condemned by all true Muslims. We must first state that Islam
prohibits all violence and assaults. The Koran, the essential
reference point of Islam, contains several statements on the
subject.
This terrorist act, in which three people lost their lives and
hundreds were injured, was a savage act of misguided foolishness
designed to set the Western and Islamic worlds against one another.
Such ruthless acts have been used many times in different countries
to try and give the West the impression that Islam is a faith that
regards violence and terror as legitimate. The September 11 th
attacks, again carried out in the USA, were certainly the worst of
these assaults. Immediately after those attacks, numerous people –
including certain politicians and religious figures – issued
statements saying that Islam is a religion that supports terror;
some even encouraged a religious war against the Muslim world. So
it's safe to say that those acts were to some extent successful.
Today we are again hearing statements from various bigots,
extremists and some media organizations in the USA encouraging
violence against Muslims and their isolation from society. We hope
that the American people will be on their guard against such
incitement and will recognize them as crude acts of provocation and
demagoguery.
The word Islam means " peace and ease." It is inconceivable for a
faith that means that to encourage violence and hatred. In the
Koran, verse 32 of Surat al-Ma'ida states quite clearly that someone
who kills one person for no reason has committed a crime as awful
as if he had killed all mankind. The passage in question refers to
the killing of anyone, of whatever faith or race. In other words, a
Muslim will not kill a Christian or a Jew or an atheist. Only if a
Muslim's own life is in danger can he use force against someone
else, and then only in self-defense. The use of violence for any
other reason than self-defense violates the principles of faith of
Islam.
The Koran contains many passages encouraging love and affection.
The following words from verse 159 of Surah Al 'Imran, "… It is a
mercy from God that you were gentle with them …" makes it abundantly
clear that Islam is based on treating people with kindness.
Whoever claims to be a Muslim and says that the faith advocates acts
of terror or violence is either an agent provocateur claiming to
be a Muslim, or someone who is wholly ignorant of the faith. Someone
who says such things out of ignorance will mend his ways if told what
the Koran truly says. People can only be properly informed about
Islam if no credence is attached to provocation. If everyone knows
that Islam views violence and hatred as unacceptable there will be
no more issues for provocateurs or extremists to rage about.
There are people trying to incite hostility toward Islam in the
Christian and Jewish world, and there are also people trying to
incite hostility toward Christianity and Judaism in the Islamic
world. These people are bigoted fanatics who issue provocative
statements based not on the Koran, but on hadiths they fabricate
themselves. This is a very serious and a very real problem in the
Islamic world, and we cannot simply dismiss it. All true Muslims
are deeply uneasy at such people being regarded as members of the
Islamic world and representatives of the faith because these
people have nothing to do with the values espoused by Islam. They
have deprived themselves of fine feelings such as love, affection
and compassion. They are filled with hatred and rage, not only for
members of other faiths, but also for most Muslims from different
sects. They may hate someone they have never met solely because he
belongs to a different group. This is a perverse and unacceptable
perspective for Muslims.
Causing members of different faiths and/or ethnicities to fall out
and inciting conflict among them has been a technique successfully
employed by those wishing to spread war throughout the course of
history. Yet this world is wide and fertile enough for everyone to
live in happiness and peace and well-being. There is no real reason
for conflict or resorting to violence. All the supposed reasons for
war and conflict are hollow ruses.
It is much, much easier to live in peace and love than in conflict
and war. For example, it is unacceptable for either Palestinians or
Israelis to have to live behind walls in fear of bombs, rockets and
other weapons. This plight of these two peoples, one descended from
the Prophet Ishmael and the other from the Prophet Jacob (peace be
upon them both), is a disgrace on all mankind.
Our hope is that people with radical views will ultimately fade away
within the moderate, loving and respectful views held by rational
people – historically, radical movements inevitably burn out or
destroy themselves – but for that to happen it is absolutely
essential for sensible people in the Islamic, Christian and Judaic
worlds to act as one in a spirit of solidarity. An alliance of good
people is essential. Otherwise, neither terror nor acts of violence
can ever be entirely overcome.
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