In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Although Islam is similar in many ways to Judaism and Christianity, most Americans and Europeans think of Muslims as strange, foreign, and frightening, inevitably linked to headline terrorist events. This state of affairs needs to and must change, and this can only happen with better information, more awareness, and deeper understanding.
We must put an end to the spiral of fear, hatred, and violence spawned by ignorance, that no longer only afflicts other countries but has come home to America.
Historically, some Muslims have engaged in terrorism and used religion to justify their actions. For many who have little previous knowledge of Islam or Muslims, acts of terrorism committed by extremists, in particular 9/11, raise the question of whether there is something in Islam or the Qur�an that fosters violence and terrorism.
Islam, like all world religions, neither supports nor requires illegitimate violence. The Qur�an does not advocate or promote terrorism. The God of the Qur�an is consistently portrayed as a God of mercy and compassion as well as a fair judge. Every Chapter of the Qur�an begins with a reference to God's mercy and compassion; throughout the Qur�an in many contexts, Muslims are reminded to be merciful and fair.
Like all scriptures, Islamic sacred texts must be read within the social and political contexts in which they were revealed. It is not surprising that the Qur�an, like the Hebrew scriptures or Old Testament, has verses that address fighting and the conduct of war. The world in which the Islamic community emerged was a barbaric neighborhood.
Throughout history, the sacred scriptures of Islam have been used and abused, interpreted and misinterpreted to justify resistance and liberation struggles, extremism and terrorism, holy and unholy wars. Terrorists go beyond classical Islam's criteria for a fair �jihad� and recognize no limits but their own, employing any weapons or means. They reject Islamic law's regulations regarding the goals and legitimate means for a valid jihad: that violence must be proportional and that only the necessary amount of force should be used to repel the enemy, that innocent civilians should not be targeted, and that �jihad� must be declared by the ruler or head of state. Today, individuals and religious groups seize the right to declare and legitimate unholy wars of terrorism in the name of Islam, and this itself is unholy.
Tomorrow's Topic: The Reality of Jihad
P.S. Pass it on to friends, family, neighbors, Muslims and Non Muslims alike.
