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Eye opening article in saudi newspaper
I will not apologize!
by Khaled Almaeena

The Paris attacks that killed 130 people and injured
hundreds of others are still capturing headlines.
They also occupy the top spot in social media the world
over.

The attack came days after suicide bombers blew up about
40 people in a Beirut suburb and before that a Russian
plane was blown up over Sinai killing more than 200
people. Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) took responsibility
for all of these murderous acts.

I received several phone calls from Western journalists
asking for the Saudi point of view on these murderous
attacks to which my reply was that all of us condemn these
inhumane and ugly acts which do not serve any purpose,
but on the contrary malign our society and our religion.
One caller asked if we will apologize. I almost screamed at
him. Apologize for what?!

 Are we responsible for the
actions of mysterious groups that destroy and kill?
Are we responsible for all the evil acts being committed and
falsely attributed to Islam?! I am not going to apologize, I
said.
Let an international investigation be conducted and the
findings made public. I am not a believer in conspiracy
theories, but since the 9/11 attack until now many
questions remain unanswered.

How is it that after every major incident a passport is found
intact?
As if people walk the streets with their passports in their
pockets and the passports are made of nonflammable
material that is resistant to fires and bomb attacks.
In New York, it was a Saudi passport; in Paris it was a
Syrian passport which later was found to be a fake and
there were 11 passports with the same name and number!

We have had enough of preachers of hate and ignorant
politicians inciting animosity against Muslims and ranting
anti-Islamic rhetoric that is racist and full of hate.
Enough of ignorant people going on the rampage uttering
jingoistic chants forgetting the complicity of their own
governments in creating Al-Qaeda and Daesh-like
organizations and propping up dictatorships in the region,
dismantling armies and social order and creating vacuum
that led to strife.

I stand with the entire world in condemning the wanton,
ruthless and mindless destruction of innocent human lives,
but please do not ask me to apologize for something for
which I am not responsible.

Have the Jews apologized for Netanyahu’s daily massacre
of Palestinians?

Has the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi apologized for
the brutal holocaust inflicted on the Muslims of Myanmar?

Has Indian Prime Minister Modi apologized for the
massacre of Muslims in Gujarat or the lynching of people
alleged to have eaten beef?

Have Bush, Blair, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz and Bremer
apologized for the death of a million Iraqis?

While the world rises up in arms against the cowardly
murders of the innocent in Paris, no one protested when
over a 100 Turks were blown to bits by Daesh in Ankara.

This selective grief is not palatable to me and to many
around the world.
These acts are carried out by people
who are supposedly Muslims, but are mostly managed by
shadowy groups operating under the umbrella of Western
agencies.

They do not represent us.
I am not guilty, and therefore,
I will not apologize!
The writer is Editor-at-Large.
He can be reached at kalmaeena@saudigazette.com.sa

                  Shared by:  TariQQ Consult.