Terrorism Has No Religion Ayaz Kazi

8/14/2019 Terrorism Has No Religion Ayaz Kazi

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A yaz Kaz i


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Compiled by

A yaz Kaz i


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A yaz Kaz i


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ContentsContents

1. Introduction.............................................................

2. Exploding the myth................................................

3. What is Jihad?..........................................................

4. Jihad : An Islamic perspective...............................

5. What is terrorism?...................................................

6. Do religions sanction terrorism?..........................

7. Why people resort to terrorism?...........................

8. Are Muslims terrorists? .........................................

9. Then who are the terrorist? ..................................

10. Can terrorism be compared to Jihad?..................

11. Misconception : Was Islam spread by the sword?.....

12. Misconception :Is Islam a militant religion?............

13. Conclusion................................................................

14. Bibliography.............................................................

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The good deedand the evil deed

cannot be equal.

Repel (the evil) with

one which is better,

then verily! H e,

between whom and

you there was enmity,

(will become) as though

he was a close friend.(The N oble Qur'an, 41:34)


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The world today is suffering from waves of organizedterrorism that have cast mankind into a fiery furnace of problemsand catastrophes. Hardly a day passes without news in variousmedia about some kind of terrorist act until the recent attack byterrorists in Mumbai.

Threats, acts and campaigns of terrorism remain a centralconcern for those responsible for domestic, regional andinternational security. Moreover, immediately after each incidentthe public feels more vulnerable and uncertain, as new threatsimpact the perception of their security as individuals, families,friends and communities. While people will naturally seek toreturn to a sense of normalcy after an attack, the next bombing,

hostage taking or other form of terrorist violence will add yetanother sense of physical and mental vulnerability to the nextpotential victims of terrorism. Terrorists also have continued toenhance their ability to intimidate a global audience.

Since after September 11, 2001, religions, in particularIslam, has received a great deal of criticism due to the extremistsin their midst. In reality, though for every ideology or thought,

there are extreme adherents - extremists who are often violent andterrorize common masses. But the size of the problem ofterrorism among the Muslims is greatly exaggerated beyond itstrue size by the media.

Terrorism is to transgress upon people by way of unjustlystriking or killing them, with no proof (to justify these actions);rather (these actions are committed) upon ignorance and dearthof insight. Thus, they change peoples (state of) security, and theycause problems between them and between their countries.

Islam recognizes terrorism as a disease. It is something thatthe teaching of Islam cautions against. Indeed, from an Islamic

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IntroductionIntroduction1


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perspective, it is something that should be purged from society.

The Muslims in every place feel sorry and sad when theyhear about the affairs of these criminal activities no matter where

they occur or happen upon the earth, wether done by Muslims ornon-muslims, whether it takes place in the Muslim world orwhether it takes place in other than the Muslim world. TheMuslim scholars have clarified and clearly explained, with clearclarifications which are strong and emphatic, that these types ofacts are not from Islam.

This book maintains that the source of terror that we

condemn is definitely not from any divine religion. On thecontrary, terror (i.e. killing of innocent people) is a great sin, andMuslims are responsible for preventing these acts and bringingpeace and justice to the world.

Islam is established upon mercy, justice, mutual love andconcern with rectifying the earth and its people. As Muslims, westrongly condemn the terrorist attacks taking place every now and

then in different parts of the world.

Today there is hardly any place on earth where Islam istotally unknown. More and more people have become curiousenough to find out something about this much publicizedreligion; more often they have been pleasantly surprised.

Today Islam is the religion and way of life of about one

fifth of the world's population. Muslims are of diversenationalities and cultures, but their religion teaches that allhumanity is essentially equal.

A yaz Kaz iMarch 2009 / Rabbiul Awwal 1430 [email protected]

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One of the major shortcomings which has arisen in theWest, is judging Islam by the conduct of a minority of itsfollowers. By doing so, sections of the Western society havedeliberately played off the misguided actions of a few Muslims,

and have labeled it Islam. Such behavior only seeks to distort thepurity of Islam. For if such a thing was done - judge a religion bythe conduct of its people - then no religion would be safe fromblame of the mistakes of its ignorant followers. Then how could areligion be blamed when its teachings are pure and clear from theactions of its ignorant followers? Would one blame the car for themistake of its driver? No, yet we find that the Western world isforemost in propagating this outlook on Islam. So what is thereality of Islam? How does one dispel the myths which have beencreated and spread so viciously?

