PS El Maawy’s death should jolt us to war on terror

Kenya is still grieving following the death of Public Works Principal Secretary Mariam El Maawy, which occurred in South Africa on Wednesday.

The towering daughter of Lamu County had been transferred to the Southern African country for advanced treatment following a July 13 Al-Shabaab terrorist attack on her convoy along the Mpeketoni-Lamu road at Milihoi.

During the ambush, the PS, who sustained gunshot injuries in the legs and shoulder, lost her nephew, a trainee pilot who had accompanied her in the official tour of Lamu.

A joint rescue team of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and General Service Unit (GSU) officers rescued her from the cruel grip of the gunmen.

RELIGION
Ms El Maawy was, without a doubt, a brilliant, dedicated and professional public servant who epitomised the proper demeanour that women, especially those who profess the Islamic faith, ought to display.

Some of her outstanding traits included modesty and being a highflyer and always in a pacific mood.

Due to the fact that the PS was a practising Muslim, her terror-inflicted death should be partly viewed as an attack on the authentic Islamic religion by the warped terrorists and, accordingly, bolster our unity and concerted efforts against the hydra-headed threat of terrorism and the distortion of the radiant faith she adhered to during her lifetime.

QURAN
The so-called “Islamist terrorism” — which has nothing genuinely Islamic in it — does not deserve to be associated with the spirit or letter of Islam, a creed that bountifully secures religious freedom and the sanctity of human life.

The relationship between followers of Islam and Christians is particularly well spoken about in the Islamic religion.

Says a verse (5:82) in the Holy Quran on the matter: “You will find the nearest in affection to the believers those who say, ‘We are Christians’. That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant.”
SHABAAB
This verse clearly confirms the argument that terrorism is a manifestation of a clash of civilisation between the East and the Western world is nothing but a wicked attempt at brewing disaffection between members of the two civilisations, which share a lot of values and a brotherhood bond through their Abrahamic faiths.

The death of PS El Maawy is also helpful in debunking the myth that Muslims are not victims of the terror undertakings by the likes of Al-Shabaab.

Those merchants of death ironically chose to harm her together with her nephew in spite of the fact that the two professed the very religion that the murderers purported to be defending.

This lays bare some of the hypocrisies of such groups.

SOMALIA
Even in the few instances where the terrorists had seemingly spared Muslims, the larger motive has been to breed divisions among the various religious groupings that peacefully coexist in the country.

Were it a tactful decision, that ‘mercy’ could be seen first in places such as Somalia, which is virtually 100 percent Muslim yet residents are being massacred day and night by the militants.

I am sure that many people, regardless of faith, age and gender, had taken PS El Maawy as a positive role model in their personal, academic and professional pursuits.

LEGACY

It would therefore be prudent for the government and the private sector to build something worthwhile in her name — such as a madrasah, university or library — as a way of honouring her trailblazing life.

Most importantly, however, we should all honour her by eradicating terrorism.

This we can do by bolstering our unity and concerted efforts.

Mr Mohamed is a Daily Nation correspondent in Garissa town. [email protected]; Twitter: @HassanMalikMoha