Epigraph:
On account of this, We prescribed for the children of Israel that whosoever killed a person — unless it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land — it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoso gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind. And Our Messengers came to them with clear Signs, yet even after that, many of them commit excesses in the land. (Al Quran 5:32)
Artist’s representation of symbol of infinity, is human life sacred and of infinite value?
The title of the article is slightly modified by the Muslim Times.
Source: New York Times
By David Brooks, one of the most popular NY Times’ columnist
Like everyone, I was revolted by the beheadings of the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. It wasn’t just that they had been killed — though that is horrendous enough — it was the monstrous way the deed was done.
I’ve been trying to understand why the act of beheading arouses this strong visceral response. Why does separating a head with a knife feel different from a shooting, or a bombing? Does this reaction contain some hidden intuitive wisdom, or is it just a blind prejudice?
First, a beheading feels different because it reveals something about the minds of the killers. The journalist Lance Morrow once wrote that “evil is often happiest when it operates in the autonomy of the gratuitous.” By going beneath even the minimal standards of modern civilization, the militants in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria get to show contempt for us and our morality. They get to deny the slightest acknowledgment of our common humanity. They can take the bully’s maximum relish in their power over the weak and innocent. The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize, and ISIS means to show violence unbounded; ISIS will get inside our heads in the darkest way.
Every human life is precious and killing one is like triggering a genocide. (Al Quran 5:33) https://t.co/qtLzbTKb2g pic.twitter.com/9oVAdiTpg1
— Zia H Shah (@ZiahShah1) October 1, 2015
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Second, a beheading reminds us of something disturbing in ourselves. We want to watch, and we don’t want to watch. Because of some warp in human nature, millions of people will go online to watch a beheading video though they might not even read about a simple shooting.
But the revulsion aroused by beheading is mostly a moral revulsion. A beheading feels like a defilement. It’s not just an injury or a crime. It is an indignity. A beheading is more like rape, castration or cannibalism. It is a defacement of something sacred that should be inviolable.
But what is this sacred thing that is being violated?
For source of the picture, click here.
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