The only way to examine Islam is to simply examine itsbelief system. Look at its sources, the Quran and Sunnah(Prophetic Guidance), and see what they have to say. This is theway to find the truth about what Islam says about terror, terrorismand terrorists. One who is sincerely searching for the truth, will doit no other way.

The very name Islam comes from the arabic root wordsalama which means peace. Islam is a religion which is basedupon achieving peace through submission to the will of Allah.Thus, by this very simple linguistic definition, one can ascertain asto what is the nature of this religion. One may ask if such areligion is based on the notion of peace, then how is it that someacts done by its adherents are contrary to peace? The answer issimple. Such actions, if not sanctioned by the religion, have noplace in it. They are un-Islamic and should be disassociated withIslam.

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The word Jihad sends shivers down the spines of manynon-muslims and mostly the Westerners who readily equate thisterm with violence and oppression. Perhaps no other Islamicterm evokes such strong reactions asJihad.

The Arabic word Jihad, which is almost alwaysmistranslated as "holy war", simply means "to struggle" or "toexert ones utmost effort". It is incorrect to imagine thatJihadissynonymous only with fighting or war, for this is but oneparticular aspect of the term.Jihadis a struggle to do good and toremove injustice, oppression and evil from oneself and fromsociety. This struggle is spiritual, social, economic and political.

So, the concept ofJihad is vast and not limited only toarmed conflict. In the Quran one finds the mention ofJihad by means of the Quran, meaning invitation to the truth,evidence, clarification and presenting the best arguments.

Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the way of yourLord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the divine

inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and arguewith them in a way that is better.[The N oble Quran 16:125]

Jihad of the soul, which means striving to purify the soul, toincrease its faith and incline it toward good while keeping it fromevil and from unlawful desires and temptations.

And I free not myself (from the blame). Verily, the

(human) self is inclined to evil, except when My Lordbestows his mercy (upon whom H e wills). Verily, My Lord

is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.[The N oble Quran 12:53]

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Jihad through wealth, which means spending it in variousbeneficial ways, including charities and welfare projects. And the

Jihad through the self, which comprises of all good works doneby a believer, such as propagation, teaching and finally, lawfularmed struggle against aggression and oppression on the weak.

...Strive hard and fight in the cause of Allah with yourwealth and your lives, that will be better for you,

if you but know![The N oble Quran 61:11]

In the name ofJihad, Islam endeavors to teach belief in

Allah, the One Supreme God, and worship of Him alone and tospread good values, virtue and morality through wise and propermethods. Allah has commanded:

Invite to the way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Quran) and fairpreaching, and argue with them in a way that is better.

[The N oble Quran 16:125]

In the name ofJihad, Islam calls for social reform and theelimination of ignorance, superstition, poverty, disease and racialdiscrimination. Among its main goals is the protection of rightsfor weaker members of society against the impositions of thepowerful and influential.

Islam prohibits injustice, even toward those who oppose

the religion. Allah says,

and let not the enmity and hatred of others make youavoid justice. be just: that is nearer to piety


And Allah told the believers regarding those whoprevented their entry to the Sacred Mosque inMakkah:

and let not the hatred of some people in (once) stoppingyou from Al Masjid Al H aram (Sacred mosque)

lead you to transgression.[The N oble Quran 5:2]

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Enmity toward any people or nation should not provokeMuslims to commit aggression against them, oppress them ordisregard their rights.

As mentioned in a hadith on the authority of Abu Dharral-Ghifari (may A llah be pleased with him) Prophet (Peace be upon him)said that Allah said O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for

M yself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one

another... (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Anyone who knows the early history of Islam, will knowthat all those nations and empires which came under the fold of

Islam were indeed previously oppressed. When the companionsof Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) went out for Jihadagainst the Egyptians, the Persians and the Romans, we find thatpeople did not have resistance against them at all. Rather, theyaccepted Islam on such a scale, that it is inconceivable that the

Jihadof Islam could be anything other than liberation for thesepeople; a liberation from centuries of tyranny.

This is the glorious track record of the Muslim Jihad.Compare this with the brutal track record of warfare in theWestern world over the centuries. From the crusades against theMuslims to the days of colonial warfare, the Western world haskilled, destroyed and plundered everything which has come itsway. Even today this merciless killing by the Western nations goeson. While claiming to maintain world peace and security, Western

nations are ready to bomb innocent civilians at the drop of a hat.The best example of this is the recent bombings of Afghanistanand Iraq, whilst claiming that were haven for Islamic terrorists.Allah says about their likes in the Quran:

..when it is said to them; Make not mischief on theearth, they say; We are only peace makers.

