Among the callow recruits of the group known as the Indian Mujahideen, which made its regrettable debut this year, you'll find men like these: Mohammad Peerbhoy, a 31 year old principal software engineer for a Yahoo! subsidiary, who made Rs 1.9 million (around $40,000) a year; Mohammad Shakeel, a 24 year old enrolled in the final year of his Master's degree in economics; Abdus Subhan Qureshi, a 36 year old who worked for an IT company in Mumbai; and Usman Agarbattiwala, a 25 year old who holds, in the blackest of ironies, a post-graduate diploma in human rights.
Or, alternatively, just friggin' think. And, if not to protest the poverty of their middle-class deprivations, what was their point?
The terrorists’ global objective was clearly demonstrated in their targeting of a little-known Jewish outreach center in Mumbai. Before the terrorists burst into the Chabad Center located in an office and residential complex to take the rabbi, his wife, and assembled Jewish visitors hostage, most in Mumbai had no idea about their existence. Only six years earlier, a young Brooklyn rabbi and his wife set up the Chabad Center to quietly offer Jewish visitors kosher meals, Torah classes, and a place to stay. That anonymity was no protection from a group that wants to hurt the Jews as part of a global struggle. The attack on the Jewish community is particularly poignant, as over a thousand years ago, India offered the earliest shelter to persecuted Jews; the wall of an old synagogue in Kerala shows a mosaic image of their early arrival by boat.
About the Chabad center. Although I have never been to India, I did call on the Chabad center in Kobe, Japan in 2006, when I was on an oveseas business trip during Yom Kippur. It was a fantastic experience. The Rabbi and his family were incredibly trusting and gracious with the phalanx of stragers that came to enjoy the pre-fast meal, and was incredibly generous to put up whoever could not afford a hotel for the night. I also had numerous interactions with the Chabad center in Sydney when I lived there, all positive. (I still recall the cases of scotch they brought into the synagogue for Simchat Torah, and were stumped as to why there were bottles unopened. It was a Tuesday.)
My prayers go out to the Rabbi and his wife, as current reports still have them missing and possibly kidnapped and in the hands of the terrorist enemies.
Update: 5 hostages have died in the Jewish Center at the hands of the enemy. The reports are as of now unconfirmed. I will monitor the situation.
Update II: Confirmation that the Rabbi and Rebbitzen have been killed. Their 2-year-old son was apparently saved by a kitchen worker who escaped to safety.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment