Every crisis offers opportunities. The current crisis unfolding around Iran, threatening to reset the geopolitical chessboard, presents a distinct one. We shall examine this shortly. First, let us explore a dangerous anomaly embedded in modern Muslim political thought, which has caused untold suffering across the Muslim world. It is symptomatic of a deeper software glitch which, if left unresolved, will continue causing unimaginable pain.

You might have noticed how swiftly we normalise, and even justify, actions clearly forbidden in Islam, driven by misplaced tribalistic fervour. Two examples immediately come to mind: attacks on civilian populations of enemy nations, especially women, children, the elderly and civilian property, and the vexed question of suicide bombing.

Arguments justifying attacks on civilian populations in hostile nations recall a deeply backward dispute I witnessed at 17. Asked to preside over a panchayat because my elders were indisposed, one case simply shocked me. A man had raped another's daughter. Instead of demanding legal accountability, the victim's father sought communal approval to rape the assailant's daughter in retaliation. I ensured the guilty party was handed to authorities, and his daughter and family were protected from such cruel, twisted logic.

The central point is immutable: two wrongs do not make a right. What is prohibited remains prohibited. The guilt of one person cannot be transferred to another, not even their children. Apply this exact logic to civilian populations, and the answer is clear as daylight. It also........

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