Verily! they are the ones who make mischief, but theyperceive it not[The N oble Quran 2:11-12]

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Islam emerged at a time when the entire world wasgoverned by the law of the jungle. The strong would kill the weak,the armed would steal from the unarmed and war was a legitimatemeans that was recognized by all religions, nations and people,with no limits of restrictions, with no distinction made between

just and unjust war. Everyone who was able to overpower anation, would force it to give up beliefs and enslave its men andwoman. But with the coming of Islam, it did not approve of thisunjust way which had reduced mankind to the level of savagebeasts; rather it declared that the basic principle governing therelationships between nations was mutual respect andcooperation. But unfortunately this Jihad has been very much

criticized by non-muslims and the media due to their ignoranceabout it.

War In Islam

Jihadon the battlefield, in the Islamic perspective, is thelast resort, and is subject to stringent conditions. It can only becarried out by an Islamic state under a Muslim leader (not

individuals or groups) to defend freedom, which includesfreedom of faith. As Allah says :

To those against whom war is made, permission is given(to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah ismost powerful for their aid;- (They are) those who have

been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (forno cause) except that they say, our Lord is Allah. Did

not Allah check one set of people by means of another,there would surely have been pulled down monasteries,churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name

of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure[The N oble Quran 22:39-40]

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Moreover, Allah says in the Quran:

and what is wrong with you that you fight not in thecause of Allah, and for those weak, ill -treated and

oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cryis: Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people areoppressors; and raise for us from you one who will protect,

and raise for us from you one who will help.[The N oble Quran 4:75]

Thus the Quran clearly defines the conditions ofJihad.

Rules Of Engagement

With the permissibility ofJihadon the battlefield under theconditions mentioned above, the rules of engagement reflectIslams inherent inclination towards peace:

Personal behaviour

In war, as it is in peace, the instructions of Islam are to beobserved. Worship does not cease in war. War is also no excuse tomisbehave with troops. The prophet (peace be upon him) saidBeware of the prayer of the oppressed; for there is no barrierbetween it and Allah.

No aggression towards civilians

Military conflict is to be directed only against fightingtroops and not against civilians, as Allah says:

and fight in the way of Allah those who fight you,but transgress not the limits. Truly,Allah likes not the transgressors.


As far as the non-combatant population is concerned such

as women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructionsof the Prophet are as follows: Do not kill any old person, anychild or any woman. Do not kill the monks inmonasteries or Do not kill the people who are sitting inplaces of worship.

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Upholding Justice

The ravages of war are not an excuse for Muslims toengage in any form of cruelty or violation of human rights. As

Allah says:O You who believe! stand out firmly for Allah and be just

witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others makeyou avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear

Allah. Verily, Allah is well acquainted with what you do.[The N oble Quran 5:8]

It is forbidden under Islamic law, to ill-treat prisoners of

war or to deny them the essentials of life, including medicaltreatment..

Respect for religious freedom

Jihadcannot be waged with the objective of compellingpeople to embrace Islam. Allah says:

there is no compulsion in religion


had your Lord willed, those on earth would havebelieved, all of them together. So, will you

(O Muhammad ) then compel mankind, until theybecome believers.


Accept peace

If the enemy offers peace, it should be accepted even at therisk of possible deception. Allah says:

but if they incline to peace, you also incline to it,and (put your) trust in Allah. Verily, H e is the

all-Hearer, the All-Knower.

[The N oble Quran 8:61]These are the principles ofJihadin Islam and this is our

attitude in war : Justice, mercy and fulfillment of treaties.

But this is not sufficient to prove the superiority of Islams

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peaceful ways in war. Principles alone are not a sign of a nationsnobility and humanity, because how often do we see nationswhich proclaim the loftiest principles to people when theythemselves treat in the cruelest , cheapest manner and totally lackin humanity and mercy.

During the Battle of Uhud we see Prophet Muhammadwho had laid the foundation and laws of Islam emerging from thebattle wounded and his molar broken. Prophet Muhammadprayed O Allah, guide my people, for they do not know

Such were the words of justice and truth.

Even when Makkah was conquered and ProphetMuhammad (Peace be upon him) entered it after the Makkans hadresisted their entry for twenty one long years. He said to them

N o reproach on you this day; may Allah forgive you, andHe is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy


Go you are free.

