A man was walking in a London park when he saw a young girl being attacked by a pit-bull terrier. Running over to the girl, he started fighting with the dog and managed to kill it, thus saving the young girl's life. A reporter who witnessed the whole incident came running over to the man and said, "that was incredible, so brave. I'm going to run the headline in tomorrow's paper: "Brave Londoner saves life of little girl!" You're going to be a hero."
The man replies, "oh no, I'm not from London."
"Ok, I'll say "Brave British man, saves life of little girl!""
"I'm not British either, I'm from Saudi Arabia."
Next morning, the Evening Standard runs the headline "Islamic fundamentalist asylum-seeker, murders innocent British dog. Police investigate links to Al-Qaeda."
When I first read this, I actually Googled the headline before realising it was a joke. Arguably the greatest myth of Islam is the myth of Islam and violence. I have been getting more and more fed up about how the media, right wing extremists and even the Tory Government try to condemn Islam as a religion of violence. The Quran is a "barabaric" book proclaimed by the English Defence League. As a result, this blog is a bit of a departure from the overall theme by trying to discuss an Islamic rather than Shia issue, but it is a topic I feel is important and needs addressing.
We Muslims are apparently all terrorists, militants and killers. The common phrase your hear is "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims!" If you believe the media, then all acts of terrorism across the world are carried out by Muslims and Muslims alone. It feeds into this myth of Islam and violence but has been grossly misrepresented.
Up until the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Hindu separatist group, the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, killed more people in suicide attacks than all Muslim terrorist groups put together. Even to this day, the Tigers have killed more civilians than Al-Qaeda.
As for Muslim terrorism itself., according to EUROPOL, the EU police intelligence agency, in 2006 only one out of 498 documented terrorist attacks across Europe were classed as "Islamist" and in 2007 this figure rose to four out of 583 attacks. In contrast, 517 attacks across the continent, in 2007, were claimed or attributed to nationalist or separatist terrorist groups suchs as ETA in Spain. However, none of these figures gets any coverage, all we hear about is "Jihad" and terrorism from Muslims.
Ever since the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11th 2001 (9/11), violence in the name of Islam has come under sharp focus. Muslim author, Ziauddin Sardar, commented in his Observer column shortly after 9/11 that "the very mention of the term "jihad" sends shivers down the spine of civilised people." There has been an explosion of interest in this so-called Islamic jihad. Today, a simple search on Google brings up 10.2 million results (compared to say, Hinduisim with only 6.2 million results). On Amazon.com there are over 4,000 books related to jihad, the majority of which are overtly negative, hostile and Islamaphobic.
It has reached the stage where now the US Justice Department in terrorism cases defines jihad as "the Arabic word meaning 'holy war'. In this context, jihad refers to the use of violence, including paramilitary action against persons, governments deemed to be enemies of the fundamentalist version of Islam." Jihad has absolutely nothing to do with holy war. It simply means "struggling" or "striving". It is derived from the root Arabic verb, "jahada" which means to struggle, to strive and from the root Arabic noun, "judh" which literally means 'a struggle'. In this sense, jihad is once of the most important concepts in Islam, the term 'jihad' appears more than thirty times in the Holy Quran and not once is it used to express an immoral meaning, a violent meaning or a military meaning.
The term 'holy war' was actually first coined by the Christians during the Crusades when they fought against the Muslims of the Middle East in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. There is no Islamic counterpart to the phrase 'holy war', and if there was, it would not be 'jihad'. The Arabic words for war are 'harb' or 'qital'. Jihad means to struggle as hard as one can in a spiritual, intellectual and social sense and it is used in that reference throughout the Quran.
Howver, the dominant myth remains that Islam is a violent religion, obsessed with so called holy war. It is a myth which is pushed not just by non-Muslims, Islamaphobes and people on the far right but by Muslims themselves throughout history. From the corrupt rulers in early Islam such as Muawiya and Yazid to the present day terrorists such as Bin Laden, Zarqawi and Mullah Omar.
