Terrorism and resistance are two different things. Resistance by the people of an occupied country likePalestine, Golan and Iraq today and South Lebanon yesterday, is a sacred and fundamental right and duty in allcultures, old and new, and enjoys sanction even in international law laid down by western countries althoughthis right will be invoked only when a western country will fall under occupation. Palestinians have everyright to take recourse to all forms of resistance against the West-backed zionist zealots who have stolentheir lands and do not let them live in peace in even the remaining 22 per cent of their historic homeland.
Apart from this, there is senseless violence by some Muslims which is justified in various ways, political,religious and historical. This violence has received moral and material support from some wealthy andinfluential people in Muslim majority societies, especially the Gulf and Pakistan. Insurgencies in places likethe Philippines, Pattani, Valley of Kashmir, have no meaning and have no hope of success either. Thesesenseless movements have only succeeded in butchering their own youth and offering local governments a handleto unleash a reign of terror against their innocent Muslim populations.
It is a matter of shame for people in Muslim majority states that when sons of Muslim minorities approach themfor help to build modern institutions like colleges, universities, research and media houses and the like,there is no response except for funds meant to build mosques and madrasahs. But if a few insane hotheads forma guerrilla organisation and go begging for funds with concocted tales of persecution they would not bedisappointed until very recently. The correct approach should have been to tell these youth to go back totheir homelands and make adjustment with their majority communities and governments, join civil societygroups working for non-violent change, and live as useful and law-abiding citizens and try to earn respect andrights through hard work and dedicated service to their societies and countries. But, alas, this did nothappen.
The Muslim press all over the world was and continues to be agog with stories of Muslim persecution, somepurely concocted. When I personally checked some of these cases, including the Valley of Kashmir, they turnedout to be incorrect and grossly exaggerated. I do not deny that there is persecution and human rightsviolation. But rights are denied to Muslims not just because of their religion but because they are the weak,uneducated and poor in their societies. They need to wage a long-term "greater jihad" against theirilliteracy and poverty.