A general outcry can be heard all over the Muslim world on account of the conduct of the Israelis in Palestine. What is happening shows their stark contempt for the millions of Muslims around the globe and for the inability of those Muslims to do anything about it. The missile strike against Rantisi came about less than a month after the killing of Ahmad Yaseen. Both operations took place in broad daylight – political executions carried out without the least sense of shame or restraint.

In fact, the Israeli government takes pride in what it did, and the Bush Administration all but congratulated them for it.

Some political analysts once thought that the fall of the Soviet Union would mean a weakening in the relationship between America and Israel. However, the pretense of alleged “Islamic terrorism” has entrenched that alliance even further and given it a new vitality. It is now confirmed as a permanent strategy and not a matter of transient political expediency.

There is another face to this violence that is embodied in the operations of the Coalition forces in Iraq, in their complete disregard for human life and they blindly bombing of any targets they find suspect. Since they are operating in unfamiliar territory, everything is suspect. This aggravates the loss of life, bringing about thousands of casualties among women and children, not to mention others.

In the face of such events, we cannot blame the Muslims for crying out in anguish and for trying to seek a solution. It is doubtless that no one is happy with what is going on and no accepts the idea that it should continue. Many intelligent people are at a loss to know where to go from here. They do not know what needs to be done to solve these problems. They try to placate the frustrations of the public as best they can and to calm the people down. However, the Muslim world may pay the price for these frustrations that could very well turn it upon its head in the not so distant future.

Many people are so overcome by recent events that they cannot bring themselves to think sensibly. This makes them susceptible to ideas from far afield. There is already a sector of the population thinking that there is nothing worse than what is happening today who are coming to the unfortunate conclusion that it no longer matters what happens.

The negative effects of misguided American and Israeli policies are not limited to the areas where the events are taking place. They spill over into the minds and hearts of thousands of Muslims around the globe who see what is going on as a direct assault upon themselves and upon their religion and as naked contempt for their very existence.

The worldview of these people is not conducive to their developing coherent plans of action to chart their future.

The assassinations that are taking place are not merely assassinations of individuals and of symbols. It is the assassination of peace of mind – of any sense of security and stability – for the mental state of the Muslims around the world.

There might be something indicative to this in the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he said: “The Jews do not envy you for anything else as they envy you for your greeting of peace and for your saying ‘amen’.”

They were jealous of the Muslims’ greeting of peace. It is well-known that such a greeting is not merely a word; it is an approach to life and a context within which the various sectors of Muslim society can work together.

These heavy-handed policies are working their ruinous effects on the Muslim world, instilling its societies with anxiety, tension, and instability. It could quite easily be a deliberate ploy to open the way for conflagrations to erupt between Muslims within Palestine and throughout the Muslim world.

It is critical that we think very carefully at this point about how we are going to thwart this ignoble scheme by fostering stability and by achieving security and peace of mind for the Muslim people. We must make it possible for them to fulfill the roles that are expected of them in a correct way that will allow them to act responsibly regarding their faith while alleviating the psychological pressures that have been brought on them by their oppression and dispossession.

The media is one of the important channels that need to be employed in this effort, and by right, a country’s media should represent the thoughts of all its citizens. It needs to be the clearest, most articulate expression of their feelings, their opinions, and their aspirations. It needs to share in their concerns and their pain. It must avoid at all costs carrying out the role of a conspiratorial enemy, providing programs that stupefy the masses and that distract them from their concerns with what excites their animal passions and baser instincts.

We can add to this that the Muslim world desperately needs a program of action for its future, both on the national and international level. We are living in an age governed by massive blocs of immense power.

Would we be wrong to say that the Muslim world is suffering from genuine impediments and incapacity with respect to developing its political, economic, technological, and military capabilities? Would it be wrong to say that the root of the problem lies not with its external enemies but with its want of a proper means to develop itself and face the future with all the challenges that it presents? These challenges are not merely going to take the form of aggressive and arrogant enemies.

We can take strength from the glad tidings that we have for the future. Such tidings can be beneficial in giving us hope for the future. We can use the promises given to us in our sacred texts to comfort the hearts of our young people and placate their fears.

However, it is necessary for us to then translate these hopes into positive and detailed programs of action for our individuals, our societies, our countries, and the Muslim world as a whole. The glad tidings of the future that our sacred texts promise to us are not some grant bequeathed to us at little cost to ourselves. They are not to be taken as a pretext for indolence and inactivity. They are a manifestation of Allah’s favor and a blessing for those who are patient, forbearing in hardship, and who strengthen one another. Allah is with the God-fearing.