Islam does not condone violence

One of Jakarta's newspapers on Aug. 7, 2003, asked its readers on its front page, "To whom are the bombs intended for?"

Aug. 5, the most brutal bombing yet in Jakarta rocked the JW Marriott Hotel and the adjacent Plaza Mutiara building.

The bombings in Bali were perpetrated by Indonesian Muslim militants, or terrorists to be more precise, as can be seen from the ongoing court cases in Denpasar. If the Aug. 5 bombing was the work of this same group, they have implemented their Islamic teachings wrongly, and have tainted their own religion.

Islam, as we know, does not condone violence in any form. Rasulullah (peace be upon him), in the numerous wars against the infidels, fought the enemy face-to-face and used tactical maneuvers to win the wars.

So when these militants want to fight their foes, they should go to war and fight those who are considered their foes, and don't let innocent people be the victims. The Prophet himself prohibits us from even cutting down our foes' trees, hurting their cattle, torching their houses, let alone killing innocent people during war.

So, if indeed, these militants want to follow the right path of Islamic teachings, and do not want to die in vain, they should abide by the true teachings of Islam and stop, once and for all, their cruel adventures.

M. RUSDI Jakarta