Tags: Islam vs Christianity, Misconceptions of Islam, Terrorism and Islam

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Over and over again, the biased media links terrorism with Islam and over and over again ordinary people are mislead away from the truth. It is of great regret that uninformed masses accept such baseless assertions as the foundation of their prejudice against nearly one quarter of world’s population, that is one in every four people. Regular Muslim men, women and children have in numerous occasions been mistreated, discriminated against and in many cases treated with death by various communities as minorities precisely due to the build-up of such hatred and animosity. Numerous wars have been unjustly waged against poor and ragged people some Muslim countries and many innocent people have perished for no other reason than being born in these countries. Here we have listed a few reasons why Islam has absolutely nothing to do with terrorism.

1- the events of our times are purely political and have nothing to do with religion:

It is very unfortunate that the hypocrites commit insane criminal acts and brutality then justify them in a variety of ways, but what is more unfortunate is that the easiest avenue of justification is , of course, religion. History is full of such examples from every sect and from every branch of religiosity. Notably the case of the crusaders who massacred  thousands of Muslim and Jewish innocent men, women and children. They were armies whose every member was pumped with fundamentalist exasperation fueled precisely by a religious command. Pope Urban II urged the European crusaders that they must “free” the Holy Land and went as far as saying that “Jesus himself demands it,” yes! Pope urban II motivated his army under the name of Jesus (pubh) – the prince of peace – and of course the masses followed.

One thing is for sure though, Urban II did not follow the way of Jesus and so he was not a “Christian” in a true sense. Similarly, those who took the blacks in slavery, tortured and crucified them in the name of Christian Fundamentalism should not be label as “Christians,” even though they called themselves just that. Similarly an act of terrorism and killing the  innocents by those who call themselves “Muslims” has nothing to do with Islam.

A quick look at history proves that far more bloodshed, war and conflicts have been caused with a religious label in the name of Christianity than what is attributed to Islam. However, only the foolish attribute such insane acts to a great prophet of God – Jesus (pbuh) – well, if we intend to be just and avoid double standards then the same should apply to Islam.

“As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice” – Adolph Hitler

2- Islam in itself means “peace”:

Islam is derived from the room meaning of the word “Asalama” meaning peace and the word “Tasleem” meaning submission. It literally means “those who submit (to God) in peace”. A true Muslims is one who consciously performs the act of Islam – one who submits to His creator in peace – arguably the religion of all prophets of God, including Moses and Jesus (pbut). Thus, a person committing acts of cruelty, brutality, and aggression is going completely in contradiction to God’s will.

“(one of the signs of coming of the day of Judgment will be) when there will be much killing. A time when the killer will not know for what reason he killed, and the person who was killed won’t know why he was killed.” – Prophet Muhammad (pubh)

3- condemnations against unjust killing and mischief are many and frequent in the Quran:

Fist of all, let not the lies like the “72 virgins” fool you, there are no rewards in Islam for people who kill unjustly and there is an abundance of verses in the Quran condemning brutality and cruelty. The warning against killing, mischief and “terrorism” and the promotion of peace, truth and justice even “against your own selves,” are scattered throughout the Quran, which are exactly a clear testimony to the peaceful nature of Islam. Any other verse directed to war is either applicable at time of prophet Muhammad (pubh) or was revealed as means of regulation of war that can be solely applied  for liberation from oppression. We should remind our readers that choosing a translation and interpretation of the holy Quran is quite crucial; although no translation can do justice to the original meaning, we recommend translations and interpretations by Muahammad Asad or Yusuf Ali.

O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well- acquainted with all that ye do. (Quran 4:135)

4- The Quran tells us that “If anyone kills one person unjustly it is as if he has killed whole mankind”:

The above statement may tie in with the previous section, but this statement is so profound in condemning terrorism that must be discussed separately. Lets pause and ponder for a short moment! What other testimony can be found or have ever been heard to be more profound in its stance against terrorism than equating killing one person to the death of whole humanity. How can we express the precious life of human being in more valuable terms than to say, “If one saves a life it is as if he has save the whole humanity”?

“…if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people…” (Quran, 5:32)

5- Those who unjustly kill in the name of Islam are not Muslim in the first place:

As explained above Islam in itself means peace. Having that in mind, how can anyone kill the innocents and call himself a Muslim? Let us reiterate once more that violence, brutality and oppression are against the peaceful message of Quran and Islam, but defense for humanity liberty, standing up for the oppressed and the pursuit of justice is the duty of every god-conscious human being.

Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just. (Quran, 60:8)

May God guides us closer and closer to the truth!

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5. How does Islam explain why the Jews tried to kill Jesus Christ?