Death = Death

So I’ve just been scrolling through an endless list of facebook and twitter statuses rejoicing in Gaddafi’s death. People have taken to the streets, waving flags, singing songs, dancing...as if somehow true triumph and victory has finally been achieved because blood has equalled blood. The lack of humanity never ceases to amaze me.

The Quran teaches reverence for every life, even the most repugnant ones and Islam stresses that the death of a person should be observed in a respectful and solemn way for all people, not just Muslims.

Gaddafi was a monster. But do we really think that violence, even a ‘justified’ act of violence, has the capacity to heal the wounds inflicted by violence - or to end the cycle of violence? No! Returning hate for hate multiplies hate and we only end up in a vicious cycle. Through his death, through violence, we may have murdered the monster, but we haven’t murdered the ‘mentality’ and Libyan vengeance is far from served.

Its one thing to be relieved and glad that a threat is no longer, but its another thing to dance on someone's grave. There is a huge difference between holding someone accountable for their actions and being joyous in revenge. How can we tell people to stop taking lives, when we are celebrating deaths? Like an old Chinese saying goes: ‘In order to have power in an argument, you must first not violate any laws yourself.’ The way we react to the death of our enemy, says a lot about ourselves and what we stand for.