Ten years of November 13: never forget

As the tenth anniversary of the November 13 attacks approaches, our thoughts go first to the victims, their families, their loved ones. Ten years later, the wound remains open. This tragic night marked our common history and continues to question our humanity.

These crimes were committed by bloodthirsty terrorists. Nothing can justify barbarity or the murder of innocent people. Those who sowed death that evening betrayed not only the most basic human values, but also the Islam they claimed to defend.

The Quran is, however, unequivocal:

“Whoever kills a person not guilty of murder or corruption on earth, it is as if he had killed all humanity; and whoever saves her, it is as if he had saved all humanity. »
(Surah 5, verse 32)

We must also recognize it lucidly: there exists today an interpretation of Islam which glorifies violence and coercion. But this reading is false. It betrays the spirit of the Quran, which calls for peace, justice and mercy.

“God calls to the abode of peace. »
(Surah 10, verse 25)

Islam is not an ideology or an identity. It is an inner path, a spirituality. Throughout the centuries, the great Sufi masters and mystics of Islam have reminded us that the real fight is not the one we wage against others, but the one we wage against ourselves: against pride, hatred and fear. Rumi, the poet of divine love, wrote:“Where love reigns, there is no longer me or you. Love is the breath of peace. »

And Ibn ‘Arabi proclaimed: “My heart has become capable of all forms: it is a meadow for gazelles and a cloister for monks… I am the religion of love, wherever its mounts go. » These words remind us that Islam is above all a path of love, humility and light.

The victims of November 13 are our brothers and sisters in humanity. Their memory urges us to remain faithful to this peace that God offers to all humanity.

Terrorism has no religion.
Islamism is not Islam.
And Islam, in its essence, remains an invitation to peace of heart and universal love.

But for this message to regain all its strength, it is urgent to begin a work of spiritual and intellectual reform within the Muslim world. We must restore Islam to its primary dimension: that of the quest for meaning, knowledge and beauty. To reform is not to deny the faith, it is to free it from its confinements, so that it once again becomes a source of light in a troubled world.

The Oumma editorial team