Zaid Hassan’s response to the London bombings · Global Voices
Ethan Zuckerman

Our friend Zaid Hassan – one of the folks behind the Pioneers of Change social entrepreneurship project – posts his reflections as a Londoner and a Muslim on the July 7th bombings:
At the mosque this afternoon there were two police-women standing outside, in fluorescent bright yellow-jackets. One was quite old. I couldn’t help but think “police-women? That’s quite odd. I wonder what that means?” The mullah reminded us that it was for our own good and we should be respectful. I saw a young man talking to them. Later on in the local donar kebab place a young laughing Somali boy put his friend in a head-lock, yelling “you’re under arrest!” White people look on blankly.
Zaid raises the difficult quesion, “Why is no one talking about the cause of the London attacks?”
Why is no one talking about injustice? Surely it’s obvious? Surely we all know that the prime cause of terrorism, of such acts is injustice? Surely we know that if terrorism is madness then it’s a madness caused squarely by being a victim of forces beyond comprehension? By being on the receiving end of an intolerable amount of injustice? Of having no tears left, of being drained of empathy.
I search around me in vain for empathy. I can see courage, bravery, bluster, pain, fear, sadness, but no empathy. No empathy and no justice.