Through the curtains of blood, through the fog of burning buildings and through the crackle of gunfire, one question cannot penetrate the consciousness; Why?!

What a horrible way to “send a message”, if that is what they were trying to do.

It makes no sense to kill innocent bystanders just to demonstrate that other innocents are being killed elsewhere; it makes no sense to kill, just as it makes no sense to see your own loved ones killed.

True, a passage through personal tragedy distorts the mind and makes the survivors react mindlessly, but MANY people have shown that they CAN rise above the thirst for revenge and perhaps towards a mutual healing, when they do not choose the violent path.

Who are these “Deccan Mujahideen” and if they are thinking of the poor Kashmiris, can these “mujahideen” not also think about the poor victims and the families they are leaving behind?

Being Indian and presumably Muslim, can these killers not think about the reactive violence that will now most likely be unleashed upon all Muslims in India?

What can anyone say about such a mind-numbing atrocity except to condemn it?

It would appear that there is no shortage of words and opinions about this mass murder, already trees are trembling at the thought of the amount of paper that will be expended in describing the killings, in defining the killers in opining about the source of the violence and in offering solutions.

Old, recycled clichés are being trotted out, as are old, recycled “solutions”.

One said (sic.), “Not every Muslim is a terrorist but alomost ALL terrorists are Muslims”. He went on to list a number of countries where Muslims are involved in violence, said it is because they were being taught by teachers in Madressas and so the solution is to kill ALL teachers in all madressas. A “madressa” is a school, not necessarily the madressa that the Western mind would like to believe, where everybody is being taught Islam and violence.
Right. Let us all reject mindless violence.

Another “expert” is already lining up Pakistan and its intelligence agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) as being behind the attack. a growing number of news agencies are pointing to the fictitious “fact” there a ship disgorged the rubber dinghy that brought the attackers to the shores of India.

The Al-Qaeda link is feverishly being pushed forward.

People are calling for vengeance but in more civilized terms.

Boycott business of people from “certain” minorities.

Punish the whole family of any Muslim person who commits one infringement, we are at WAR.

Isn’t this reaction the same as the reaction we see from the mindless killers in Mumbai?

Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the architect of the 2002 anti-Muslim genocide in his state of Gujarat, has offered to visit Mumbai, but thankfully, the Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, has asked Modi to hold off his visit for now.

It appears that a few of the killers have been captured. Even though they were involved in butchery, one cannot help but feel sorry for them because of the tortures they will be subjected to, at the hands of the Indians. “Confessions” that follow, will likely be what the torturers want them to be, rather than reliable information.

“Evil, when committed in the interest of good, is no evil”. I believe Barry Goldwater said something like this.

As the world watches the horror unfold, let us pray that humanity wins; that people of good will everywhere and regardless of their politics or faith, reject the actions the caused these murders and that the world rejects scapegoating a country or a faith just because that is the easy or populist thing to do.

Today is Thanksgiving, we can still give thanks for all the blessings God has showered upon us, for all the love we are surrounded by and for all the good people who share this world with us.