It wasn’t a work of joy. On occasion, there are things that should, or rather must, be done.
On Friday evening, Bill Roggio and I began discussing a presentation that to the two of us, clearly fit into this category. Our effort was to document, in a visual manner, al-Qaeda’s attacks since 1998 when the International Islamic Front declared war on you, me, and all those who refuse their radical view of Islam.
The result is a presentation available at Winds of Change.NET in the form of a Flash presentation.
It documents 30 attacks by al-Qaeda and its IIF affiliates since February of 1998. It by no means includes all al-Qaeda attacks during that time. Or all acts of terrorism. Instead, it’s a presentation of select acts of violence in 16 different countries and at the cost of thousands of lives. 4895 lives lost. More than 12345 wounded. As Bill notes in the accompanying post at Winds, many of the victims of al-Qaeda’s terrorism are Muslim. Whether they are collateral damage or purposefully targeted, given al-Qaeda’s ideological intolerance, is not as significant as the response of those under attack.
It’s that thought that remains with me at this hour after completing the presentation. When attacked, we have responded and altered the plans of Sheikh bin Laden and his band of falsely righteous cohorts. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have fallen in the battle to defend us, and the world, against an enemy all too comfortable with indiscriminate killing. Like many of you, and our nations leaders, I’m confident that we can (and will) win the war. That being the case, I can’t help but believe that those who sit by and watch while their religion is abducted for pure evil, while their sons and daughters are taught that death is preferred to life, and that it is morally excusable to commit acts of terrorism are the key to ending the war sooner rather than later, and at a lower cost in lives and turmoil. There are many Muslims who stand with us against al-Qaeda and the IIF. More are needed.
While on the subject, I’ll note that the musical accompaniment for the presentation is in Arabic. It’s title is Mohammad al-Mustafa or Mohammad the Chosen One. It wasn’t selected to stir the pot, so to speak, or to enflame the passions of those who will disagree with our editorial perspectives on the war or any other matter. It was simply a moving piece that, from my perspective at least, speaks volumes in Arabic and should reinforce a desire to see Islam no longer held captive by terrorist. To the ear unaccustomed to Arabic it is simple, resonating and perhaps somewhat haunting.
When looking at the data presented, it is minimal and without commentary or editorial opinion, as much as possible. Tell us what you think; provide the editorial commentary on your blog or in the comments section here or at Winds.
And to close, I’d like to thank Bill for the opportunity. As he notes, we shared a vision and the effort. We struggled with the content and its weight in sheer loss and strife. In the end, more importantly, we share a vision for the end of the war, for life without terrorism and for the role, even when insignificant, that we can play in helping to get the message out. That is a joy.
(Originally posted at The Fourth Rail.)
