A day of rememberance

On 6th August 1945, the a nuclear bomb was dropped over the city of Hiroshima, the first time ever that nuclear energy was ever used in such manner. Incinerating 60,000 people in an instant and causing the death of a further 90,000 people due to radiation, this event is widely acknowledged as the main factor in ending the war. Let is give a moment of silence as a form of respect to those who died then. When wars are fought, sadly it's the innocents that suffer the most. The 150,000 people who died in Hiroshima are generally not soldiers.

There are many views concerning the Hiroshima and Nagasaki incident. Debating them now will be pointless and won't change anything. I myself am divided over the issue. The fact that 150,000 people died, 90,000 of them slowly and painfully horrifies me to no end. The fact that most of them are non-combatants makes things even worse. Yet, it ended the war fast and probably saved more lives than if an invasion of Japan took place.

I hate wars. I think they serve no purpose at all. I think my former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Muhammad was right. We as a human race should ban wars. As a civilization, we must move beyond our murderous instincts and deal with issues challenging us in a mature manner. Each successive wars only brings more hatred. Right now we have the war on terrorism. What would motivate a bunch of people to blow themselves up just so that they could kill a bunch of other people? I keep wondering about this, yet all I hear is more restrictions being put in place to the community that these suicide bombers belong too. Such measures will only breed discontent and marginalise the very people you need to reach out to.

I'm a Muslim and I'm proud to be one. I strongly believe in my religion, yet I do not force my beliefs onto others. Let each choose their own way in life. Yet with all these events happening worldwide, even in Malaysia I feel a little choked in and defensive. I love UK and London, yet now as a Muslim, I don't think I'll be very welcome there. The entire mass media seems filled with articles who are all anti-Muslim, which is very sad. Islam is a very beautiful religion. Sadly, the followers are not necessarily so. If you talk about living in peace and harmony, it's everywhere in the Koran and Sunnah. If you talk about gender equality and respect for women, it is also there. Yes, Pakistan might have honour-killings (a disgraceful way to use the word honour, I believe) and Saudi Arabia doesn't allow women to drive. Please understand though. No where in the teachings of Islam does it tell followers to do as such. These are cultural values rather than Islamic values.

Perhaps I've deviated from my original subject but to me, war and Islam seems inescapably linked at the moment. I keep hoping that tomorrow will bring a better future for the entire human race but I get more and more discouraged every day. At the moment, I can only pray...