Yesterday marked the eleventh anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th 2001.
We remember all those who died in the terrorist attacks, and extend our prayers to the families who lost loved ones on that day.
The world has not been the same since, and we have seen great upheaval in the intervening years.
Definitely, the world is now a far more dangerous place, with war and civil strife now rampant, which was not the case before.
There can be no justification for the acts perpetrated on that day.
The taking of innocent life is expressly forbidden in the Qu’ran. This is a law of God, and so must be observed by all.
However, the response of the Bush administration in the United States and their allies in the UK and elsewhere has since been judged, in some quarters, as disproportionate.
Their first action was to invade Afghanistan, topple the Taliban and wage the biggest manhunt in the history of the world. This manhunt, according to recent reports, has been bearing fruit, but the “collateral damage” it has caused has been massive.
Afghanistan is now producing far more opium than it was at the time of the invasion, and this has seen an explosion in the supply of heroin available on the world markets.
The number of people addicted in Afghanistan has also spiked massively, compared to when the Taliban were in control.
In addition, in the war on terror, many innocent civilians have lost their lives and their loved ones in that country and elsewhere, which only served to breed extremism and more terrorism now, and in the future.
We note the words of Cindy Gregg, deputy head of mission at the US Embassy in Banjul, when she said on Friday that: “The September 11 attack in the US is an attack on the world because it is not only US citizens who had lost their lives, but other nationals as well. Americans have learned a lot from this attack. It took us long to differentiate the attack from Islam, but we know it has nothing to do with Islam as a religion. We have also developed a wonderful renewed sense of tolerance.”
Indeed, the criminal attack suffered by the United States cannot be justified by any means.
However, America’s policies and actions in the world since 11 September 2001 also continue to raise concerns about whether the US still adheres to the great values upon which the American nation was founded.
“What has a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
The Bible (King James Version) Matthew, 16:26