Prophet, God's peace and prayers be upon him. I urge and incite every Muslim who can harm Denmark to do so in support of the Prophet."

So presumably, the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, was blown to pieces because a Danish newspaper depicted Muhammad in a way that some Muslims (including al-Qaida) did not like.

Here are a couple pictures of the aftermath:
















(Mian Khursheed/Reuters)

















(AFP/Aamir Qureshi)

So why does this bombing sadden me so much? Why this one when there have been so many others like it?

I don't know exactly.

Maybe it's because I recognize how senseless it is. How pointless it is to blow up an embassy in Pakistan because of something printed on paper in Denmark. Seriously, what did this bombing accomplish? 6 dead. Guess how many of them are from Denmark. Maybe one. The blast killed two Pakistani policemen, a Pakistani cleaner, a Pakistani handyman, and they are still trying to identify the others. One might have been from Denmark, but they aren't sure.

I think I'm also saddened because there is no end in sight. These cartoons were first published nearly 3 years ago. People died because of it then. And now, after a Danish newspaper reprints some of these images, now al-Qaida is calling for Muslims to murder more. All to "support the Prophet."

(I must also stop and wonder whether the irony is lost on these extremists. They are blowing people up to defend their Prophet because somebody depicted him with a turban shaped like a bomb. Hmmm. It's like a kid telling a bully, "I don't like you because you punch me." And then the bully gets mad and decks the kid.)

Maybe I'm just saddened because I don't understand how people can continue to adhere to these beliefs. I fully understand that not all Muslims are willing to blow up cars outside of embassies. In fact, the majority of those who follow Islam do not support the extremists. And yet, far too many are willing to kill for their God (and their Prophet), and I really don't know how we can change that.

















(AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)

The picture above shows a peaceful protest that occurred in Pakistan today, the day the car bomb exploded outside the Danish embassy. The banner declares that Pakistan should sever all diplomatic ties with Denmark. And I'm fine with that. If 300 men want to march in the streets, carrying a banner calling for a severing of diplomatic ties, that's fine by me. In America, we call that freedom of speech. Or the right to assemble.

But I am not fine with more senseless killing. I am not fine with a terrorist leader calling for Muslims to kill anyone and anything affiliated with a country that printed something disagreeable in a newspaper.

As one who follows a different God, I want to ask these Muslims, "Why must you kill to defend your Prophet, to defend your God? Why is your God not powerful enough to withstand slander? Why must you exact revenge for your God? Why must judgment come from your hands?"

But even more than those questions, I want to ask these bombers, "What do you think you are accomplishing? Do you honestly think you are doing something good? "

Denmark is not going to stop printing their caricatures because of this. Instead, the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen (which is a sweet name, by the way), is left sounding like George W. Bush following September 11:

"We will not give in to terrorists," says Rasmussen.

And so it continues...

Other embassies will most likely be evacuated before nightfall. And even once things calm down in Islamabad (you could certainly make a pun out of that name, huh?), the enmity will spill forth in another city, outside another embassy, or hotel, or streetcorner cafe...wherever another extremist decides to park a car full of explosives, or detonate a bomb strapped to his chest, all because someone is telling them they must destroy life in order to "defend their Prophet."

I think I've figured out the main reason why I am so bothered by this bombing. Typically, the more I think about something, the more it begins to make sense to me. But I can't pinpoint the logic behind violence like this. I can't find enough justification to even begin to comprehend the motives at work here.

And yet things like this keep happening.

I really don't understand why. And I can't accept that.



--Thanks for reading