Tragedy in Mumbai

I am sure by now all have heard about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India’s largest city and financial capital. Over 170 people have been reported killed and the Muslim terrorists made it a point to not only go after Western interests, but also the fledgling Jewish population in India.

While the majority of the deaths have been local Indians, 5 Jews were killed at a Jewish Center and it is absolutely stunning to see that the radicals will stop at nothing. India and Pakistan are no strangers to conflict and the Kashmir region has been a great source of discontent, but I am pretty sure this is the first time that Jews have been targeted in India by Muslim radicals.

While some will no doubtingly point to US and Israeli foreign policy as somehow responsible for these tragedies, the explanation falls short in understanding how 170 people lost their lives.

Terrorists like the ones killed or captured in Mumbai operate on a different moral compass. No amount of justification or explanation can be provided when ordinary civilians’ lives are permanently shattered. Shattered mind you for radical and religious beliefs. No matter of reasoning can convince me that the policies in Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan, West Bank or anywhere else for that matter is a justification for the lives of 170 people. There is no defense, there is no argument and there is barely room for discussion.

The civilized world has been under attack from a group of people that can be best described as barbarians. Yet, the Mongol horde – barbarians – systematically took over the Russian people, a culture much more ‘civilized’ and ‘sophisticated’. There has been a precedent before and just because one group of people is dubbed inferior, should not provide a blanket of mental security or the notion that we are somehow safe due to our superiority. The number of countries that have experienced some kind of terror attack is growing and ranges anywhere from Tanzania and Indonesia to Spain and Saudi Arabia. No one is safe.

The civilized world either recognizes immediately that we are all collectively under attack and for once put aside the senseless multi-culturalism or follow in the path of the ancient Rus.