We Muslims need to take responsibility and face up to this militant minority who use and abuse Islam and the Quran to justify their violence and extremism. They try to hide behind Islam and even some Muslims now believe that Islam is associated with violence and intolerance in general and suicide bombings and beheadings in particular. We can the blame the media all we want, but the fact remains that 9/11 did happen, 7/7 did happen and by so-called Muslims, in the name of Islam. Numerous other foiled attacks have also taken place such as the 21/7 attacks and the plan to blow up Bluewater shopping centre, all in the name of Islam. We cannot allow Islam to be abused, misrepresented and exploited like this, by fellow (so-called) Muslims, the world needs to know that it is not occurring in our name.
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson said that "Islam has been hijacked by a discourse of anger and rhetoric rage," and that is exactly the point, Islam has been hijacked. Some scholars continue to call for theological debates within Islam about jihad, but there is simply no need. There is NO justification for the killing of innocent human beings, be they men, women or children, Muslim or non-Muslim. The Holy Quran makes this quite clear when it states
The main arguement of the extremists tends to follow the lines of "they killed our people, let us kill theirs." However, just as we tell our children, two wrongs do not make a right, these extremists need to realise that there is no justification for the killing of any innocents in Islam. For us Shias, that is even more prudent. In Iraq, Shias are constantly being targetted and persecuted, but Ayatullah Sistani has issued several fatwas condemning the violence and preventing Shias from retaliating. I was fortunate enough to meet Ayatullah Sistani in 2002 and I asked him about the justification of suicide bombing. At that time it was very prominent in Israel, with attacks carried out by Palestinians against civilian populations. Ayatuallah Sistani was clear, it was entirely haram and un-Islamic.
Of course we should feel outrage about the attacks against Muslims across the world and the deaths of thousands upon thousands of innocent Muslims in the likes of Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan but as hard it is, we have to take the moral high ground. I realise it's easy for me to say this, sitting here in Britain with no threat to my life or my family and I'll never be able to understand how it feels for a Iraqi or a Palestenian who has lost his or her family, but we have the example of the Ahlul-Bayt. The family of the Holy Prophet were constantly persecuted and oppressed, but not once did they retaliate with violence or extremism. No Imam ever killed an innocent in retaliation to their persecution. Our 4th Imam, Zainul-Abideen (a.s.) saw 18 members of his family killed by the army of Yazid, he did not retaliate by killing Yazid's family. If we are to be followers of Ahlul-Bayt, then we need to follow their example. We need to follow their sunnah, we cannot pick and choose. We need to use their example to help making moral decisions today.
The idea of a nuclear bomb is inherently un-Islamic. The Islamic Republic of Iran, despite what the media report, admits that it is "forbidden under Islam" and the Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Khameni has issued a fatwa saying as much. However, you also have the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which has developed nuclear weapons and labelled them "Islamic bombs," completely outrageous.
Nuclear weapons do not discriminate against combatants and non-combatants, neither do suicide bombs and that is the most important distinction to make in Islam. Islam is not a pacifist religion, it accepts that violence is sometimes necessary, but only as a last resort under provacation with strict rules, provisos and restrictions from Allah. The reality is that this extreme form of Islam or Islamism, in its militant form offers a religion to die for, but the actual Islam, authentic Islam offers a religion to live for.
Enemies of Islam have used the so-called "War on Terror" as an excuse to bash Islam and the Holy Quran. They claim that the Quran advocates hatred, intolerance and violence. In the US, Franklin Graham, right-wing cleric who was close to President Bush said "If you buy the Quran, read it for yourself, and it’s in there. The violence that it preaches is there." Here in England, right-wing columnists in the Express, call the Quran a "bloodthirsty little book." Even left-wing, secular atheist, Polly Toynbee casually and inaccurately refers to the "many ferocious verses calling for the blood of infidels in [Muslim] holy book, verses that justify terror." These critics have not even read the Quran and the small minority who have, quote verses selectively and out of context, without the full and proper background.
The most popular verse that critics and extremist alike use to justify violence in Islam is verse 191 of the 2nd Surah of the Holy Quran:
Another classic verse is the so-called "Verse of the Sword," in which interestingly, there is no mention of the word 'sword', nor is there in the entire Quran:
On the flip-side there are plenty of verses in the Quran which encourage and advocate the philosophy of peace and the justice of Islam. When will extremists start quoting such verses?
Also, let me be clear, when the Quran states "those who fight you," it means actual fighters - civilians are protected. The Prophet made his instructions clear whenever he sent out an army: "Set out for battle in the name of Allah and for the sake of Allah. But do no lay your hands on the old, those verging on death, or on women or on children and babies. Do not steal anything from the booty and collect together all that falls to your lot in the battlefield, and do good, for Allah loves the virtuous and the pious."
