~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is NOTHING in Islam to back terrorism.
Islam is a religion of truth, those that do questionable
deeds in the name of religion need to fear God
- (Admin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The True, Peaceful Face Of
Islam
BY KAREN ARMSTRONG
Time Magazine
October 1, 2001 Vol. 158 No. 15
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011001-175987,00.html
There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, and Islam is the world's
fastest-growing religion. If the evil carnage we witnessed on Sept.
11 were typical of the faith, and Islam truly inspired and justified
such violence, its growth and the increasing presence of Muslims in
both Europe and the U.S. would be a terrifying prospect.
Fortunately, this is not the case.
The very word Islam, which means "surrender," is related to the
Arabic salam, or peace. When the Prophet Muhammad brought the
inspired scripture known as the Koran to the Arabs in the early 7th
century A.D., a major part of his mission was devoted precisely to
bringing an end to the kind of mass slaughter we witnessed in New
York City and Washington. Pre-Islamic Arabia was caught up in a
vicious cycle of warfare, in which tribe fought tribe in a pattern
of vendetta and countervendetta. Muhammad himself survived several
assassination attempts, and the early Muslim community narrowly
escaped extermination by the powerful city of Mecca. The Prophet had
to fight a deadly war in order to survive, but as soon as he felt
his people were probably safe, he devoted his attention to building
up a peaceful coalition of tribes and achieved victory by an
ingenious and inspiring campaign of nonviolence. When he died in
632, he had almost single-handedly brought peace to war-torn Arabia.
Because the Koran was revealed in the context of an all-out war,
several passages deal with the conduct of armed struggle. Warfare
was a desperate business on the Arabian Peninsula. A chieftain was
not expected to spare survivors after a battle, and some of the
Koranic injunctions seem to share this spirit. Muslims are ordered
by God to "slay [enemies] wherever you find them!" (4: 89).
Extremists such as Osama bin Laden like to quote such verses but do
so selectively. They do not include the exhortations to peace, which
in almost every case follow these more ferocious passages: "Thus, if
they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer you peace,
God does not allow you to harm them" (4: 90).
In the Koran, therefore, the only permissible war is one of
self-defense. Muslims may not begin hostilities (2: 190). Warfare is
always evil, but sometimes you have to fight in order to avoid the
kind of persecution that Mecca inflicted on the Muslims (2: 191; 2:
217) or to preserve decent values (4: 75; 22: 40). The Koran quotes
the Torah, the Jewish scriptures, which permits people to retaliate
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, but like the Gospels, the Koran
suggests that it is meritorious to forgo revenge in a spirit of
charity (5: 45). Hostilities must be brought to an end as quickly as
possible and must cease the minute the enemy sues for peace (2:
192-3).
Islam is not addicted to war, and jihad is not one of its "pillars,"
or essential practices. The primary meaning of the word jihad is not
"holy war" but "struggle." It refers to the difficult effort that is
needed to put God's will into practice at every level--personal and
social as well as political. A very important and much quoted
tradition has Muhammad telling his companions as they go home after
a battle, "We are returning from the lesser jihad [the battle] to
the greater jihad," the far more urgent and momentous task of
extirpating wrongdoing from one's own society and one's own heart.
Islam did not impose itself by the sword. In a statement in which
the Arabic is extremely emphatic, the Koran insists, "There must be
no coercion in matters of faith!" (2: 256). Constantly Muslims are
enjoined to respect Jews and Christians, the "People of the Book,"
who worship the same God (29: 46). In words quoted by Muhammad in
one of his last public sermons, God tells all human beings, "O
people! We have formed you into nations and tribes so that you may
know one another" (49: 13)--not to conquer, convert, subjugate,
revile or slaughter but to reach out toward others with intelligence
and understanding.
So why the suicide bombing, the hijacking and the massacre of
innocent civilians? Far from being endorsed by the Koran, this
killing violates some of its most sacred precepts. But during the
20th century, the militant form of piety often known as
fundamentalism erupted in every major religion as a rebellion
against modernity. Every fundamentalist movement I have studied in
Judaism, Christianity and Islam is convinced that liberal, secular
society is determined to wipe out religion. Fighting, as they
imagine, a battle for survival, fundamentalists often feel justified
in ignoring the more compassionate principles of their faith. But in
amplifying the more aggressive passages that exist in all our
scriptures, they distort the tradition.