This was the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), the onewho taught mankind good and not a murderous leader striving forhis own glory and power. This is the nobleJihadthat Islam permitsso as to bring peace and harmony amongst the people on this

earth. Unlike those wars that have been declared on poor andweak Muslim countries under the banner of War against Terror.The arrest of Muslims and their torture in the prisons of AbuGharib and Guantanamo. The world has seen those wickedtreatment on the prisoners of war by the so called peace lovingnation.

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According to The American Heritage Dictionaryterrorism means, the unlawful use or threatened use of force orviolence by a person or an organized group against people orproperty with the intention of intimidating or coercing societiesor governments, often ideological or political reasons. Thereforeterrorism is the terror that is caused by those groups or individualswho resort to killing and wreaking havoc and destruction.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) mentioned withregards to the signs of the end of time, the spread of al-H arj .The meaning ofal-H arj is killing and the increase of the spillingblood, which is all from the signs of the end of time. To the extent

that the one killing will not know why he is killing and the one thatwas killed will not know why he was killed.

Terrorism is established upon destruction of propertiessuch as factories, farms, places of worship, train stations, airportsand the likes; Islam is clearly free from such actions that are basedupon corruption and not upon rectification.

Terrorists usually go against the state in which they arebased within. This is like the mafia or other criminal organizationsthat are based on killing people, causing fear and taking theirwealth. Such criminal organizations have leaders, deputies andindividuals that are responsible for establishing regulations for theorganization and individuals responsible for carrying out attacks,and all of them are terrorists causing corruption on the earth.

Unfortunately one of the major problem with the wordterrorist is that one mans freedom fighter could be another mansterrorist. So one should be very careful in labeling a person aterrorist. It depends upon an individuals perception.

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Terrorism?Terrorism?W hat isW hat is

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It was during the British rule in India Bhagat Singh gave theBritish a tough time by his revolutionary ways and was labeled as aterrorist by the British while he was considered a freedom fighterby the Indians. One man but two different labels.

Nelson Mandela spoke against Racism in South Africa andhe too was in the terrorist list of the United States of Americauntil recently when he was cleared from all allegations aboutterrorism. The reason is easy to understand. If you have become afriend of United States and fit into their policies then you are not athreat to the world peace otherwise you are.

Menachem Begin was called terrorist no. 1 by BritishGovernment. Later on after a few years he becomes the PrimeMinister of Israel and few years later gets the Nobel Prize ofPeace.

Its the double standards of the West that they on onehand, previously when Afghan Jihad was going on - they were

projected as heroes and now projected as terrorists.

So one can see how this word could be easily played bythose who are powerful and with media support.

I wonder why people fail to see the innocent men, womenand children dying every single day in Afghanistan, Iraq andPalestine etc. and if they fought back to protect themselves, their

lands and their families, then they are labeled as terrorists.

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The ugliest face of terrorism is that which is established inthe name of religion, All prophetic religions are free from suchterrorism. The terrorists are in need of proofs for theirmethodology especially those who attribute themselves to theProphets (Peace be upon him), they claim that the Prophets ordered

them to commit such terrorism.

Many of those who commit acts of terrorism from thosewho attribute themselves to the religion of the Jews claim thatMoses (Moosa) commanded them to do terrorism or that theother Prophets from the children of Israaeel ordered them to doterrorism yet this is a lie. As Moses (Peace be upon him) and all of theProphets from the children of Israaeel (Peace be upon them) never

ever ordered people to commit terrorism.

Likewise, those who commit acts of terrorism andattribute themselves to Jesus (E esaa) claim that the gospelsanctions terrorism and the use of it over the enemy. The bestexample of this were the crusaders. The crusaders were EuropeanChristians who undertook the expedition to recover the Holy land(the area around Palestine) from the Muslims. They set out with a

so-called religious goal, yet they laid waste each acre of land theyentered with fear and violence. They subjected civilians to massexecutions and plundered many villages and towns.

Their conquest of Jerusalem, where Muslims, Jews andChristians lived under Islamic rule in peace, became the scene ofimmense bloodshed. They violently killed almost all Muslims andJews. They broke childrens skulls by knocking against the wall,threw babies from roof tops, roasted men over fire and cut upwomens bellies to see if they had swallowed gold.

No doubt, all this barbarism was utterly against Christiandoctrine. That is because, Christianity, in the words of the Bible, is

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a gospel of love. In the Gospel according to Matthew, it is saidthat Jesus said to his followers:

In the Gospel according to Luke, it is said that Jesus said

The important matter for us to mention is that Jesus wassent with mercy like all of the Prophets, Peace be upon them, and it isnot possible that they ordered people to commit acts of terrorism.

