It is always the utter senselessness of such an attack that we are struck by first – where innocents lose their lives without reason, and families are left bereaved and utterly devastated in a matter of minutes. The most recent of these dreadful and utterly senseless incidents took place in Egypt, in a place of worship – which makes it all the more incomprehensible and heartrending.
It is the worst terror attack ever to take place in Egypt – the target was a Sufi shrine – the birthplace of Sheikh Eid al-Jariri. He is thought to be the founder of Sufism in the Sinai Peninsula area. At first, there were blasts in the building next to the mosque in the region between Bir al-Abed and the city of al-Arish. Then, as worshipers fled the site, gunmen fired at them. The armed militants then entered the mosque and continued their killing spree and also fired at the ambulances as they carried away wounded worshipers. 235 people were killed and over a hundred others were wounded in the attack.
Though no one has yet claimed responsibility, this is said to be an ISIS-like killing. Militants connected to the ISIS often attack the Northern Sinai region. It was in October 2015 that a bomb downed a Russian passenger aircraft in this region; an attack that the Egyptian faction of ISIS had claimed responsibility for. In spite of such previous attacks, Egypt has rarely faced attacks on places of worship.
While there is a three-day mourning announced in Egypt, the country’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed to avenge the dead and restore security. "Heartbreaking loss of life in the cowardly massacre that took place in Egypt. Acts of barbarism and hatred in the name of God are acts against God himself." This was the reaction of European Parliament President Antonio Tajani. UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences for the victims of the heinous attack as did many other heads of state.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked that "those responsible for today's horrific attack to be swiftly brought to justice." Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas pledged support to the Egyptians in their “war against terrorism and against anyone who tries to harm Egyptian national security.
Sufism is a mystical form of Islam that concentrates on the spiritual closeness of the human being with God and encourages introspection. Sufism advocates the renunciation of worldly things and the purification of the soul. Great Sufi saints, philosophers, writers and poets have inspired generations of people from multiple faiths.
India has a great Sufi tradition that encompasses aspects of Hinduism, Sikhism and other faiths. This inclusive aspect of Sufism is the very thing that extremists feel threatened by. The inherent nature of Sufism is such that it preaches tolerance, acceptance of others and pluralism which are antithetical to the orthodoxy and religious extremists of all types.
Earlier as well, attacks on Sufi shrines have been carried out by militants with extremist ideologies who want to impose a narrow, strict and archaic interpretation of Islam upon the people. The past year has seen such attacks on Sufi shrines in areas of Pakistan as well. In February, 72 innocents including 30 children were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine.
According to experts, Sufism is synonymous with “love, peace, tolerance,” which tend to be ideologies antithetical to militant extremism; which then feel the need to attack this loving and accepting form of Islam. In particular, the Islamic State abhors Sufism because it believes that only its own fundamentalist form of Islam is valid and that other expressions of faith are inimical to their beliefs. This resurgence fundamentalism and rejection of liberal, accepting and pluralistic ideologies appears to be a global phenomenon – the very worst of this resurgence is manifested in the ISIS, Al Qaeda, the Taliban and similar militant outfits.
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