The whole problem with Bin Ladenism and various other Muslim extremists, is that while they use the language of Islam to make emotional, political appeals to the Muslim ummah, they neglect Islam's moral and ethical tenets. Political Islam or Islamism has tried to paint this picture of the Holy Prophet as a warrior statesman. He was this, but he was so much more. His mission was to uplift the character of people through teaching worship, good conduct and humility before God.
According to the teachings of the Holy Prophet and indeed of Imam Ali (a.s.) we must pursue the moral high ground even in the face of an aggressor who is not moral. The Quran has declared the Prophet as a "mercy to all the worlds." He was motivated by a profound and intimate love for God and his community. He was a peacemaker and a diplomat. For our Prophet and our Imams the end never justified the means but you'll never hear much mercy from the extremists. Their call to action may have Islamic language but it goes entirely against Islamic principles. If we allow this to continue then we make a mockery of Islam and turn it into a narrow, materialistic, emotional-driven political ideology. It will lose its rightful place as a genuine guiding force in peoples lives.
I leave you with the following verses of the Holy Quran which prescribe peace and justice as the overriding factors that allow us to continue on the right path:
The man replies, "oh no, I'm not from London."
"Ok, I'll say "Brave British man, saves life of little girl!""
"I'm not British either, I'm from Saudi Arabia."
Next morning, the Evening Standard runs the headline "Islamic fundamentalist asylum-seeker, murders innocent British dog. Police investigate links to Al-Qaeda."
When I first read this, I actually Googled the headline before realising it was a joke. Arguably the greatest myth of Islam is the myth of Islam and violence. I have been getting more and more fed up about how the media, right wing extremists and even the Tory Government try to condemn Islam as a religion of violence. The Quran is a "barabaric" book proclaimed by the English Defence League. As a result, this blog is a bit of a departure from the overall theme by trying to discuss an Islamic rather than Shia issue, but it is a topic I feel is important and needs addressing.
We Muslims are apparently all terrorists, militants and killers. The common phrase your hear is "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims!" If you believe the media, then all acts of terrorism across the world are carried out by Muslims and Muslims alone. It feeds into this myth of Islam and violence but has been grossly misrepresented.
Up until the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Hindu separatist group, the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, killed more people in suicide attacks than all Muslim terrorist groups put together. Even to this day, the Tigers have killed more civilians than Al-Qaeda.
As for Muslim terrorism itself., according to EUROPOL, the EU police intelligence agency, in 2006 only one out of 498 documented terrorist attacks across Europe were classed as "Islamist" and in 2007 this figure rose to four out of 583 attacks. In contrast, 517 attacks across the continent, in 2007, were claimed or attributed to nationalist or separatist terrorist groups suchs as ETA in Spain. However, none of these figures gets any coverage, all we hear about is "Jihad" and terrorism from Muslims.
Ever since the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11th 2001 (9/11), violence in the name of Islam has come under sharp focus. Muslim author, Ziauddin Sardar, commented in his Observer column shortly after 9/11 that "the very mention of the term "jihad" sends shivers down the spine of civilised people." There has been an explosion of interest in this so-called Islamic jihad. Today, a simple search on Google brings up 10.2 million results (compared to say, Hinduisim with only 6.2 million results). On Amazon.com there are over 4,000 books related to jihad, the majority of which are overtly negative, hostile and Islamaphobic.
It has reached the stage where now the US Justice Department in terrorism cases defines jihad as "the Arabic word meaning 'holy war'. In this context, jihad refers to the use of violence, including paramilitary action against persons, governments deemed to be enemies of the fundamentalist version of Islam." Jihad has absolutely nothing to do with holy war. It simply means "struggling" or "striving". It is derived from the root Arabic verb, "jahada" which means to struggle, to strive and from the root Arabic noun, "judh" which literally means 'a struggle'. In this sense, jihad is once of the most important concepts in Islam, the term 'jihad' appears more than thirty times in the Holy Quran and not once is it used to express an immoral meaning, a violent meaning or a military meaning.