Similarly those so called Muslims who have committed actsof terrorism giving it the nameJihadand attribute it to ProphetMuhammad (Peace be upon him) then it can be said that they aremiserably mistaken in understanding the true concept ofJihadinthe Quran and Sunnah as explained before. In fact they commit amore severe crime because they malign the true teachings ofIslam. Islam by no means is the source of violence or terror and

that violence and terror has no place in it.

Even those Hindus who by using violent means terrorisepeople for their personal gains in the name of religion havenothing to do with the teaching of Hinduism. In fact the BhagwadGita prescribes fighting but for self defense or fighting againstoppression and for justice. It says: When Arjuna prefers to be

killed unarmed rather than fight his cousins Kauravas, Krishnareplies to Arjun by sayinghow this impure thoughts has cometo you which prevent you from entering heaven. Give up thisdegrading impotence and weakness of heart and arise, Odefeater of enemy.(Bhagwad Gita chapter 1 verse 43-46 andchapter 2 verse 2-3. )

Imagine If someone were to say that the Bhagwad Gita

encourages the killing of family members to attain paradise?Wont such a deliberate attempt sound devilish out of context?But within the context if it was said that for truth and justicefighting against evil is compulsory, even if it be against yourrelatives, it makes sense.

Love you r en em i es a n d pr a y for th ose wh o per secu te you

[ Ma t t h ews 5 :44]

I f som eon e st r i kes you on on e cheek,

t u r n t o h i m t h e o t h er a l so [ Lu k e 6 :2 9 ]

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The more the adherents of an ideology are uncivilized,intellectually underdeveloped and ignorant, the more likely theyare to resort to violence. This also holds true for ideologies thathave nothing to do with religion.

While Christianity is a religion based on love thataccommodates no violence, how did Christians carry out the mostviolent acts of History? The major reason for this is that,Crusaders were mainly made up of ignorant people who knewalmost nothing about their religion. They were completelyunaware of the moral values of the Bible, which led them intobarbarism under the conditioning of crusaders slogans as God

wills it.

Similarly we find people of such nature among otherreligions too - Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism etc. - whohave no comprehension whatsoever the true essence of theirreligion be, but distorted and misinterpreted its teachings andresorted to brutality. It was their ignorant, unrefined, uncultivatednature that led them to violence which resulted from their social

structure, rather than the religion to which they adhere.

The other reasons that lead to terrorism are the unresolvedpolitical disputes of the world, and where Muslims are alsoinvolved. No effort has been made to resolve these issues. e.g.;Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is also the ineffectiveness of UNO (formed after thesecond word war) to avert any other international war. It hasutterly failed in doing that. The disputes if resolved in UNO, thenterrorism would not prevail as it is.

Globalization, another reason as it is suited to Western

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interests than the third world countries. It seeks the occupation ofcountries by multinational corporations (MNC's). Thus spreadingpoverty and unemployment in the third world countries.

Lastly the Universal law of cause-and-effect like causewill produce like effects. If countries go about combatingterrorism with terrorism, it will produce obviously much moreterrorism.

History shows that indiscriminate killing and destructionof innocent life only breeds anger, revenge and more killing. Thecollateral damage caused by weapons of mass destruction being

dropped on the homes and children of innocents only fuels theterrorists cause, a cause that lacks direction, justice and theguidance of Islam. The question is, would you be thinking straightif it was your home or your children who were destroyed?

After 9/ 11 attacks, Islam has unfortunately becomesynonymous to terrorism and Muslims with terrorists. Let usanalyze how true is this accusation.

A simple question to ask here is, what does the terrorist do?The most simplest answer that one could give is that the terroristterrorizes people, kills innocent men, women and children,destroy towns and cities and even nations.

Keeping this in mind if we take a look at the world scenariotoday, we without any hesitation can conclude that Muslims arenot terrorists. This is because if it were Muslims who were the

terrorists then it would be the Hindus who would be fighting forfreedom and dying, not Muslims in Kashmir; The Christianswould be fighting for freedom and dying in America, not Muslimsin Afghanistan and Iraq; the Jews would be fighting for freedom inIsrael now, and not Muslims of Palestine.

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A re

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All Muslims are being accused of terrorism. Althoughthere have been Muslim names that have popped up but no solidevidence has been proved against them as yet. And even if theyhave been proved guilty they nowhere represent Islam andMuslims, because Islam prohibits killing of the innocent andcausing terror and destruction of properties. Just as all theChristians will not be blamed for the barbarism of the crusadersand other Christian terrorist organizations and all the Hindus forlooting, raping, arson and destruction of places of worship,because you cannot blame a religion for the incorrect action of itsignorant followers. Just like you wont blame a car for the mistake

of the driver.

