Shadows of 9/11

Today is the sad anniversary of 9/11 2001. It’s been 5 years since the world was thrown into Terror after the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon by nihilistic radicals.

On that unparalleled day of sorrow, 19 suicide bombers hijacked 4 American jetliners American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93, five on each, except for United Airlines Flight 93, which had four hijackers and then flew the jets into the aforementioned locations as well as into a field near the town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania (which is believed to have resulted from the hijackers deliberate either crashing of the aircraft or by losing control of it as they fought with the passengers)causing the death of over 2,900 people and damage to public property worth Billions of USD.

The United States claims that Osama bin laden and al-Qaeda are to be held accountable for the attacks. It is claimed also that he has declared a Jihad (holy war) against the US, and a Fatwa calling for the killing of American civilians, their motives being U.S. support of Israel, U.S. military occupation of the Arabian Peninsula and U.S. aggression against the Iraqi people.

Over the past five years, the fight against terror has become increasingly desperate, with the raging war in Afghanistan and Iraq and the global fever of the “War on Terror” as well as the fear of Islam. Intelligence has improved and much of al- Qaeda’s command has been destroyed, but the al-Qaeda franchise or should I say, brand-name has gained a lot of publicity. We have had the introduction of desperate measures by the authorities to reduce the risk factor as well as educating the public about the threat we face by the over usage of words like nine eleven, burqa, jihad, Taliban, ground zero, Let's roll, Homeland security and Weapons of Mass Destruction aka WMD. Whatever name we call it will not change the face of terror. Let me summarize it by stating this well known fact- Intelligence and security measures alone will never close the gap on terror.

I want to use this medium to pray that God protects us all from terror, and may He give the families and friends of the people whose lives were lost in this heart-breaking episode the fortitude to bear the loss. Amen.