It would be as grave a mistake to see Osama bin Laden as an
authentic representative of Islam as to consider James Kopp, the
alleged killer of an abortion provider in Buffalo, N.Y., a typical
Christian or Baruch Goldstein, who shot 29 worshipers in the Hebron
mosque in 1994 and died in the attack, a true martyr of Israel. The
vast majority of Muslims, who are horrified by the atrocity of Sept.
11, must reclaim their faith from those who have so violently
hijacked it.
------------------
Karen Armstrong has written many books on religion, including Islam:
A Short History, published last year by Modern Library
---------------
What Does Islam Say about Terrorism
& Cruelty?
(Taken from www.islam-guide.com , an online book available in
hardprint at bookshops)
Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism. In the Quran, God has said:
God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing
justly with those who have not fought
you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes.
God loves just dealers. (Quran, 60:8)
The Prophet Muhammad used to prohibit soldiers from killing women
and children, and he would advise
them: {...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a newborn
child.}2 And he also said: {Whoever
has killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims shall not smell
the fragrance of Paradise, though
its fragrance is found for a span of forty years.}
Also, the Prophet Muhammad has forbidden punishment with fire.
He once listed murder as the second of the major sins, and he even warned
that on the Day of Judgment, {The
first cases to be adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment
will be those of bloodshed.}7
Muslims are even encouraged to be kind to animals and are forbidden
to hurt them. Once the Prophet
Muhammad said: {A woman was punished because she imprisoned a
cat until it died. On account of
this, she was doomed to Hell. While she imprisoned it, she did not
give the cat food or drink, nor did
she free it to eat the insects of the earth.}
He also said that a man gave a very thirsty dog a drink, so God forgave
his sins for this action. The Prophet
was asked, "Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness towards
animals?" He said: {There is a reward
for kindness to every living animal or human.}
Additionally, while taking the life of an animal for food, Muslims are
commanded to do so in a manner that causes
the least amount of fright and suffering possible. The Prophet
Muhammad said: {When you slaughter an
animal, do so in the best way. One should sharpen his knife to
reduce the suffering of the animal.}
In light of these and other Islamic texts, the act of inciting terror
in the hearts of defenseless civilians, the
wholesale destruction of buildings and properties, the bombing and
maiming of innocent men, women, and
children are all forbidden and detestable acts according to Islam and
the Muslims. Muslims follow a religion of
peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the vast majority have nothing to
do with the violent events some have
associated with Muslims. If an individual Muslim were to commit
an act of terrorism, this person would be guilty
of violating the laws of Islam.
Could it be possible that Islaam, whose light ended the Dark Ages in Europe, now propound the advent of an age of terror? Could a faith that has over 1.2 billion followers the world over, actually advocate the killing and maiming of innocent people? Could Islaam, whose name itself stands for .peace. and .submission to God., encourage its adherents to work for destruction?
Such is the value of a single human life; Allaah in the Qur.aan equates the taking of even one human life unjustly, with killing all of humanity. Thus, Allaah in the Qur.aan prohibits murder in clear terms.
The word Jihaad comes from the root word jahaada, which means to struggle. So jihaad is literally an act of struggling. The Prophet Muhammad (sall-Allaahu .alayhi wa sallam) said that jihaad is to struggle with the insidious suggestions of one.s own soul. Thus jihaad primarily refers to the inner struggle of being a person of virtue, and submission to God in all aspects of life.
Secondly, jihaad refers to struggle against injustice. Islaam, like other religions, allows for self-defence. Allaah says in the Qur.aan: .And why should you not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated, Men, women, and children, whose cry is: .Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from You one who will help... [Al-Qur.aan 4: 75]
Thus Islaam enjoins upon its believers to strive in purifying themselves, as well as establishing peace & justice in the society. Regardless of how legitimate the cause may be, the Qur.aan never condones killing innocent people. Terrorising defenceless civilians, and the bombing and maiming of innocent men, women, and children are all detestable acts according to Islaam and Muslims. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy and forgiveness, and the vast majority have nothing to do with the violent acts that have been attributed to Muslims.
.O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).. [Al-Qur.aan 49:13]
The small number despicable terrorists wreak havoc upon non-muslims and muslims alike. And we should work together to catch these murderers and give them their due punishment.
This Page is on
http://www.MuslimWorld.co.uk