publish time

22/07/2017

publish time

22/07/2017

WHEN patriotism, or rather allegiance to the nation, precedes everything else, the citizen does not need to prove his national identity. However, when sectarianism and tribalism precede patriotism, it becomes necessary to remind them that the Constitution does not distinguish between a Kuwaiti and others.Instead, the Constitution rendered justice, freedom and equality as pillars of the society, as well as the strong bond of cooperation and tolerance between Kuwaitis. This should be learned by those who have appointed themselves as custodians of national unity.These people sleep with an eye open and this eye sees only the advocacy of sectarian provocations, not human rights, as they wipe their feet with personal interests in striving to monopolize parliamentary representatives for decades just to serve foreign interests.Sectarianism should not be the pathway for national unity, because irrespective of attempts to adorn sectarianism, those who are submerged in its darkness will continue to be savages whose hunger is not satisfied by blood, killings, destruction or division even among children of the same house.If this is the case, what kind of national unity protects those who plan against this country – to kill and bomb, or those storing weapons to cause chaos or protect killing projects and spies who are undermining stability?Perhaps, it is time to constitutionally and legally rehabilitate some Members of Parliament. In fact, they should be re-educated about patriotism which they have discarded in the realm of amnesia and went on to appoint themselves as spokespersons of Shiites or Sunnis.They are striving to confiscate the Kuwaiti identity and tailor it according to the measurements of their factions and parties. They raise their voice, wailing about national unity whenever the wand of accountability approaches their group, or when they spot electoral interests in protecting and defending the terrorism cell.This is exactly what happened to the ‘Abdali cell’, or when some provoked sectarian sentiments to defend what was known as ‘lions of the Peninsula’ terrorist group. In both cases, the pawns took the same position – to divide the people of this country.Chapter 2:193 of the Holy Quran describes a way to deal with sedition instigators – Almighty Allah says: “Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah (sedition) and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah. But if they change their behavior, there would be no hostility against anyone except the unjust.”The abovementioned verse is a strong principle which applies to national allegiance as opposed to other allegiances that divide community of the same nation, and fighting sedition instigators would definitely save lives. The concept of saving lives is in accordance with Chapter 5:32 of the Holy Quran where Almighty Allah says: “…if anyone kills another person for reasons other than legal retaliation or for stopping corruption in the land, it is like murdering all of mankind; however, if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.”Which group does this terrorist belong to? Whether ‘DAESH’, ‘Muslim Brotherhood’, ‘Hezbollah’ or even the destructive Revolutionary Guard, the aim is to kill – an act that Almighty Allah has forbidden; and such killing is like killing the entire mankind.Will the security agencies mandated to preserve peace, security and stability keep their hands folded towards those who instigate chaos? Isn’t negligence a greater sin which we will be held accountable for on the Day of Reckoning?Or are those fueling division in society under the pretext of protecting national unity want this beloved land to become a graveyard where they raise their electorate testimonial impulses or even flags of countries or groups which they have links with in a bid to cater to sectarian, partisan and creedal desires?Do they want that to happen just because the security forces have arrested a chaotic person or raided a house to shun terrorist danger, while in reality, the land and its people are looking at you the same way Napoleon Bonaparte looked at the Austrian officer, the traitor?This is all that we have to say affirmatively to you: You are not qualified to defend Ali, Abu Bakar, Omar or Othman – may Almighty Allah be pleased with them – and you are not the defenders of Al-Hussein bin Ali who is immune from every person instigating sedition and division.You are just some owl or crow growling for destruction. No one among the people of Kuwait has appointed you as defender of the well-guided Caliphates and the household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Therefore, maintain silence and leave national unity untouched, or else, leave sectarian fanaticism in order to prevent your spell from turning to you.Kuwaiti national unity is much bigger than your fictions and lies; the national unity of this country is consolidated with ‘Al-Qurein’ martyrs and hundreds of martyrs who defended this nation when you were trading with the most deserving national course known in history in 1990.There is no appreciation for you; instead, Kuwaitis have the right to hold you accountable for the crimes you committed throughout the previous decades in terms of advocating division in society and desecrating the noblest value.By Ahmed Al-JarallahEditor-in-Chief, the Arab Times