Starting yesterday afternoon, New York time, Mumbai (Bombay) came under a terrorist attack. Currently more than 100 people are dead and over 300 are wounded, with multiple hostage situations.
I can offer nothing that the news is not giving, except a prayer for the souls of the deceased; a prayer for the wounded; a prayer that those who perpetrated this act face wrath of the God whom they so easily defame.
Choose your mainstream news source: I’m using BBC, both for the local coverage, and to get some sense of distance from it all.
Sepia Mutiny links to sources of the hive mind to get information.
David gives some other Twitter searches.
Juan Cole gives some links as to the nature of terrorism in the city.
Rebecca gives a good rundown of who might be behind the attacks. It does appear to be an AQ-style operation. In particular, the targeting of a Chabad center speaks to international concerns, not local ones.
inna lillahi wa inna ilahi raji’un
I’ve just been reading your blog for the first time. Ironically, I found it in a google search for “kill muslims”, looking for the uh, pros and cons. I find violence disgusting but then, things like this in Mumbai really make my blood boil. Most rational non-Muslims would be fools not to come to the conclusion sooner or later that it’s “us or them.” I guess you could say, it’s hard to consider the people who perpetrated this as human beings like you or I, because to massacre innocent people is something I would rather be killed than take part in. And I think that’s true for every normal person I know.
Anyway, you seem like a good guy. I take it you’re a Muslim. I have no Islamic friends. I made one in college, but he decided he couldn’t stay my friend because I didn’t support Hamas. My family are Jewish and Marianite Lebanese, and I’m an atheist. So here’s my question:
Would you say that the people who did this belong to the same religion as you? And if not, who represents what the western world ought to think of as Islam — and why should the west perceive progressive Muslims like yourself to be the true face of the religion, when this death-culture of extreme conservatism, expansionism and destruction is so apparently all-pervasive and emanating from the Islamic countries?
Finally, why should the modern world not view Islam as an enemy seeking to annihilate it?
I know that’s a lot to answer for, but I’m interested to hear your response.