Terrorists don't live in an Island, they are among you, renting your property, strolling the streets and chatting with you at the local market: Surely the least you could do is pay a little more attention!
On a perfect Saturday morning on September 21st, patrons at various spots at the Westgate mall were blissfully having coffees, chatting animatedly and spending time with their loved ones, completely unaware of what was to befall upon them. Then horror struck. The horror was brought upon by a group of very well armed, well organized terrorists who obviously - before that day - had planned every detail of their heinous act.
In storming the mall the terrorists of Westgate sent patrons disoriented. It took some time and before the victims could even grasp what was going on. Shooting randomly at innocent children, at women, at non-Muslims, at Muslims, the massacre began.
(Image courtesy of BBC)
The siege that ensued for the next four days has not only shaken Kenya to the core but has gripped the world's attention indeed. And in unison the world and Kenyans in particular responded with utter shock, utter fear and utter condemnation. Visibly loud in condemnation was also the Muslim community in Kenya.
But I dare ask the question, is condemnation really enough? I say not. Condemn yes but for heaven sake do something, anything, however insignificant to nip it in the bud; this terrible despicable acts of terrorism. Do something to ‘cut the seedling before the tree grows strong’, so to speak.
Obviously before storming the mall, those who slaughtered the innocent at Westgate, were tenants of a building, neighbors, friends or acquaintances to somebody somewhere. Had we been nosy, they would have probably not made it that far. Had we cared to look closely at someone’s jittery behavior, had we paid more attention to their movements, had we spared a moment to spy, who knows, maybe this would have been avoided. Wishful thinking, you say. I say, do the right thing, snoop around and don't be shy to be nosy. Being aware of our surrounding is such a small price to pay for the general good and safety of our world, of our country.
I, especially, would like to see significant nosiness from the Muslim community. Muslims have to be willing to snoop on that fellow you suspect may be harboring thoughts of terrorism. That person who attends the mosque with you who is a little too passionate in opinions of how his community/religion/race is being targeted by the larger community; or whoever he deems to be the enemy of his 'minority'. I dare say, it is especially right at the door of the Muslims, to be willing to give up their family members who get a little too 'radicalized'.
Of course this should not be misconstrued to mean that those with strong opinions are automatically branded terrorists. It is a free world after all. But come on, we all know it starts somewhere.
I dare give an example of a well known radical Muslim cleric who is on the radar of the FBI and by extension our own Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU). Sadly this cleric is left to roam freely and radicalize more youths despite his open support for Somalia's Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab. It was Al-Shabaab's men who slaughtered the innocent at Westage mall. He does not just stop at supporting them. He believes in their 'cause'.
In an interview with Peter Taylor of the BBC's Panorama program which aired days after the Westgate terror attack, the cleric publicly declared that Al-Shabaab were 'justified' in what they did. In his own words, "They (Alshabaab) have every right to invade....eh stop an invasion in their own country", he said. "It is justified in Islam, we cannot be slaughtered everywhere in the world and just sit and cry. We have to react" Yet this guy is free, under the protective blanket of the larger Muslim community. If you think I am speculating, I bet if he’s arrested today, the community would be united in condemnation.
But let us leave it up to the security agencies to decide on the radical clerics. What can you and I do? We can still be nosy neighbors and open our eyes to the goings on around us. Not just in terrorism but all crimes going around us. We can be vigilant. If they (security agencies) refuse to act on it, then we would have done our civic duty of being nosy. Otherwise, it is 'God help us' if those tasked with our internal security, continue to ignore the tell-tale signs of those who clearly harbor dangerous ideologies.
Just my two cents, I am not a security expert but I believe to fight terrorism we must really put our safety above any religious, tribe or family affiliations. You are your brother's keeper yes but more importantly you are your neighbor's spy. Have a nosy day.
