Global conflicts and the need for justice (II)

Non-Muslims, therefore, accept that terrorists have established a new stream of Islam that can only be described as a reprehensible distortion of Islamic teachings. Those who have adopted this new stream, and engage in killing, maiming and raping innocent people, are, according to the Qur'an, guilty of the murder of all mankind. 

It should be noted, on the other hand, that among non-Muslims there are some individuals or groups who fan the flames of division and hostility and aim to unfairly defame and discredit the teachings of Islam. For example, in a column that appeared last week in Foreign Policy, journalist Bethany Allen has written about a sophisticated and well-funded network based in the United States whose sole purpose is to incite Islamophobia and prevent any attempt to promote peaceful teachings. of Islam. The Foreign Policy article mentions: “a well-funded network is attempting to take away the right of speech from American Muslims and fuel the politics of fear… The American far-right, anti-Muslim ecosystem has adopted the same distorted interpretations of Islam promoted by the Islamic State (ISIS)”. The author further writes that peaceful Muslims in the United States are victims of “an increasingly powerful industry of Islamophobia that restricts the space for open and balanced dialogue, excluding the very Muslims who do their best to promote political interpretations.” peaceful and orthodox traditions of Islam.He writes: “The United States provides powerful protections for freedom of speech and religion, but a specific network now seeks to deny Muslims such freedom and treat Islam as a dangerous political ideology rather than a religion, and to silence and discredit any Muslim. to disagree.” The article offers the example of a peaceful Muslim convert from the United States. After giving a lecture at university highlighting the true teachings of Islam, a powerful lobby turned against him and attempted to portray him as an advocate of murder, slavery and rape. Her family received death and rape threats. The university where he worked was inundated with emails demanding his immediate dismissal. These cases demonstrate that a concerted effort is underway to influence public opinion against Islam and to prevent its true teachings from reaching a wide audience. Based on her research, the author concludes by saying: “In the process, they are denying Islam the same functional rights that Christianity enjoys and silencing the people who are best prepared to reconcile Islam with modern American life. This may be precisely your objective.” 

Unfortunately, we frequently hear leaders and politicians make unnecessarily inflammatory statements that are not in line with the truth, but rather in line with their own political interests. For example, in a speech last year when he was a presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, who is now a cabinet member in the new US administration, described Islam not as a “religion” but as “ “a system of organization of life.” Furthermore, referring to the Founder of Islam (lpbD), Dr. Carson said: “What I would suggest is that everyone here take a few hours and research Islam. Read about Muhammad. Read about his beginnings in Mecca. Read about how he was viewed by the people in Mecca – not very favorably –… How his uncle was influential and protected him. When his uncle died, he had to flee. "He went north to Medina... That's where he had to gather his army, and they started massacring anyone who didn't believe in the same thing they believed." I agree with Dr. Carson only to the extent that I also suggest that people take the time to read about the true character of the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH). If they studied impartial texts, they would verify for themselves that the Holy Prophet (s) was never involved in the “massacre” of non-Muslims and that such accusations are a total affront to history. The reality is that, as a result of many years of constant and bitter persecution, he and his followers were expelled from their city of Mecca and forced to emigrate to Medina, where they lived peacefully alongside the local Jewish population and other tribes. However, the non-believers of Mecca did not let the Muslims live in peace and instead aggressively pursued them to Medina and started war, seeking to destroy Islam once and for all. It was during that critical moment in the history of Islam that Allah the Almighty allowed Muslims to engage in defensive warfare. This permission was granted, as the verses of the Qur'an cited above attest, to establish the universal principle of freedom of belief. 

Therefore, the allegation that the Holy Prophet (s) was a belligerent leader or an instigator of war is injustice and cruelty of the highest order and such false accusations only afflict the hearts of millions of peaceful Muslims. of all the world. History bears witness to the fact that, with every fiber of his being, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) sought peace and reconciliation. In this regard, you don't have to believe my words; Rather, I invite you to listen to what Ruth Cranston, a prominent 20th-century author, wrote in the 1949 book World Faith. Comparing the defensive wars imposed on the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s) with the nuclear weapons used by the United States during World War II, he wrote: “Muhammad never instigated fighting or bloodshed. Every battle he fought was in response (to aggression). He fought in its defense in order to survive... And he fought with weapons and in the style of the time... Certainly no Christian nation of 140 million people that currently gets rid of 120,000 defenseless civilians with a simple bomb, can look askance at a leader who, in the worst of cases, barely killed five or six hundred people.” Fortunately, in a climate where it has become the norm to label Islam a religion of extremism and violence, there are still some non-Muslim journalists and commentators who write with integrity and fairness. Therefore, I commend you for swimming against the tide of falsehood and injustice that has become commonplace. I would also like to highly commend our honorable Prime Minister for quoting some of the verses of the Holy Quran in some of her speeches and appearances, condemning the accusations being made against Islamic teachings. 

Here I also want to praise an article by Julia Ioffe, published in Foreign Policy, in which she examined the history of different religions, including Islam. In the end he concluded by saying: “No religion is inherently violent. No religion is inherently peaceful. Religion, any religion, is based on interpretation, and it is often in that interpretation that we see beauty or ugliness.” I appreciate this unbiased conclusion. As these uncertain and precarious times unfold, I firmly believe that mutual criticism serves no purpose and only increases division and hostility. Instead, the need of the hour is to break down the barriers of fear that divide us. Instead of erecting walls that separate us, we should build bridges that unite us even more. 

Tragically, not a day goes by without news of new atrocities and terrorist attacks leaking out. Undeniably, the world is becoming a place of increasing danger for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Therefore, we must rise up against all forms of oppression and hatred and use all our abilities to try to establish peace in the world. If we really want peace, then politicians, world leaders, media and parties must act with wisdom and harmony. 

(lpbD) – may the peace and blessings of God be upon him. 

(lpD) – peace be upon him. 

(We will continue this speech in the next installment: “WORLD CONFLICTS AND THE NEED FOR JUSTICE (III)”.