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Myopic Mercy Cannot Undo Bad Karma
Scotland freed the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber last week so he could die at home in Libya. "Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown," a Scottish official said. Did Scotland do the right thing? Should we have any mercy for mass murderers who are terminally ill?
Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi is a mass murderer., that is beyond doubt His release was perfunctory, that is also beyond doubt. A Scottish prison would have, no doubt, facilitated copious amounts of morphine and demerol for a terrorist in the last throes of metastatic prostate cancer. He would have died much more mercifully in jail than the victims of the Pan Am flight he conspired to destroy. While the Scots knew they were gifting a convicted terrorist the comforts of home and family in his last days, they ended up gifting him much more--a heroic welcome and a martyr's narrative that could only end up inspiring many more generations to come. What a tragic error!
As always, we view this action in the varying contexts of faith and realpolitik. A believer in Indic faiths -- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism or Sikhism -- understands that the terrorist has accumulated terrible karmas with his actions. Whether he is meted out punishment or not, eternal empirics dictate that every action has an equal reaction. He must suffer for his maledictory actions, and payback may occur in this lifetime or the next. A horrific act can only but wrap the soul in extra layers that will need to be shed over lifetimes to resume its ultimate destination towards moksha, or nirvana -- liberation. Indeed, vindictive punishment by mere mortals can too saddle those inflicting punishment with negative karmas, even if they seem justified. Behold the importance of ahimsa, or non-violence, in the Hindu ethos.
But realpolitik is eternally relevant to those of us that inhabit this world of maya, or illusion. And our governments, military, police--our homeland security--are entrusted to protect and serve their citizens. This is a dharmic trust that cannot be eschewed. When the Indian government released three Pakistani terrorists after an Indian Airlines jet was hijacked, one of the released, Maulana Masood Azhar went on to found the Jaish-e-Mohammed. That Islamist group attacked Indian soil on countless occasions taking scores of lives. Capitulation, even if justified to save lives of the passengers, cost India a decade of terror that still continues. Dharma dictates that a punishment be complete and meaningful.
Scotland's myopic mercy may pacify a conscience now, but may cost our global community dearly tomorrow.
By
Aseem Shukla
|
August 26, 2009; 11:04 PM ET
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Posted by: i_rampersad | September 3, 2009 11:42 AM
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Great post Aseem
Posted by: shantanu20 | September 3, 2009 11:11 AM
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Excellent post.
However, the decision to release Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi had nothing to do with mercy, everything to do with OIL, also spelled "British Petroleum," generally the determining factor in UK Middle East policy, regardless of the issue.
This was seen most recently in
British "interventions" in the Iranian election, on which I posted here extensively.
Ain't no shame in their game. Never has been.
The world's largest oil company, BP has always supported mass murderers, started the chain of events that brought us to the Iran we have today. It is guilty of countless human rights violations, has gotten away with murder right here on US soil. (See Wikipedia.)
Lybian oil cried out to BP, and BP did hear.
Read, and weep.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6814974.ece
We are shortly to pursue our own oil lust, normalizing relations with Lybia. That great bastion of democracy, Quadaffi, he who recently opined that emigration would bring about the Islamization of the world, sparing him the expense and effort of violence.
That great racist murderer, he who all but eradicated tiny Chad, arranged a hero's welcome for the mass murderer. He has always supported terrorism, always will, no matter how much he may pay out when the victims are primarily Euro and AmeriChristians. He renders unto those to whom he must render. When the victims are Africans of any religion, or Jews, he needs to render nothing for the murder he supported.
What will the UK get in return? Oil, in the short run. What will we get if we welcome Quaddafi and his Little Green Book back into the fold? In the short run, that which the Brits will get.
In the long run? The ancients had a way of foretelling. It rested on the notion of Karma.
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | September 1, 2009 3:22 AM
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Enjoyed the post. Karma must be faced and guilt cannot be escaped. The divine law is eternal as written here.
Posted by: vyas | August 29, 2009 11:22 AM
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I admire the aggressive pursuit of truth that generally characterizes American media. This connection between oil and terrorism and western governments is very disturbing and more so when most of us feel so disempowered to do anything. We must rely on the media to intervene on our behalf. I am grateful for this excellent discussion on the issue.