The Injustice of Suicide Bombing

Misguided notions about the nature of justice continue to incite radicals to violence. Nearly 90 people in Iraq died in suicide bomber attacks. The first attack killed 55 people in the Diyala province, and 28 died in Baghdad. In addition, 67 people were wounded.

Article here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/23/iraq.violence/index.html

This, apparently, was not enough. Gunmen shot a police officer in Kirkuk, and three more people were killed (and seven injured, including children) near Baquba.

I think it is important to note that those killed in Diyala were unsuspecting pilgrims who had stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Are the attacks on such pilgrims just?

Justice in the Quran is taken to mean "balance," and is the foundation upon which creation stands. The fourth Caliph, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, defined justice as "the placement of everything in their proper order." Under this conception, proportionality and relation are essential components of justice. A peace which is based on justice would therefore mean a balanced, fair, and tranquil state. Muhammad is reported to have said,

"Mankind are the family of God, and the most beloved of them to God are those who are the most excellent to His family." "Not one of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."

Great Muslim scholars such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Sharafuddin al Nawawi have said that the words "his brother" in the above quote refer to any person irrespective of faith. If "mankind are the family of God" then all human beings are included in that family.

It is natural for humans to desire peace and justice. But Muhammad states that we should love for our brothers what we love for ourselves. That is, if we desire peace and justice for ourselves, and we surely do, we must also desire peace and justice for others. This alone precludes unwarranted attacks on innocents. Further, aggressively attacking those who have done you no harm is in contradiction with Muhammad's injunction to treat all mankind excellently. Unprovoked attacks, perpetrated against the innocent no less, are entirely unjust and ought to be righteously condemned.

Muhammad, the Caliph, and Islamic scholars of historic reputation have all offerred conceptions of justice which demand respect for all mankind as part of God's family. From where, then, come the misguided notions which convince people to commit injustices against their fellows? If their cause encourages unjust means, is it not itself unjust?