Islam is truly the religion of peace, the bombing and brutalkilling of innocent Muslim men, women and children around theworld clearly shows that Muslims are not terrorists. If theMuslims werent peaceful, they wouldnt be dying in their ownlands, they would be killing non-muslims in their countries. Thisclearly shows that its not the Muslims who are terrorists, but they

are victims of cruel terrorism instead.

Terrorist has been linked with Muslims, Middle East,Afghanistan, Iraq etcbut never refers to the western world norany other religion although we have terrorists that claim to professcertain religion. We have Christian terrorists, Jewish terrorists,Hindu terrorists, Buddhist terrorists, Sikh terrorists and terrorists

professing various other different faiths. Then why only Islamalone is linked and blamed for the action of a few that too becausethey retaliate to the atrocities that is committed against them orthey are being driven out of their homes?

With this I do not intend to prove that terrorists who

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Then whoare the

Terrorists?

Then whoare the

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profess some religion were really practicing it. In fact they werenot, otherwise they would not have done these criminal activities.It is really interesting to ask a question here, who are the terrorists?

When we take a look at history to find out the people whohave killed the maximum human beings profess which religion?

We see that the man who is famously known to have killedthe maximum number of human beings was Hitler. He is said tohave incinerated 6 million Jews. He wasnt a Muslim. He was aChristian by faith. So did we call him a Christian terrorist?

Joseph Stalin (Uncle Joe) Killed 20 million human beingsIncluding 14.5 million who were starved to death. Was he not aChristian?

Mao Tse Tsung of China Killed 14 to 20 million humanbeings. He was a Communist.

Benito Mussolini of Italy killed 400,000 human beings.

Maximilin Robespierre, during French Revolution starvedand tortured to death 200,000 people and executed 40,000 people.

19th April 1995, Federal building bombing, OklahomaCity (Oklahoma bombing). 166 innocent people died and morethan 100 injured. Done by 2 Christians, Timothy & Terry.

20th March 1995, Aum Shinrikyo, a Buddhist cult usedNerve Gas in the Tokyo subway. It killed 12 people and more than5000 injured and wounded.

In UK, since hundreds years IRA, The Irish RepublicanArmy are conducting terrorist attacks. They are Catholics, butthey are not called as Catholic Terrorists, but as IRA.

In Sri Lanka, LTTE, Tamil Tigers is the most notoriousorganization who are experts in suicide bombing. They are none

else but Hindus.

ULFA in 16 years between 1990-2006 conductedsuccessfully 749 terrorist attacks in India.

Maoists in Nepal in 7 years conducted 99 terrorist attacks.

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Out of 600 districts in India, they are present in 150 districts.Maoists terrorists attacks in 1/ 3rd part of India!The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, in Amritsar, Punjab (India)

where, on April 13, 1919, while Indians doing a peacefuldemonstration, British Indian Army soldiers under the commandof Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer opened fire on an unarmedgathering of men, women and children killing thousands.How could one justify such killing of innocent unarmed people?

This clearly shows how people professing other faiths haveshed so much blood and caused fear and panic in the hearts ofmillions but still their acts are not labeled with their religion unlikehow the media has done with the Muslims.

From the above statistics it can be seen that even if it isproved (although no solid evidence is yet proved, instead manythink that the 9/ 11 attacks is an inside job)that Muslims werebehind 9/ 11 attacks or those attacks that have been blamed uponMuslims is still nothing compared to the millions killed byterrorists that profess other religions.

Although the reasons for Muslims who resort toextremism and take arms is the atrocities and injustice committedagainst them in different parts of the world say it be Palestine,Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya etc. But this still cannot be ajustification for a Muslim resorting to killing innocents, becauseIslam condemns such acts. For example if a non Muslim manrapes a Muslim woman a Muslim man cannot rape a non-muslimWoman in retaliation, because Islam prohibits such acts.

A flashback to the year 1945 near the end of world war IIthe nuclear attacks on the two cities of Japan by the United statesof America is one of the greatest destruction that was ever done.thOn Monday the 6 of August 1945 the nuclear weapon

thBoy was dropped on the city of Hiroshima followed on the 9 ofAugust 1945 by detonation of the Fat Man nuclear bomb overNagasaki.

Little

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The nuclear bomb killed as many as 140,000 people inHiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki and since then thousandsmore have died from injuries or illness attributed to exposure ofradiation released by the nuclear bombs.

