Wednesday, May 23, 2012

5/11/10, Opinion Editorial, Roanoke Times



Islam Is A Religion Of Peace
By: Syed Amaar Ahmad

The arrest of Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen, on charges of attempting to attack Times Square in New York has again raised the issue of the association of terrorism with a Muslim-majority nation. Some critics would argue that it is the predominant religion of Pakistan -- Islam -- that inspires and encourages its followers to such acts of violence. They would portray the misdeeds and excesses of extremist elements among Muslims to be a result of the presumably harsh teachings of their faith.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth.

The discord between the teachings of Islam -- loyalty, peace and tolerance -- and the deeds of its followers have increased to an alarming extent, particularly in the last 100 years. Indeed, it is worthy to note that the actual tenets of Islam are demonstrably at odds with the bigoted world view of the extremist. For one, the Quran, the sacred book of Islam, clearly forbids murder and violence in the name of God by categorically declaring "whosoever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind" and "seek not to create disorder in the earth. Verily, God loves not those who seek to create disorder." Moreover, it offers the freedom to choose any faith or none by stating that "let him, who will, believe, and let him, who will, disbelieve" and "there is no compulsion in religion."

If any doubts remained on the interpretation of these verses, they were dispelled by none other than the founder of Islam. As ruler of Arabia, Prophet Muhammad granted a charter to Christians by declaring for them the freedom to freely practice their faith. The pact guaranteed that any Christian can profess his or her faith, that no Christian woman can be forcibly converted by her Muslim husband and that Muslims are supposed to respect and protect churches. This letter, sent to St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, was an unprecedented testament to the magnanimity and liberality of Muhammad in an era when the world did not know tolerance.

In this age, the strongest Muslim voice against intolerance and fanaticism was that of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), a noted Islamic revivalist and founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. He condemned the acts of rebellion against the then British rulers of India at the instigation of Muslim clergy. On the murder of non-Muslims in the name of God, he declared that "these barbaric practices defame Islam" and argued that a citizen "must be loyal -- truly and not hypocritically -- to the British Government" in his seminal work "The British Government and Jihad." He advocated that a believer must abide by the laws of the land and give the state its due allegiance. His message was much the same as when Jesus said to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's."

Clearly, what we see today in some sections of the Muslim world is poles apart from the high standards of tolerance, peacefulness and morality that their faith asks them to achieve. Those who attempt acts of terrorism such as the one in New York are following medievalists and fundamentalists who barely care for the fundamental teachings of Islam. Muslims would do well if they were to heed the words of their Scripture and follow the deeds of their prophet.


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