Hiroshima

60 Years On, What Have We Learned?

The use of such bombs is ongoing, so we should all be increasingly aware and wary of the use of such weapons.

Should humanity allow such things to happen again, especially as we now know the ugly reality, the heartrending stories, and the brutal facts? Can we say that it isn’t really our business?

On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was destroyed with an A-Bomb that was dropped by a pilot under orders from the US government. The bomb was dropped on the city centre, an area crowded with wooden residential structures and places of business.

The firestorm in Hiroshima ultimately destroyed 13 square kilometers of the city. The death toll in Hiroshima has generally been estimated to range between 100,000 and 180,000, out of a population of 350,000.

This watch stopped at 8:15 a.m. when the bomb was dropped.

There is no justification for the taking of innocent life. There is no higher purpose, no greater principle that could be used as a reason to justify the death of innocent people and the destruction of the infrastructure of a society.

(If anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder or to spread mischief in the land, it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.) (Al-Ma’idah 5:32)

Conflict is a part of life, an inevitable product of individual human thought, but the challenge is to deal with it so that it isn’t just the tough guy, the one with the most weapons, the one with the biggest weapons, who wins.

Human beings are all interdependent, like the elements of nature. It is harmony that must be achieved, not just the transient state of peace.

I wonder if the man who dropped that bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, if he could have looked deeply into the eyes of his victims, would he still have pressed that button? And then, what about those who ordered the bombing? That’s something to think about.

The use of weapons of mass destruction or even the idea of using them stems from the idea that people are dispensable to serve a greater need or principle. History has proved this idea to be wrong, so why do we still allow the genocide of people like those of Hiroshima?

Thousands of people, including children and babies, were vaporized at ground zero.

If only we could perceive how much we need each other; how much we need people to be free of hatred, free of greed, free of sorrow, and the causes of suffering, we would fight these things like we fight for our survival. The use of weapons of mass destruction is mankind’s attempt at peace, through destruction instead of the harmony that can only be accomplished when mankind becomes civilized and is ready to build a world, not destroy it.

It’s time for us to look within ourselves and question the significance of our existence and the existence of others.

(Do they not think deeply in their own selves about themselves—how Allah created them from nothing and how similarly He will resurrect them?) (Ar-Rum, 30:8)

You can say “no” to weapons of mass destruction; to the killing of innocent people; to the misuse of the world’s resources and you can struggle to achieve, not only peace, but harmony between mankind.

(Verily We have created man into toil and struggle. Does he think that none has power over him? Does he think that none sees him? .Enjoin patience, constancy, and self-restraint and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion.) (Al Balad 90:4-17)

Say “No” to Weapons of Mass Destruction

Selma A. Cook is an Aussie Muslim writer who lives and works in Egypt.  She has written a number of books including: Buried Treasure (An Islamic novel for teenagers), The Light of Submission (Islamic Poetry). She has also edited and revised many Islamic books. She can be contacted at: youth_campaign@iolteam.com.