During the last two decades in particular, the concept of "Islamic
terror" has been often discussed. In the wake ofthe September 11
terrorist attacks on targets in New York and Washington which caused
the death of tens of thousands of innocentcivilians, this concept has
once again returned to the top of the international agenda.
As Muslims, we completely condemn these attacks and offer our
condolences to the American people.
In this article, we will explain that Islam is by no means the source
of this violence and that violence has no place in Islam.
We strongly condemn the cruel terrorist acts which targeted the
innocent people of the United States.
One point that should bestressed at the outset is that the identities
of the perpetrators of the acts of terrorism which targeted the United
States are not yet determined. There is a chance that these horrible
attackers are linked to quite different centres. It may well be a
communist organization harboring rage and hatred against American
values, a fascist organization opposing federal administration or a
secret faction in another state. Even though the hijackers have Muslim
identities, the questions regarding by whom and for what purposes
these people were used will probably remain to be a mystery.
The fact remains however, that even if the terrorists have Muslim
identities, the terror they perpetrated cannot be labelled"Islamic
terror", just as itwould not be called"Jewish terror" if the
perpetrators were Jews or "Christian terror" if they were Christians.
That is because, as we will examine in the following pages, murdering
innocent people in the name of religion is unacceptable .We need to
keep in mind that, among those who were killed in Washington or New
York, there were people who loved Jesus (Christians), Prophet Moses
(Jews) and Muslims. According to Islam, murdering innocent people is a
great sin that, unless forgiven by God, brings torment in Hell.
Thus, a religious person who has fear of God can never commit such an act.
In fact, the aggressors can commit such violence only with the
intention of attacking religion itself. It may wellbe that they
carried out this violence to present religion as evil in the eyes of
people, to divorce people from religion and to generatehatred and
reaction against pious people. Consequently, every attack having
a"religious" facade on American citizens or other innocent people is
actually an attack made against religion.
All the three Theistic religions command love, mercy and peace.
Terror,on the other hand, is theopposite of religion; it is cruel,
merciless and it demands bloodshed andmisery. This being the case,
while looking for the perpetrators of a terrorist act, its origins
should be sought in disbelief rather than in religion. People with a
fascist, communist, racistor materialist outlook onlife should be
suspected as potential perpetrators. The name or the identity of the
triggerman is not important. If he can kill innocent people
withoutblinking an eye, whatever his label is, then he is a
disbeliever, not a believer. He is a murderer with no fear of God,
whose main ambition is to shed blood and to give harm.
For this reason, "Islamic terror" is quite a erroneous concept which
contradicts Islam'smessage. That is because, the religion of Islam can
by no means concur with terror. On the contrary, Muslims
areresponsible for preventing terrorist acts and bringing peace and
justice to the world.
The Values of the Qur'an demands Goodness, Justice and Peace
Terror, in its broadest sense, is violence committed against
non-military targets for political purposes. To put it in another way,
the targets of terror are entirely innocent civilians whose only crime
is, in the eyes of terrorists, to represent"the other".
This is an act bereft of any moral justification. This, as in the case
of murders committed by Hitler or Stalin, is a crimecommitted
against"mankind".
The Qur'an is a Book revealed to people as a guide to the true path
and in this Book, God commands man to adoptgood morals. This morality
is based upon concepts such as love, compassion, tolerance and mercy.
God calls all people to Islamic morals through which compassion,
mercy, peace and tolerance can be experienced all over the world:
You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in
the footsteps of Satan. He is an outright enemy to you. (Surat
al-Baqara:208)
The values of the Qur'an hold a Muslim responsible for treating all
people, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, kindly and justly, protecting
the needy and the innocent and preventing the"dissemination of
mischief". Mischief comprises all forms of anarchy and terror that
remove security, comfortand peace. As God says in a verse, "God does
notlove mischief makers". (Surat al-Qasas: 77)
Murdering a person for no reason is one of the most obvious examples
of mischief. God repeats in the Qur'an a command He formerly revealed
to Jews in the Old Testament thus:
So We decreed for the tribe of Israel that if someone kills another
person - unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing
corruption in the earth - it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And
if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life
to all mankind. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs but even
after that manyof them committed outrages in the earth. (Surat
al-Ma'ida: 32)
As the verse suggests, a person who kills even a single man, " unless
it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the
earth ", commits a crime as if he had murdered all mankind on earth.
