{ முகநூல் கருத்துக்கள்}{ட்விட்டர் கருத்துக்கள்}

On December 27th, Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated during an election rally. Her death shocked a lot of people, but given the state Pakistan is in, it should have come as no surprise.

Many Muslim societies are in turmoil. In the Middle East and North Africa, everyday violence is no longer news. Deaths happen in dozens, sometimes even in hundreds. Sadly, not always shocking.

There are two major things happening here: One is the desire of the western powers (especially the US) to keep Middle East under its influence (primarily for Oil). The other thing that is happening is the rise of radicalism among Muslims. Both are co-related and both are undesirable.

As individuals and societies, what can we do? We can hope and pray some problems like Palestine are solved quickly and amicably - so that there are fewer issues on the platter for the societies to be radicalised.

We can hope and pray some governments in the Middle East (especially Saudi Arabia) show more independence from the West and take leadership role on regional issues.

We must also hope and pray credible religious leaders emerge from the Muslim communities who preach against violence in the name of Islam.

Lastly, we must also hope and pray the people world over - not just in the Muslim communities - realise imperialistic tendencies of some powers (however deceptively projected) is not just a muslim concern, but a world concern.