Writes Shahzad Hussain Hamdani
CNN recently published an article entitled Study: Threat of Muslim-American terrorism in U.S. exaggerated ; according to a study released by Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “the terrorist threat posed by radicalized Muslim-Americans has been exaggerated.”
Yet, Americans continue to live in mortal fear of radical Islam, a fear propagated and inflamed by right wing Islamophobes. If one follows the cable news networks, it seems as if all terrorists are Muslims. It has even become axiomatic in some circles to chant: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but nearly all terrorists are Muslims.”
Terrorism is when innocent people are specifically targeted to instil fear in a population. It is categorically prohibited in Islam. The present era of our history has been blemished by indiscriminate violence in almost every society. The loss of innocent life has become extremely commonplace. Unfortunately, due to the actions of some ignorant Muslims as well as biased reporting in the media, Muslims have come to be associated with terrorism. However, the appropriate question to be asked is: “Do Islamic teachings promote terrorism?”
As a matter of fact, Islam and terrorism are precise opposites; the very name, Islam, denotes peace and submission. The fundamentals of Islam direct its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world. Islam is a faith of moderation; thus a righteous and God-fearing Muslim can neither be a fanatic nor an extremist. There is no connection whatsoever between Islam and the violence practiced by terrorist groups in different parts of the world. In no way does it condone hijackings, hostage taking, and the torture and killing of innocent people in order to achieve particular goals. All religions and ideologies have some misguided followers, and it is surely unfair to judge any one of them by the behaviour of such people. Accordingly, Islam should not be judged by the acts of misguided Muslims or even by the obvious corruption that permeates many Muslim countries. For in fact, what Islam teaches is one thing and what these so-called Muslims practice is something else. The only way to know the truth about Islam is to study its teachings, for they are the standard by which the actions of Muslims can be assessed as being right or wrong.
Islam emphasizes the sanctity of life in general, and particularly, human life. And the Qur’an prohibits murder in clear terms:
“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right.”[5:32]
“Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul[i.e., in legal retribution for murder] or for corruption [done] in the land[ i.e., that requiring the death penalty] – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.”[6:151]
Such is the value of a single human life that God equates the unjust taking of one life with killing all of humanity.
Former World Heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, at the telethon benefit concert, September 21, 2001 said,
“I’m a Muslim. I’ve been a Muslim for 20 years. I want the world to know the truth about Islam. I wouldn’t be here to represent Islam if it were the way the terrorists make it look…Islam is for peace.”
At the outset, I should clarify the meaning of the term jihad. It does not necessarily mean a military struggle. Yes, it was understood and used often in that denotation throughout Islamic history; however, it might also mean quite peaceful efforts for the sake of God. I personally believe that an intellectual jihad is necessary for today’s Muslims against materialism, both as a philosophy and as a worldview. That is why I call Muslims to be active in the scientific and intellectual challenge to materialism, hand in hand with other fellow theists, Christians and Jews. Many other Muslims emphasize the importance of such a “war” of ideas. On a popular Muslim website, under the title “The Final Jihad “, the author defines the enemy as “western secular materialism” and adds that, “the weapon in this jihad must be knowledge.”
Remember that Islam means Peace and Muslim means a believer from whose hands and tongue the others are safe. It is not possible that every Muslim can be a terrorist. I am not trying to say that at present times, the entire Muslim community is perfect. I am not saying that the Muslim community does not have any bad element. What I am trying to convey is a request to the entire media organization to be fair and honest in their reporting. Treat the Muslim community as you treat the Christian and Jewish communities. In case of a Christian or a Jew, you are able to separate an individual action from his / her community action, why are you unable to do the same thing with Muslims? Just like Christianity or Judaism, Islam forbids its followers to harm or kill or make hostage anyone. While the media can understand the teachings of Christianity and Judaism why they have difficulty in understanding similar teachings of Islam? Is this intentional? Why media organizations do not want to play a positive role in bringing the followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism together? Why these media organizations treat a Christian or a Jew different than a Muslim? Why are these media organizations afraid of Islam and Muslims? The problems of extremism do exist in Muslim community just like in Christian and Jewish communities. Why the problem in Muslim community is exploited more than the Christian or Jewish communities? I end up with these unanswered questions.