This being the case, it is obvious what great sins are the murders,
massacres and, attacks, popularly known as"suicide attacks", committed
by terrorists are. God informs us how this cruel face of terrorism
will be punished in the hereafter in the following verse:
There are only grounds against those who wrong people and act
astyrants in the earth without any right to do so. Such people will
havea painful punishment. (Surat ash-Shura: 42)
All these reveal that organizing acts of terror against innocent
people is utterly against Islam and it is unlikely that any Muslim
could ever commit such crime. On the contrary, Muslims areresponsible
for stopping these people, removing"mischief on earth" and bringing
peace and security to all people all over the world. Being a Muslim
cannot be reconciled with terror. Just the contrary, it is thesolution
and prevention of terror.
This being the case, howdid the popular term"Islamic terror" emerge?
What has been examined so far reveals that it is not possible to talk
about an "Islamic" terror. Indeed, a closer look at the
characteristics of the perpetrators explicitly reveals that this
terror is not a religious but a social phenomenon.
Crusaders: Barbarians Who Trampled Their Own Religion
A helmet used by the Crusaders.
The true message of a religion or another system of belief can be at
times exposed to distortion by its pseudo-adherents. The Crusaders,
who constitute a dark episode of Christian history, set a good example
of this.
Crusaders were European Christians whoundertook the expeditions at the
end of the 11 th century to recover the Holy Land (the area around
Palestine) from the Muslims. They set out with a so-called
religiousgoal, yet they laid waste each acre of land they entered with
fear and violence. They subjected civilians to mass executions and
plundered many villages and towns.
Their conquest of Jerusalem, where Muslims, Jews and Christians lived
under Islamic rule in peace, became the scene of immense bloodshed.
They violently killed all Muslims and Jews. The Crusaders' barbarism
was so excessive that, during the Fourth Crusade, they plundered
Istanbul, also a Christian city, and stole the golden objects from the
churches.
Despite the fact that Christianity is a religion of love and
pacifism,the Crusaders slaughtered innocent people in the name of
Christ. They misunderstood theirreligion.
No doubt, all this barbarism was utterly against Christian political
doctrine. That isbecause, Christianity, in the words of the Bible, isa
"gospel of love". In theGospel according to Matthew, it is said that
Jesus said " Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you "
to his followers (Matthew, 5/44) In the Gospel according to Luke, it
is said that Jesus said " If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to
him the other also ." (Luke, 6/29) No doubt, inno part of the New
Testament, is there reference to the legitimacy of violence; murdering
innocent people, on the other hand, is unimaginable. You can find the
conceptof "massacre of the innocents" in the Bible; yet, only in the
cruel Jewish King Herod's attempt to kill Jesus while he was a baby.
While Christianity is a religion based on love that accommodates no
violence, how did Christian Crusaders carry out the most violent acts
of history? The major reason for this is that, Crusaders were mainly
made up of ignorant people who could betterbe defined as "rabble".
These masses, who knewalmost nothing about their religion, who had
never read or even seen the Bible once in their lifetime, and who were
therefore completely unaware of the moral values of the Bible, wereled
into barbarism underthe conditioning of Crusaders' slogans as"God
wills it".
It is worth mentioning that in that period, Eastern Christians - the
people of Byzantium, forinstance - who were culturally far ahead of
Western Christians, espoused more humane values. Both before and after
the Crusaders' conquests, Orthodox Christians managed to live together
with Muslims. According to Terry Johns, the BBC commentator, with the
withdrawal of the Crusaders from Middle East, "civilized life started
again and members of the three monotheistic faith returned to peaceful
coexistence." [ 1 ] The example of the Crusadersis indicative of a
generalphenomenon: The more the adherents of an ideology are
uncivilized, intellectually underdeveloped and"ignorant", the more
likely they are to resort to violence. This also holds true for
ideologiesthat have nothing to do with religion. All communist
movements around the world are prone to violence. Yet the most savage
and blood-thirsty of them was the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. That is
because they were the most ignorant.
Just as ignorant people may take a violence-ridden opinion to the
point of insanity, so theymay confuse violence with an opinion against
violence (or to religion). The Islamic world also experienced such
cases.
The Bedouin Character in the Qur'an
In the period of our Prophet, there existed two basic social
structures in Arabia. City-dwellers and Bedouins (Desert Arabs). A
sophisticated culture prevailed in Arab towns. Commercial relations
linked the towns to the outer world, which contributed to the
formation of "civilized life" among Arabs dwelling in cities. They had
refined aesthetic values, enjoyed literature and, especiallypoetry.