The term 'holy war' was actually first coined by the Christians during the Crusades when they fought against the Muslims of the Middle East in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. There is no Islamic counterpart to the phrase 'holy war', and if there was, it would not be 'jihad'. The Arabic words for war are 'harb' or 'qital'. Jihad means to struggle as hard as one can in a spiritual, intellectual and social sense and it is used in that reference throughout the Quran.
Howver, the dominant myth remains that Islam is a violent religion, obsessed with so called holy war. It is a myth which is pushed not just by non-Muslims, Islamaphobes and people on the far right but by Muslims themselves throughout history. From the corrupt rulers in early Islam such as Muawiya and Yazid to the present day terrorists such as Bin Laden, Zarqawi and Mullah Omar.
We Muslims need to take responsibility and face up to this militant minority who use and abuse Islam and the Quran to justify their violence and extremism. They try to hide behind Islam and even some Muslims now believe that Islam is associated with violence and intolerance in general and suicide bombings and beheadings in particular. We can the blame the media all we want, but the fact remains that 9/11 did happen, 7/7 did happen and by so-called Muslims, in the name of Islam. Numerous other foiled attacks have also taken place such as the 21/7 attacks and the plan to blow up Bluewater shopping centre, all in the name of Islam. We cannot allow Islam to be abused, misrepresented and exploited like this, by fellow (so-called) Muslims, the world needs to know that it is not occurring in our name.
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson said that "Islam has been hijacked by a discourse of anger and rhetoric rage," and that is exactly the point, Islam has been hijacked. Some scholars continue to call for theological debates within Islam about jihad, but there is simply no need. There is NO justification for the killing of innocent human beings, be they men, women or children, Muslim or non-Muslim. The Holy Quran makes this quite clear when it states
"that if any one slew a person... ...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." (Surah 5, Verse 34).To kill one innocent person is as if killing 6 billion - it is an offence against God, and yet you would not believe it given all the rhetoric of the Bin Ladenists or the coverage in the media.
The main arguement of the extremists tends to follow the lines of "they killed our people, let us kill theirs." However, just as we tell our children, two wrongs do not make a right, these extremists need to realise that there is no justification for the killing of any innocents in Islam. For us Shias, that is even more prudent. In Iraq, Shias are constantly being targetted and persecuted, but Ayatullah Sistani has issued several fatwas condemning the violence and preventing Shias from retaliating. I was fortunate enough to meet Ayatullah Sistani in 2002 and I asked him about the justification of suicide bombing. At that time it was very prominent in Israel, with attacks carried out by Palestinians against civilian populations. Ayatuallah Sistani was clear, it was entirely haram and un-Islamic.
Of course we should feel outrage about the attacks against Muslims across the world and the deaths of thousands upon thousands of innocent Muslims in the likes of Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan but as hard it is, we have to take the moral high ground. I realise it's easy for me to say this, sitting here in Britain with no threat to my life or my family and I'll never be able to understand how it feels for a Iraqi or a Palestenian who has lost his or her family, but we have the example of the Ahlul-Bayt. The family of the Holy Prophet were constantly persecuted and oppressed, but not once did they retaliate with violence or extremism. No Imam ever killed an innocent in retaliation to their persecution. Our 4th Imam, Zainul-Abideen (a.s.) saw 18 members of his family killed by the army of Yazid, he did not retaliate by killing Yazid's family. If we are to be followers of Ahlul-Bayt, then we need to follow their example. We need to follow their sunnah, we cannot pick and choose. We need to use their example to help making moral decisions today.
The idea of a nuclear bomb is inherently un-Islamic. The Islamic Republic of Iran, despite what the media report, admits that it is "forbidden under Islam" and the Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Khameni has issued a fatwa saying as much. However, you also have the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which has developed nuclear weapons and labelled them "Islamic bombs," completely outrageous.
Nuclear weapons do not discriminate against combatants and non-combatants, neither do suicide bombs and that is the most important distinction to make in Islam. Islam is not a pacifist religion, it accepts that violence is sometimes necessary, but only as a last resort under provacation with strict rules, provisos and restrictions from Allah. The reality is that this extreme form of Islam or Islamism, in its militant form offers a religion to die for, but the actual Islam, authentic Islam offers a religion to live for.
