The murders of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent shocked us all. Such merciless brutality has no place in a liberal, tolerant society.
Yet this is not the first such happening, and sadly, it might not be the last. Throughout Europe and North America, radicalized young men and women are being drawn into a vortex that has engulfed the Middle East.
Some commit acts of violence in their native lands; others travel to the region to take up arms. What are we to make of this?
History certainly offers parallels. Though we tend to forget, the mid-20th century was also a time of revolutionary fervour.
Terrorist cells such as the Black Panther party in the United States, the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany and Italy鈥檚 Red Brigades sprang up across the West.
Here in sa国际传媒, the army was called out to quell a violent separatist movement in Quebec. During that crisis, in October 1970, a British diplomat was kidnapped and Pierre Laporte, the deputy premier of Quebec, was assassinated.
It is the latest of many bloody episodes that have haunted western nations.
Yet there is one point of difference. The Middle East has seen more than its share of war-making, with little enough to show for it. But where is the non-violent alternative? Where is the peace movement?
It was Martin Luther King Jr., not the Black Panthers, who convinced Americans to end segregation and live up to their principles.
The tactics King used, of orderly and peaceful protest, shamed rather than inflamed his fellow citizens. In India, Mahatma Gandhi brought to its end a century of British rule by similar means.
Why has the Middle East not found its Gandhi or its Martin Luther King? It might be answered that violence begets violence.
If western nations cause death and destruction overseas, why act surprised when those evils are repaid at home? Isn鈥檛 retribution morally justified?
But while that may explain the appeal of jihad, it ignores a larger reality. If your purpose is to change hearts and minds, there is a better way to do it.
True, there have been times when peaceful protest would not have worked. There was no stopping Adolf Hitler short of war.
But modern democracies can be reasoned with. They are open to persuasion. Civil-liberties organizations are more than ready to take up the cause of social justice.
Step forward Ali Chebli. After the killing of Cirillo and Vincent, the Montreal teen posted a message on Facebook proclaiming (in French): 鈥淣ot in my name.鈥�
Chebli is a Muslim of Lebanese descent. He has time for neither jihad nor the backlash against Islam it generated.
In a matter of days, 800,000 people read his posting, and many offered their support. A similar campaign, launched on YouTube, is underway in Britain.
It鈥檚 too soon to say where these efforts will lead, though the huge response to Chebli鈥檚 message shows the longing for an end to confrontation. And social media such as Facebook and YouTube are tailor-made for a grassroots drive such as this.
It will take courage and perseverance to build a peace movement in the midst of so much carnage. Canadians everywhere should add their voice to carry this project forward.
There have been periods in our past when guns and savagery carried the day. But only for a time. Martin Luther King became a national hero. So, too, did Gandhi. Those who opposed them are forgotten.
From the Qur鈥檃n: 鈥淭he worshippers of the All-Merciful are they who tread gently upon the earth, and when the ignorant address them, they reply, 鈥楶eace!鈥欌��
From the Bible: 鈥淏lessed are the peacemakers.鈥�
There is no disagreement.
