*Warning: LONG POST*
Before I begin, I'd like to say a few words about another subject, more directed as Muslims in general. I was watching a lecture today where a Muslim man posed a question regarding whether or not the Ummah of the prophet Muhammad (saaw) includes only the Muslims or everyone.
The answer was quite simple. When we speak about the Ummah we can relate to a "brotherhood"; there is the mankind brotherhood, and the brotherhood in faith (or sisterhood). When mentioning of the Ummah, we can refer to Surah Al-Anbiya (21:107) in the Qur'an: "We sent thee not (Muhammad[saaw]), but as a Mercy for all creatures(mankind)". Therefore we see that Allah did not intend us to just be the Ummah of the Muslims, but also of the Christians, Jews, Hindus, and etc. It does not matter whether or not an individual has accepted Islam as his religion, because the Rasuul was sent as a warner and giver of the Message of Allah (saw). Therefore we are all under the Ummah of Muhammad (saaw). Please do not disregard others who are not Muslim as Allah has warned us : "Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving clear Signs; for them is a dreadful penalty." Surah Al-e-Imran, (3:105)
*********
Now moving on to is terrorism an Islamic ideology?
Since September 11, 2001 the media has been on a frenzy by spreading news of the new "Islamic threat" worldwide. Before going on about actual "Muslim terrorists", let's backtrack a bit. The word "terrorism" itself was first used during the French Revolution's "Reign of Terror". Afterwards we can continue to name several, and several attempted or carried out terrorist attacks around the world; the cool part is - most of the individuals or groups do not call themselves terrorists.
What does Islam say about terrorism? It is absolutely and 100% condemned. Islam is a peaceful religion - despite what media or ignorant individuals say. "Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he has slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And Our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors." Surah Al-Ma'idah, (5:32). Usually people say just the main part, but I believe it is necessary to post the entire thing. From this Surah of the Qur'an alone, anyone can see that Islam totally tells of how precious the individual human life really is. It is therefore ignorant to say terrorism is a spawn of Islam.
Giving just a few examples of terrorist acts:
1. The number one killer in the history of the world - Adolf Hitler. Killed 6 million Jews, and 60 million people worldwide. Although not practicing, he was a Christian. Yet no one calls him a "Christian Terrorist".
2. Saddam Hussain - Yes a Muslim (but not practicing), killed a few 100 thousand people; the embargo put on him by George W. Bush killed more than half a million Iraqi children.
3. During World War II- 259 "terrorist" attacks were done by Jews.
4. In 1948, a bomb exploded at the King James hotel in London. Group who did it dressed up as Arabs to make the people assume it was Muslims - the explosion killed 91 people. The leader, Begin, becomes Prime Minister of Israel AND wins Nobel Prize for peace. Imagine that.
5. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) terrorizes UK citizens from 1913 to 1997. They aren't called "Catholic Terrorists".
6. Lord's Salvation Army - a Christian terrorist group in Uganda - recruits children to carry out bomb suicides and killing attacks.
7. The LTTE Tigers in Sri Lanka - the most notorious terrorist group in the world. Their activities included attacks on civilians, recruiting child soldiers, suicide bombings, and ethnic cleansing of Muslims.
This is just to name a few. And like the last bit, who says Muslims aren't being terrorized? For centuries Muslims have been hunted down in places like India and China - and is still happening till this very day. Does anyone ever wonder why this never gets shown on your local news channel? Political Agenda. That's all this is. 9-11. Everyone knows this as the day the Twin Towers "went down" killing 3000 innocent human beings - carried out by "Muslim terrorists". But is this really true? Everyone likes to say "you just listen to conspiracy", but how can something be a conspiracy if it is, in reality, the truth? The attack was a INSIDE JOB. Let's look at it logically.
A plane "crashed" into the towers. The plane that hit the buildings was a passenger jetliner. If you ask a well-trained pilot about the way the airliner turned to hit the buildings, anyone of them would tell you it is impossible to turn a plane of that size and that speed in the short distance it had. You can also gather that the plane that hit the buildings was not actually a passenger jetliner - but a military jet. Moving forward. Looking at the way the Twin Towers fell, you might assume the plane caused the damage; looking even closer we can see that the towers fell in such a strategic, and organized way - well, you might say it was planned. Ask any demolition worker and they can explain to you - no plane could create damage that severe that the buildings would fall onto their own footprints. The buildings fell just as a planned demolition would. Now I can go on and on, but to the point - the US government new of this long before anything happened. So what was the initial agenda? Votes. Money. Power. What else do you expect a politician to want? This act allowed the US to invade Iraq. And the same goes on and on, with many other governments.
-
Now I know you must be wondering: And what about the actual Muslims who blow themselves up? It's a sad day when you have to think about all the kinds of people in your own religion who do not know any better. Just let me say this: Has anyone ever seen an actual Arab terrorist? Or did you just realize you've seen Iraqi, Pakistani, Afghan, Filipino terrorists? None of these groups speak Arabic. And, with no disrespect, the majority of the people who come from these places are illiterate or get their teachings from anyone whom they believe to be a leader in their community on Islam. Some may be able to memorize the entire Qur'an in Arabic, but have no actual idea of it's meaning. Therefore, these individuals feed off of their leaders who - most likely are intellectuals who have a political agenda. As for those terrorists who actually have been well educated - such as the recent Nigerian man who attempted to blow-up the jetliner in Detroit - I assume these individuals have lived very "fruitful" lives, meaning doing horrible things which the religion teaches you not to do, and are not educated in the religion itself, and feel as if they are fighting in the name of Allah and it will clean their sins. That's just not the way it works.
For those who say it's all in the Qur'an that teaches us to kill, rape, and harass others: that is not true. If you read the Qur'an only once - and without understanding - you will never grasp the ideas that it stands for. For example: all of the portions of the Qur'an that say anything about killing the enemy or fighting in the name of Allah - you have to first understand when these verses were given to the beloved Prophet Muhammad (saaw). It was a time of persecution. They tried to introduce something that was unknown - or forgotten- to the Arabians (where he lived) at the time. They tried to remove the prophet and his followers from the land, then they tried to kill them completely. The Qur'anic verses are mostly aimed at that time. That is why when reading the Qur'an you can notice the tense of speaking "say oh Muhammad (saaw)..."... Allah is speaking to Muhammad. But it seems now that even within the Muslim community - many do not know this.
Islam does not teach us to kill one another. It does not teach us to hate one another. Islam is a religion of peace and tranquility. Terrorism is condemned and that's that.
I hope this will help someone out there to find truth. I have found too many sites that bash on Islam - those few Muslim terrorists are only a couple of thousand black sheep in our entire family of Muslims, who do follow the right path. Do not let them sway your thinking without first using your own logic.
JazakhAllah Khair. Walaikum Asalaam.
*********
Sources:
The Glorious Qur'an
Various news feeds: CBS, CNN, FOX
Islamic Research Foundation - research
wtc7.net
Various wikipedia sites (less noted source)
