<<Print>>

�Revenge Is A Must Even If It Takes A Century� � An Arabian Proverb. Africans were given a bitter Christmas present when they were greeted by the sad news that one of their own had attempted blowing up a jet in the U.S on Yesu Kristo�s birthday. Hm, who says only Yasser Arafat�s kith and kin are the only ones mad enough to be suicide bombers? Wonders, they say, shall never end. Who could have thought a 23-year-old from Anagoland could be mad enough to attempt to blow himself and about 300 passengers? That exactly was what Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to do on board Northwest Air bus A330 on Christmas day, but was restrained by passengers and crew while trying to detonate a high-explosive device sewn inside his underwear, hurting his legs in the process. With the 11th September attacks still fresh in our memories, one can only imagine the apprehension of the passengers and crew as they struggled to stop Abdulmutallab. And their vigilance paid off, didn�t it? Let us not forget to thank the ever-merciful Allah for sparing the lives of those on board the aircraft. I shudder to think about what could have happened had Abdulmutallab successfully executed his diabolic plans. Drowning in a pool of embarrassment because their native was involved in an act of terrorism, the Anagolandian authorities desperately looked for a straw to clutch in order to aid their survival. Their prayers were answered when the U.S authorities revealed that Abdulmutallab bought his air ticket from the KLM office in Nkrankrom, Asomdwekrom. �Yeah, we now have a partner-in-shame,� I reckon the Anagolandian authorities would say. The accusations and counter accusations then started. Anagoland claimed that although Abdulmutallab was their native, he started his journey from Asomdwekrom, alluding to the fact that his financiers might be in Asomdwekrom. But Asomdwekrom also claimed they could not be partners-in-shame with Anagoland just because Abdulmutallab bought his ticket on their soil. Partners-in-shame or not, Asomdwekrom shouldn�t waste time on the blame game but start working on how to erase the suspicion that it is now a fertile ground for training terrorists. I hear the Kotoka Airport now has a gadget that helps the authorities see one in his or her birthday suit. This means that people with diabolic minds may be apprehended before they put their plans into action. It is indeed a refreshing news, but being a cash-based society, coupled with the fact that Asomdwekrom has a porous security network, it gives one much cause for concern. Indeed, ours is a society in which officials would do anything so long as cowries are splashed around. Believe me; it is only in Asomdwekrom that a Chinese can obtain an Asomdwekromanian passport within 24 hours, while a native obtains his in 12 moons. And you reckon such a society can prevent the dreaded Al-Qaeda from doing their own thing? If the authorities do not know, I am telling them that these extremists are highly intelligent and would definitely change their modus operandi so we better beware. Read the recent message from Bin Laden to the U.S if you doubt me. I hear the U.S and its allies have started profiling those of us from Asomdwekrom. It is worse if one is a Muslim bearing a typical Islamic name like Abdul Basit or Munir. And much worse if one has a Middle Eastern visa in his passport. In their eyes, such a person is nothing but a potential terrorist. A close relation, who travelled to the U.S just a few days after the failed attempt by Abdulmutallab, said for the first time in his life, he questioned why his father gave him a typical Islamic name and not an African traditional name. He claimed he was detained for close to 13 hours and interrogated for having a Syrian visa, which had expired long before he was granted a 5-year U.S entry visa. He claimed all those bearing Islamic names had a similar dose. Black or White, Arab or Caucasian, Indian or Chinese, they were treated like potential terrorists. �This is indeed a bad time to have an Islamic name,� he added. Although harsh and humiliating, any objective and pragmatic person would not fault the U.S authorities for doing what was necessary to save innocent lives. Research has proved that about 87 percent of terrorist acts the world over were carried out by Muslim extremists who were of Arabian decent. Now that the extremists are spreading their tentacles to the Black race and possibly other races, the wisest thing to do is to profile all Muslims and then separate the wheat from the chaff, isn�t it? Without a doubt, it is the wish of every true Muslim that these extremist would sooner than later come to the realization that they are doing the religion they profess to love more harm than good. Indeed, I can�t imagine myself or any true Muslim for that matter, blowing up a jet or harming innocent souls. But the reality is that there are a few bad nuts that have dented the name of Islam. From the little I know these extremists would stop at nothing to achieve their targets. That is why our �ulamaa� (Islamic leaders) should take the claim that Asomdwekrom is becoming a fertile ground for training terrorists seriously and start sensitizing the Muslim youth on the dangers of associating with religious fanatics. Otherwise, only Allah can save us from such destroyers of the nation�s peace, way of life and economic stability.