Muslims must condemn the beheading of American Nick Berg as it was a mindless act of revenge, said International Movement for a Just World (Just) president Dr Chandra Muzaffar today.

"How does this terrible act of butchery help the Iraqi cause whose immediate goal is to bring to an end the unjust occupation of a once sovereign land?" he asked in a statement.

Chandra said that nearly every Muslim he spoke to had expressed horror over the incident.

"They do not understand why anyone would want to do such a thing especially at a time when there is worldwide sympathy for the Iraqi victims of US military abuse and torture.

"Wouldn't the beheading be exploited by the powers-that-be and a section of the American media to divert attention from the Abu Ghraib episode, they ask? Wouldn't it be manipulated to justify the continuing grip of the 'civilised' occupier over the 'barbaric' occupied?" he said.

Chandra said since the act was so senseless, some of his friends had even wondered whether there was a hidden hand behind it.

The video footage of the beheading, purportedly carried out by a group linked to al-Qaeda in response to the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US military personnel, was uploaded onto an Islamic website.

The incident received widespread media coverage, prompting world leaders including Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to condemn the act.

Breeding hatred

Chandra said whatever the real story behind the beheading, the perpetrators had claimed that it was an act of revenge.

"Apart from the fact that it tarnishes the image of the perpetrator, an act of revenge qua revenge does not address the cause of the victim's injustice and therefore offers no real remedy for his suffering.

"Often, it sets into motion a spiral of rising violence which in turns breeds perpetual hatred," he added.

In view of this, the academic urged Muslims to follow the example set by Prophet Muhammad, who inveighed the practice of seeking revenge as a characteristic of the era of or ignorance.

"Given the Prophet's example, Muslims everywhere should condemn mindless acts of rage and revenge - such as the beheading of young Nick Berg," he said.