Give peace a chance
Posted 2 Sep 2013 by Walaa Idris
In response to Imtiaiz Ameen’s article in ConHome today HERE, I would like to say the following.
I am British and happened to be a Muslim too. However, I neither brand last week’s Parliament decision as a victory against the executive, nor feel euphoric and praise Miliband’s action, and I am most defiantly not a coward who turns a blind eye when innocent people are being killed in their thousands.
What happened on Thursday, was the representative correctly reading and reflecting the public’s mood and sentiment. Thursday was a good day for democracy. When the mother of parliaments led the way and showed the world democracy can sometimes be tricky, but it is always fair.
On Thursday, we also learnt that our country is in good hands with this Prime Minster. Because he councils, debates and listens but most of all he is unafraid to admit it when he gets it wrong.
Sadly what’s happening in Syria, although savagely painful, is an internal civil war that can only be solved internally by the Syrian people themselves. We can help them and their leaders see sense but we cannot make them act it. Bombing Syria will not stop this killing; it will escalate it and increase the damage.
Post Iraq, the appetite for war is no longer there. The carnage and destruction left behind that intervention is a blemish on democracy, trust and human decency.
History is here to teach us. The lessons from Iraq tell us that even those in the highest offices of the land can misread events and get things wrong. It teaches us to check and recheck before considering another strike.
Not getting involved militarily does not at all mean, Britain will sit on her hands and watch while innocent people get slaughtered. There are many peaceful ways to help and provide assistance. That should be our aim as Britons and our call as Muslims.
Too many bullets have been fired already; too many lives have been lost and too much blood has already been spilt in Syria. Let’s give peace a chance. Negotiate, lobby, and even beg and plead but let’s vow to stop this bloodshed without being instrumental in spilling another drop of blood.
Categories: Syria , Walaa's Opinion
6 comment(s)
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John Winlow
3 Sep, 13:30
Walaa Idris
3 Sep, 14:11
John Winlow
3 Sep, 18:45
T-England
3 Sep, 19:44
John Winlow
3 Sep, 21:04
Walaa Idris
4 Sep, 12:01