Sir, – The condemnation of the evil, demented and cowardly bombings in Brussels from the sheikhs and imams ("Terror attacks on Brussels", March 24th) is most welcome. I wish them the very best in their efforts to prevent the rise of malignant strains of Islam in Ireland. I too am concerned that innocent Muslims may be tarred with the same brush. This would be wrong, as well as a mistake. It would play into the hands of extremists and create new incubators for Islamic extremism. The authors assert that the perpetrators of such atrocities "do so with a false allegiance to Islam". That's their opinion. I'm pretty sure the perpetrators and their leaders would disagree. While this is a welcome contribution, the truth is that nobody, including the authors, has a monopoly on the interpretation of the Koran or the hadith. There are multiple sects, strains and offshoots in Islam, with differing, conflicting interpretations. There is no ultimate arbiter. There is not even an equivalent of the pope in Islam. Instead there are a multitude of imams and other leaders, each of whom believes that his (and it's always his) interpretation is correct.
The belief that there is a holy book which is the ultimate and inerrant word of God which is open to a variety of interpretations is the fons et origo, the root of the problem. An imam can claim that his interpretation of the Koran is correct and invoke a divine mandate to lead others accordingly. A divine mandate is the ultimate galvaniser. Not all interpretations are benevolent. People have claimed justification for all kinds of nasty behaviour from holy books. I do not doubt for a second that religious people who are willing to blow themselves up believe they are doing the will of God as they see it.
When you feed a sense of alienation, marginalisation and grievance with a heroic mission mandated by none other than God, which is slickly romanticised and reinforced on a transnational basis, the results can be horrific. – Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER,
Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.