Enemies of Islam have used the so-called "War on Terror" as an excuse to bash Islam and the Holy Quran. They claim that the Quran advocates hatred, intolerance and violence. In the US, Franklin Graham, right-wing cleric who was close to President Bush said "If you buy the Quran, read it for yourself, and it’s in there. The violence that it preaches is there." Here in England, right-wing columnists in the Express, call the Quran a "bloodthirsty little book." Even left-wing, secular atheist, Polly Toynbee casually and inaccurately refers to the "many ferocious verses calling for the blood of infidels in [Muslim] holy book, verses that justify terror." These critics have not even read the Quran and the small minority who have, quote verses selectively and out of context, without the full and proper background.
The most popular verse that critics and extremist alike use to justify violence in Islam is verse 191 of the 2nd Surah of the Holy Quran:
"And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out"Whenever this verse is quoted, conveinently, the verse before this verse, the rest of this verse and the verse after are left out. The full context of the this quote can be provided by reading it in full:
"Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Surah 2, Verses 190-192)The verse taken out of context is not about aggression, but more about appropritate retaliation when provoked and with strict guidelines not to be over-zealous or over-aggressive. Islam is not a pacifistic religion, Muslims are allowed to defend themselves when provoked.
Another classic verse is the so-called "Verse of the Sword," in which interestingly, there is no mention of the word 'sword', nor is there in the entire Quran:
"Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush." (Surah 9 Verse 5)However, yet again, we find that this verse has been taken out of context by ignoring the verses before and after this verse.
"Excepting those of the idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing of your right nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these), fulfil their treaty to them till their term. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty (unto Him). Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And if anyone of the idolaters seeketh thy protection (O Muhammad), then protect him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and afterward convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are a folk who know not." (Surah 9, Verses 4-6)These verses were revealed to the Holy Prophet at the time when the small Muslim community had entered into treaties with neighbouring tribes (Jewish, Christian and Pagans). Several Pagans betrayed the treaties and attacked the Muslim community. The verses instruct the Muslims to continue to honour the treaties with anyone who has not betrayed them and to those who have declared war, the Muslims can fight them. The subsequent verse then clearly tells the Muslims to grant refuge to any member of the Pagan army who asks for it. Taken in context, the "Verse of the Sword" is not as aggressive as the extremists would have us believe, but by taking it out of context, the likes of Bin Laden have used this verse to justify the killing of non-Muslims, Christians and Jews. Whoever tries to argue that this verse justifies violence or terrorism is either blind, illeterate or just plain dishonest.
On the flip-side there are plenty of verses in the Quran which encourage and advocate the philosophy of peace and the justice of Islam. When will extremists start quoting such verses?
"If they incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo! He, even He, is the Hearer, the Knower." (Surah 8, Verse 61)
Also, let me be clear, when the Quran states "those who fight you," it means actual fighters - civilians are protected. The Prophet made his instructions clear whenever he sent out an army: "Set out for battle in the name of Allah and for the sake of Allah. But do no lay your hands on the old, those verging on death, or on women or on children and babies. Do not steal anything from the booty and collect together all that falls to your lot in the battlefield, and do good, for Allah loves the virtuous and the pious."
The whole problem with Bin Ladenism and various other Muslim extremists, is that while they use the language of Islam to make emotional, political appeals to the Muslim ummah, they neglect Islam's moral and ethical tenets. Political Islam or Islamism has tried to paint this picture of the Holy Prophet as a warrior statesman. He was this, but he was so much more. His mission was to uplift the character of people through teaching worship, good conduct and humility before God.
According to the teachings of the Holy Prophet and indeed of Imam Ali (a.s.) we must pursue the moral high ground even in the face of an aggressor who is not moral. The Quran has declared the Prophet as a "mercy to all the worlds." He was motivated by a profound and intimate love for God and his community. He was a peacemaker and a diplomat. For our Prophet and our Imams the end never justified the means but you'll never hear much mercy from the extremists. Their call to action may have Islamic language but it goes entirely against Islamic principles. If we allow this to continue then we make a mockery of Islam and turn it into a narrow, materialistic, emotional-driven political ideology. It will lose its rightful place as a genuine guiding force in peoples lives.
I leave you with the following verses of the Holy Quran which prescribe peace and justice as the overriding factors that allow us to continue on the right path:
"It may be that Allah will ordain love between you and those of them with whom ye are at enmity. Allah is Mighty, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers." (Surah 60, Verses 7-8)
"O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do." (Surah 5, Verse 8)
