Taking jihadis to court, es el nombre de una propuesta publicada en el International Herald Tribune por mi amigo Cris Lingle, desde Nueva Delhi. La comparto con ustedes porque me parece creativa y digna de discusión.
In just a few years, irresponsible acts by self-declared Islamic jihadists have reversed the goodwill that developed between the world’s major religions over several centuries. As such, the acts of a few have had enormous negative effects on many others.
In such a climate, private individuals or firms must use the law to protect themselves as well as their property and the value of other assets. This can be done by pursuing civil actions to seek remedy for injuries, deaths or property losses. Tour operators, hotels and other commercial enterprises could also seek damages through the courts.
The widow of the U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is following such a course. She is suing in U.S. federal court Pakistan’s largest bank along with terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda, for their role in the murder of her husband.
Islam and any elements that constitute central tenets of that faith must be respected by all citizens. As such, there should be no attempt to undermine the credibility of the concept of jihad or the declaration of fatwas.
Using civil and criminal law can provide private and social redress against acts that cause intentional injury to third parties. Perhaps the main beneficiaries would be believers in a mainstream interpretation of Islam. After all, Islam’s rich heritage should be protected from further damage.
Actions by extremists impose social and private costs on many others. For example, tourists are staying away in droves from Indonesia due to suicide bombs and sectarian strife. Tourism to Egypt and the Philippines has also been crippled by terror attacks there.
And then there are the enormous costs arising from sectarian strife. The most obvious case is the murderous spiral of violence among Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq. But murderous attacks based upon secular affiliations within Islam also occur in other Muslim-dominated countries like Pakistan.
The best way to drain the terrorist swamp is to deprive them of the financial means to wage war against civilizations.