The superpower countries shouting about maintainingpeace but themselves have stained their hands with blood ofthousands of innocent people. Creating terror and insecurityaround the globe, making the world an unsafe place to live.

In the name of hunting down the terrorist they havebombarded poor countries and killed thousands of innocent

human beings. But even after doing so they were unable to findthe No. 1 terrorist on their list.

To settle scores with a dictator, the specter of WMD wasraised and against the U.N opinion brute force was employed onIraq, killing innocent citizens, causing anarchy and ruining lives.After so much destruction and forceful illegal occupation they saythat it was a mistake and they found no WMDs. But they still

shamelessly justify their act.

Are these killings and illegal occupation justified? Or is thisthe terrorist disguise as peace makers?

A Muslim poet rightly said :

W hen we had power over the world,

Forgiveness was our characteristic.W hen they had power, blood flowed freely.

This difference comes as no surprise,

For every vessel leak s the substance that is in it.

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No. Certainly not. As we see from what has beenmentioned in the previous pages, it is clear that terrorism has no

place in the noble concept of Jihad. Even Jihad that involves

physical conflict is the very antithesis of terrorism, as is clear fromthe following differences:

1.Jihadcan be launched only by an established authority asa policy in order to deter aggression. Terrorism, on the otherhand, is committed by individuals or groups that have nolegitimacy to speak for the majority. When terrorism is committedby states, it usually depends on misleading the masses.

2.Jihadis limited to combatants while terrorism involvesindiscriminate killing of civilians.

3.Jihadis a fight for truth and justice while terrorism is formaterialistic and personal gains.

4. Jihad, when the need arises, is declared openly, whileterrorism is committed secretly.

5. Jihad is bound by strict rules of engagement whileterrorism is not bound by any rules.

What the experts say:All Muslim scholars reject terrorism and speak out against it.

Council of Saudi 'Ulama', fatwa of February 2003 : "What is happening in some countriesfrom the shedding of the innocent blood and the bombing of buildings and ships and thedestruction of public and private installations is a criminal act against Islam. Those who carry outsuch acts have the deviant beliefs and misleading ideologies and are responsible for the crime. Islamand Muslims should not be held responsible for such actions. (http:/ / www.dawn.com/ 2003/ 02/ 08/ top17.htm)

Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh , Saudi Arabias grand mufti, said Islam, which calls forthe protection of a man's life, family, wealth, honor and intellect, totally rejects terrorism.He also said terrorists who cause corruption on Earth by carrying out killings and destructiondeserve tough punishment as the Holy Qur'an directs.

Saturday 31 January 2004, delivering his annual sermon to nearly two million pilgrims who hadassembled on the plain of Arafat he emphasized that terror and violence must be " mercilessly" crushed.

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TerrorismTerrorismbe compared tobe compared to

CanCan

Jihad?Jihad?10


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Many non-Muslims, when they think about Islam, picturereligious fanatics on camels with a sword in one hand and a Quranin the other.

This myth, which was made popular in Europe during the

Crusades, is totally baseless.

First of all, the Noble Quran clearly says Let there be nocompulsion in religion.

In addition to this, Islam teaches that a person's faith mustbe pure and sincere, so it is certainly not something that can beforced on someone. In debunking the myth that Islam was

spread by the sword, the (non-Muslim) historian De Lacy OLeary wrote: History mak es it clear, however, that the legend of fanaticalM uslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the

sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that

historians have ever accepted. (Islam at the Crossroads, London,1923, p. 8.).

In september 2001 Yvonne Ridley a British Journalist was

captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan whilst working for theSunday Express. She was held captive for 11 days. She promisedthat she would read the Quran after her release. She wasimpressed by the way she was dealt with during her stay in Talibancaptivity. She explained that the Taliban looked after her very well.She said, I was horrible to my captors. I spat at them and wasrude and refused to eat. It wasnt until I was freed that I becameinterested in Islam. She converted to Islam in the summer of2003. All praise be to Allah.

Thousands of such examples of non-muslims acceptingthis peaceful religion Islam as their choice and not by sword orforce.

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Was Islam spread by the sword?MisconceptionMisconceptionMisconception11


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It should also be known that Muslims ruled Spain forroughly 800 years. During this time, and up to when they werefinally forced out, the non-Muslims there were alive andflourishing. Additionally, Christian and Jewish minorities havesurvived in the Muslim lands of the Middle East for centuries.Countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria andJordan all have Christian and Jewish populations. In India,Muslims ruled for more than 1000 years but still today weMuslims are a minority here. If Islam taught that all people aresupposed to be killed or forced to become Muslims, how did all ofthese non-muslims survive for so long in the middle of the

Islamic Empire? Were non-muslims forced to accept Islam? No.The existence of non-muslims in the Muslim empire is the biggestproof of Islams tolerance towards other religions.

