War: The Mother of Wickedness and Atrocities
By Haider Al-Mukashafi
War, much like alcohol, clouds the mind. And when the mind is clouded, one is capable of committing all manner of wickedness, major sins, and atrocities. In this sense, the one who drinks excessively and the one who wages war become alike. Just as the intoxicated person, whose mind has been overtaken by alcohol, acts without awareness or reason, falling into sins such as murder, adultery, and other forbidden acts under the influence of liquor—which is why alcohol is dubbed "the mother of all sins"—so too does the warmonger commit grave evils. Indeed, it has been proven time and again that war brings with it all manners of abominations, such as murder, rape, and other war crimes. For this reason, war rightly deserves to be called "the mother of all sins" as well.
No war in history, be it past or present—like the wars in Gaza and Sudan—or those yet to come, has been or will ever be clean and devoid of violations and atrocities. Every war is inevitably accompanied by a litany of abuses, evils, and horrors. War results in a wide spectrum of heinous violations, as people in Sudan currently lament. These include the deaths of innocent civilians, the loss of livelihoods, and the displacement of people who flee their homes in search of safety, either within the country or beyond its borders. The collapse of healthcare systems leads to the spread of diseases and epidemics in an environment lacking medical care. Furthermore, harrowing incidents of rape target innocent women.
The impacts of war extend to long-term physical and psychological damage for both children and adults. War exacerbates poverty, malnutrition, disability, and economic decline, while giving rise to psychological and social illnesses caused by the trauma of conflict. It destroys infrastructure, particularly the systems essential for public health, such as food supplies, healthcare services, sanitation, transportation, communication, and electrical power.
In summary, war ravages human life, cultural heritage, and economic stability, while obstructing development and peace. It engenders confusion, anxiety, profound sorrow, despair, and hopelessness—alongside a myriad of other grave damages and tragic losses. These are the daily realities for Sudanese people who endure the senseless war raging in their land, a war in which they have no stake yet remain its sole victims. The cruel irony is that they are the ones suffering the greatest harm and bearing the brunt of the devastation.
What the Sudanese people need most is not reminders of the harsh realities they are living but a message of hope: news of an end to this destructive war that has consumed everything in its path. The war is the primary cause of all their suffering and anguish, and the only way out is to halt and end it completely.
Therefore, we must dedicate ourselves to opposing and combating the harmful effects of war, healing the open wounds, and seeking ways to mend them. This requires fostering democratic dialogue, spreading the spirit and culture of peace, resisting hateful rhetoric, and promoting societal tolerance. This is particularly vital in light of the social fragmentation and upheaval that has eroded Sudans unity and frayed its social fabric, threatening its national cohesion. Accompanying these challenges is the spread of harmful and misleading propaganda, to the point where objective truth has become one of the wars greatest casualties.
We will continue to address these issues, one by one, God willing.