Desert Arabs, on the other hand, were the nomad tribes living in the
desert who had a very crude culture. Utterly unaware of arts and
literature, they developed an unrefined,harsh character.
Islam was born and developed among the inhabitants of Mecca, themost
important city of the peninsula. However, as Islam spread to the
peninsula, all tribes in Arabia embraced it. Among these tribes
werealso Desert Arabs, who were somehow problematic: their poor
intellectual and cultural background prevented them from grasping the
profundity and noble spirit of Islam. Of this God states the following
in a verse:
The Desert Arabs are more obdurate in disbelief and hypocrisy and more
likely not to know the limits which God has sent down to HisMessenger.
God is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Surat at-Tawba: 97)
The Desert Arabs, that is, social groups who were" obdurate in
disbelief and hypocrisy " and prone to disobey God's commands, became
a part of the Islamic world in the Prophet's lifetime.In latter
periods, they became a source of trouble for the Islamic world. The
sect called"Kharijis" that emerged among Bedouins was an example. The
most distinctive trait of this perverse sect (which wascalled
"Kharijis" the rebels because they greatly deviated from Sunni
practises), was their extremely vulgar, wild and fanatical nature. The
"Kharijis", who had no comprehension whatsoever of the essence of
Islam or of the virtues and the values of the Qur'an, waged war
against all other Muslims and basedthis war on a few Qur'anic verses
about which they made distorted interpretations. Furthermore, they
carried out "acts of terrorism". Caliph Ali, who was one of the
closest companions of the Prophet and was described by him as the"gate
of the city of knowledge", was assassinated by a Kharijite.
In latter periods,"Hashashis" (Assassins), another brutal
organization, emerged; this was a "terrorist organization" made up of
ignorant and fanaticalmilitants bereft of a profound understandingof
the essence of Islam and thus who could be readily influenced by
simple slogans and promises.
In other words, just as the Crusaders distorted and misinterpreted
Christianity as a teachingof brutality, some perverted groups emerging
in the Islamic world misinterpreted Islam and resorted to brutality .
What is common to these sects and the Crusaders was their "Bedouin"
nature. That is, they were ignorant, unrefined, uncultivated, vulgar,
andisolated people. The violence they resorted resulted from this
social structure, rather than the religion to which they claimed to
adhere.
The Actual Source of Terrorism: The Third World Fanaticism
These examples from history are enlightening for a better
understanding of the phenomenon, the so-called "Islamic terror", which
is nowadays on the top of the international agenda. That is because
those who emerge and carry out acts of terrorism in the name of Islam
or those who back such acts -these people, no doubt, represent a
minority in the world of Islam- stem from this"Bedouin character",
notfrom Islam. Failing to understand the essence of Islam, they try to
make Islam, essentially a religion of peace and justice, a tool of
barbarism, which is simply an outcome of their social and cultural
structure. The origin of this barbarism, which may well be called
the"Third World Fanaticism", is the benighted initiatives of people
who are devoid of love for humans.
It is a fact that, for the last few centuries, Muslims in all corners
of the Islamic world, are being subjected to violence by Western
forces and their affiliates. The colonialist European states, local
oppressive regimes or colonialists backed by the West (Israel, for
instance) caused great suffering for Muslims at large. However, for
Muslims, this is a situation that has to be approached and responded
to from a purely Qur'anic stance.
In no part of the Qur'an does God command believers to "respond to
violence with violence". On the contrary, God commands Muslims
to"respond to evil with goodness":
A good action and a bad action are not the same. Repel the bad with
something better and, if there is enmity between you and someone else,
he will be like a bosom friend. (Surat al-Fussilat: 34)
It is no doubt a legitimate right of Muslims to react against cruelty.
However, these reactions should never turn into a blind hatred, an
unjust enmity. God warns about this in the following verse: "... Do
not let hatred for a people who debar you from the Masjid al-Haram
incite you into going beyond the limits. Help each other to goodness
and heedfulness. Do not helpeach other to wrongdoing and enmity.Heed
God Allah (alone)..." (Surat al-Ma'ida: 2)
Consequently, carrying out terrorist acts under the pretence
of"representing the oppressed nations of theworld", against the
innocent people of othernations is by no means compatible with Islam.
