On July 4 (Ramadan 29) I was getting ready for iftar at home when my friend, who was at the Prophet's Mosque to break his fast and then pray there, called me in a rush to ask whether I had heard a large noise that the faithful in the mosque had heard. Not knowing what it was, I told him that it must be from a construction site nearby. Seconds later, I received yet another phone call from a relative, who too asked about the large blast they had heard while they were having their iftar. He was worried and hoped that nothing untoward had happened. Just to make sure, he repeatedly asked me to check the TV or any other sources I had access to and see if something had happened. It is only then I got worried. I took to Twitter since it is the fastest source of news, and many tweets confirmed that there was a fire. But with it came all sorts of rumors in seconds ranging from a cylinder blast, a hotel fire, an accident to a terrorist attack. But after the initial flurry, it was then confirmed to us, at first, that it was due to a car on fire, triggered by a gas cylinder. The report elaborated that the cylinder was left accidentally inside the car and it exploded because of the heat. I heaved a sigh of relief, as did other people collectively seeking news of the blast, for a while until official news confirmed it was a suicide bomber, targeting security personnel, whose exploding of the vest left two people killed, according to initial reports. It was later confirmed that four security personnel were martyred. As if this shock was not enough news trickled in that there was a simultaneous suicide bombing in Qatif at about the same time. The series of coordinated suicide bombing attacks began with an early morning attempt at the American Consulate in Jeddah, around Fajr time. Though no one was hurt in this attempt, except the bomber who killed himself, the bomb squad had to go through a harrowing time to defuse the bombs set in nine places in the Soliman Fakeeh parking lot. The picture of the Prophet's Mosque in the background and a line of billowing, black smoke darkening the sky will be forever imprinted in the minds of many Muslims. Following the news of the attempted suicide attack, I am sure that all people, not only in Madinah, must have been in great shock and disbelief. No one would have ever imagined that terrorists would strike at the heart of Madinah, that too in the holy month of Ramadan just when worshippers were having their iftar in peace. There was worldwide condemnation of this cowardly attack. Someone might ask what is the motive behind these coordinated attacks and an unprecedented targeting of the Masjid Al-Nabawi. Is it to show that the Kingdom cannot protect the holy sites? Is it to shake our trust in our own government? Or, is it a move to discredit the Kingdom before the Haj pilgrimage? If the perpetrators think that this is the case then they are dead wrong. The suicide attacks on all three sites show only one thing that the terrorists are getting desperate and another failed attempt to show that they are in control when they are not. The Kingdom's record in cracking down on these terrorists shows only one thing, it has the upper hand and the continuous strike against them has left them like a headless chicken, running in all directions. Just one day before the blast, I was at the Prophet's Mosque and it was jammed with worshipers on the final day of completion of the holy Qur'an. I saw the security officers organizing the flow of the crowd in the areas around the Prophet's Mosque. I saw the smile on their faces as they guided visitors and guests of Allah around and to ensure a smooth flow and safety of the crowd. I was joking with one of the young officers and praying for them because of the effort and energy they put to guide and protect people. After the banter, he became serious and looked at me and told me to pray for them, as they seek nothing but reward from Allah. There was a sigh of relief when I saw the positive reaction in support of the Kingdom around the world. I remember reading a comment of a Turkish citizen saying that he wished that his house had been blown up and not to see the blast happening meters away from the prophet's (pbuh) grave. I met a Sudanese man who was extremely angry at what had happened and he kept repeating the question, who in his right mind would do something like this and call himself a Muslim? Who would kill innocent people in a cowardly attack like this one, and still call himself a Muslim? The best way to answer this is to read a verse from the holy Qur'an (5:32): "But whoever kills a believer intentionally — his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment." Our government needs to deal with terrorists with an iron fist. Let us not be lenient with anyone who intends spreading his devilish ideologies in our society. Community cohesion should always remain strong and of paramount importance. We need to come up with a counter strategy against the deviant groups' use of social media and increase awareness among the youth who are, and have always been, the target of terrorists. The writer can be reached at [email protected] Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng
