Daily Times

In a textbook example of provocation, a hate-filled event in Texas turned violent on Sunday. Armed gunmen, decked out in full body armour, tried to storm the venue of a ‘draw Prophet Muhammad’ event in Garland, Texas in a hail of gunfire. Because the place where the event was being held was heavily guarded by uniformed police officers, the gunmen were unable to breach the security net, resulting in no civilian casualties except for the gunning down of the two perpetrators who have now been identified as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi. From all the information available, this was an attack by Islamist militants, the kind of violent extremism we are seeing all over the world today. One Twitter account describes them as mujahideen whilst there are also reports surfacing that Islamic State (IS) has owned these men as its own. While the details about the shooters is murky, the whole incident reeks of hate and incitement all round.

The crass event was organised by the American Freedom Defence Initiative, which wanted to prove the importance of free speech. It held this caricature drawing competition — offering the winner a $ 10,000 award — at the exact same spot a pro-Islam rally/debate was held some weeks earlier, probably as retaliation for anyone daring to host a well-meaning gathering regarding Islam. Some 40 police officers were deployed to guard the drawing event. It seems strange for so much time and expenditure being incurred to provoke so much anger and resentment in the Muslim community. Of course the actions of the attackers cannot be justified, particularly since they betray the kind of warped minds that think they can further the cause of religion through a gun. What the likes of IS and other militant organisations do is savage and has no place in a civilised society. However, neither does a happening like this one. There is a vicious cycle of provocation and the reaction of those who take the bait being dangled, reinforcing in the process all the preconceived stereotypes of Muslims. Those who provoke, such as the American Freedom Defence Initiative — an organisation known for its anti-Islam agenda — are in the business of hate and the reaction of extremists is what keeps that machine well-oiled. Fundamentalists will always respond in kind and the majority of Muslims, who are peace loving and wise enough to ignore incitement, look on in silent horror at the ripping apart of their faith by these two groups. What happened in Texas is a tragedy all round and both those who provoke and those who react with violence are to blame. *