Re:Mumbai's great spirit will help city
rise above terror attacks, Nov. 30
Kudos for Haroon Siddiqui's uniquely informative and insightful article. Mumbai's carnage – India's 9/11 – shows terrorism cannot be contained exclusively by machine guns, fighter jets and smart bombs. After seven years of the Bush-masterminded war on terror, we are still facing more terror. It seems that the gunmen of the Mumbai massacre wanted to show the world more than anything else that the war on terror is an utter failure and cannot succeed.
Even if U.S. forces continue fighting in Afghanistan for years to come they will not succeed without costing the lives of thousands and thousands of innocent civilians. Al-Qaeda leaders are embedded in local villages and the tribes are committed to protecting them.
The only way to contain terrorists is through a carrot and stick approach – with the emphasis on the carrot before the stick. With Barack Obama soon to be the U.S. president, many terrorist groups seem to be willing to negotiate, as recent developments show. For example, Al-Jamaat Al-Islamiyya of Egypt has already abandoned its extremist views and sent a heartening appeal to Obama asking him to find solutions to the problems of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Other terrorist groups may follow suit.
The time has come for all – individuals, leaders, nations and terrorists – to leave the guns and bombs alone and come to the negotiating table before more and more blood is shed and lives are lost on both sides. Why not? After all didn't the IRA do exactly that?
Ibrahim Malabari, Toronto
Pakistani group blamed for
Mumbai attack, Nov. 30
In the context of Mumbai's massacre, which is highly sad, it makes a lot of sense if the governments of both India and Pakistan investigate this painful event together.
Jalaluddin S. Hussain, Brossard, Que.
The Chinese saying, "Kill one, frighten ten-thousand," is applicable to terrorism for obvious reasons. Today's terrorist in fact frightens millions with the help of the media. A terrorist is a criminal who seeks publicity. Publicity is their lifeblood. If media were not there to report terrorist acts and explain their political and social significance, terrorism would cease to exist. Each act would then be seen merely as an isolated criminal event.
The most important contribution the media could make to defeat terrorism would be to change such attitudes. Media should reach an international consensus on this. Otherwise, we just have to put our head down and keep on going.
Shaji Jose, Toronto
As a Muslim Canadian born in Mumbai, and having spent a large part of life over there, I can vouch for the indomitable spirit of the city. Mr. Siddiqui has put the entire episode in the right perspective. As he says at the end, "the humanity of the overwhelming majority should continue to triumph over the periodic savagery of some of its extremists," be they young terrorists of the Muslim faith or political terrorists who abet the deaths of thousands of Muslims.
Nadim Khan, Mississauga
Very noticeable indeed was the failure of Haroon Siddiqui to bring up the carnage at the Jewish Centre in Mumbai. I hope it was an oversight. Perhaps it didn't fit the easy explanation he created of Hindu vs Muslim violence and that this was just the Muslim side, in this instance, evening up the score.
How, then, to explain the planned and intended siege at the Jewish Centre within this tidy assumption? Were they just innocent bystanders? It is obvious they were not. A rabbi and his wife, among several others at the centre, were murdered in cold blood. It is a terrible insult and disservice to a very upset community to ignore this.
Dr. Joel Goldman, Toronto