Another point that deserves a special mention here is that all the
Western world cannot be held responsible for the aforementioned
colonialist (or "neo-colonialist) violence and oppression against
Muslims. Actually, the materialist, irreligious philosophies and
ideologies that prevailedin the 19 th century are responsible for
these dismal acts. European colonialism did not originate from
Christianity. On the contrary, anti-religious movements opposing the
values of Christianity led the way to colonialism. At the roots of the
greatest brutalities of the 19 th century lies the Social Darwinist
ideology.
In the Western world today, there are still cruel, mischievous and
opposing elements as well as a culture dominated by peaceful and just
elements that have its roots in Judeo-Christian faith. As a matter of
fact, the main disagreement is not between the West and Islam.
Contrary to the general opinion, it is between the religious people of
the West and of the Muslim world on the one hand, and the people
opposing religion (like materialistsand atheists.) on the other.
Another indication that Third World Fanaticism has nothing to do with
Islam is that, until recently, this fanaticism has been identified
withcommunist ideology. As is known, similar anti-Western acts of
terror were carried out in 1960s and 70s by Soviet-backed communist
organizations. As the impact of the communistideology faded, some of
the social structures which gave birth to communist organizations have
turned their attention toIslam. This "brutality presented under the
guise of religion", whichis formulated by the incorporation of some
Islamic concepts and symbols into the former communist rhetoric are
entirely against the moral values constituting the essence of Islam.
Anti-Western radicalism once used the communist ideology to support
its violence. Now it is trying to use religious concepts.
A last remark about this issue is that Islam is not peculiar to a
particular nation or geography. Contrary to the dominant Western
perception, Islam is not an "Eastern culture" . Islam is the last
religion revealed to mankind as a guide to the true path that
recommends itself to all humanity. Muslims are responsible for
communicating the true religion they believe in to all people of all
nations and cultures andmaking them feel closer to Islam.
Consequently, there is a unique solution for people and groups who, in
the name of Islam, resort to terror or establish oppressive regimes
and turn this world into a dreadful place instead of beautifying it:
revealing the true Islam and communicating it so thatthe masses can
understand and live by it.
Conclusion: Recommendations to theWestern World
Today, the Western world is concerned about the organizations that use
terror under theguise of Islam and this concern is not misplaced. It
is obvious that those carrying out terror and their supporters should
be punished according to international judicial criteria. However, a
more important point to consider is the long-termstrategies that have
to be pursued for viable solutions to these problems.
The assessments above reveal that terror has no place in Islam. They
further show the inherently contradictory nature of the concept
of"Islamic terror". This provides us with an important vantage point:
1) The Western world, especially the United States, will surely take
the most dissuasive measures to cope with terror and it has the right
to do that. However, it has to state explicitly that this is not a war
waged against Islam and Muslims but, on the contrary, a measure
serving the bestinterests of Islam. The "Clash of civilizations", the
dangerous scenario envisioned in the 90's should be at all costs
prevented.
2) Support should be provided for the spread of "True Islam", which is
a religion of love, friendship, peace and brotherhood, and for its
true understanding by Islamic societies. The solution for radical
factions in Islamic countries should not be"forced secularization". On
the contrary, such a policy will incite more reaction from the
massesand feed radicalism. The solution is the dissemination of true
Islam and the appearance of a Muslim role-model who embraces Qur'anic
values such as human rights, democracy, freedom, good morals, science
and aesthetics, and who offers happiness and bliss to humanity.
3) The source of terrorism is ignorance and bigotry and the solution
is education. To the circles who feel sympathy with terror, it should
be said that terror is utterly against Islam, that terror only does
harm to Islam, Muslims and to humanityat large. Besides, these people
have to be provided with educationin order to be purified of this
barbarism. The United States' support tosuch an education policywill
yield very positive results.
Our hope is that these measures will help to theworld get rid of
terrorism and all other bigoted, brutal, barbarous structures. With
its Christian-dominated culture and population, the United States,
which defines itself as "a nation under God", is in fact a real friend
of the Muslims. In the Qur'an, God draws attention to this fact
andinforms us that Christians are those who are " most affectionate to
those who believe " . (Surat al-Ma'ida: 82)
In history, some ignorant people (for instance, Crusaders) failed to
understand thisfact and caused conflicts between these two great
religions. To prevent the repetition ofthis scenario, true Christians
and Muslims need to come together and co-operate.
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