Additionally, if one considers the small number ofMuslims who initially spread Islam from Spain and Morocco inthe West to India and China in the East, one would realize thatthey were far too few to force people to become converts of a

religion against their will. .

Today, the fastest growing religion in America and Europeis Islam. The Muslims in most of these lands constitute a minority.The only sword they have in their possession is the sword of truth.It is this sword that is converting thousands to Islam.

It is also interesting to note that when the Mongols invaded

and conquered large portions of the Islamic Empire, instead ofdestroying the religion, they adopted it. This is a uniqueoccurrence in history - the conquerors adopting the religion ofthe conquered! Since they were the victors, they certainly couldnot have been forced to become Muslims! Ask any of the over onebillion Muslims alive in the world today whether they were forced!The largest Muslim country in the world today is Indonesia -- andthere were never any battles fought there! So where was thesword? How could someone be forced to adhere to a spirituallyrewarding and demanding religion like Islam?

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In Islam, the use of force is allowed only in specialsituations, particularly when the Muslim community is threatenedby hostile forces. This is indeed natural and logical for any nation.Then again, the use of force in a campaign ofJihadis determined

by the leader of the Muslim community in a very ordered andethical way.

Islam considers all life forms as sacred, but particularlyemphasizes the sanctity of human life.Allah says in the Qur'an:

And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to bekilled] except by [legal] right.


Allah says:Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption[done] in the land it is as if he had slain all mankind.

And whoever saves one it is as if he had savedmankind entirely.


Such is the value of a single human life, that Allah equatesthe taking of even one human life unjustly with killing all ofhumanity.

It is important to understand that in Islam, war is onlypermitted in specific and dire circumstances. It is despised andonly permitted as a last resort when all other attempts at peace

have been made. It keeps warfare at a level of mercy and respectfor the enemy such as none other has been able to reach. TheProphet (Peace be upon him), sometimes had to fight for the meresurvival of his mission, but once security was ensured, heimmediately reverted to peace and diplomacy.

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Is Islam a militant religion?MisconceptionMisconceptionMisconception12


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Even in a state of war, Islam enjoins that armies deal withthe enemy justly in the battlefield. Islam has drawn a clear line ofdistinction between the combatants and the non-combatants of

an enemy country. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) told his armies," Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman.And he said:" Do not kill the monks in monasteries.

Upon seeing the corpse of a woman on a battlefield,Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) angrily asked hiscompanions why she had been killed, and he strongly condemnedthe atrocious act. For those enemies active in combat and those

taken as prisoners of war, the list of rights is lengthy. There shouldbe no torture; no killing of the wounded or defenseless, nomutilation of enemy bodies and return of corpses to the enemymust be honored. In light of the aforementioned, it becomescrystal clear that Islam does not permit aggression, violence,injustice, or oppression. At the same time, it calls for morality,justice, tolerance, and peace.

Far from being a militant dogma, Islam is a way of life thattranscends race and ethnicity. The Qur'an repeatedly reminds usof our common origin:

O mankind, indeed We created you from male andfemale, and made you peoples and tribes that you mayknow one another. Verily the most noble of you in the

sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.


It is the universality of its teachings that makes Islam thefastest growing religion in the world. In a world full of conflictsand deep schisms between human beings, a world that is currentlyplagued with terrorism, perpetrated by individuals and by states,Islam is a beacon of light that offers hope for the future.

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Terrorism has no religion whileJihadis a struggle for thecause of Allah alone and must never violate Islamic principles.Terrorism is clearly rejected by Islam and can never be calledJihad.Islam is clean and pure from the terrorism that the westerners andthe media portray it to be. And if what the westerners and themedia say about Islam were true, then why is Islam the fastestgrowing religion in the world especially in the west? Why arepeople chosing Islam as their way of life? The answer is simple,that Islam is free from what they blame it for. This in itself is areply to those who try to distort the true image of Islam.

Islam condemns all forms of violent acts which killinnocent human beings, whether it is 9/ 11, 7/ 7/ 93 (Mumbaiserial blast), 26/ 11 or any other. We also condemn the

1000s of people that have been killed in Afghanistan.1000s of innocent people that have been killed in Iraq.1000s of people that have been raped and killed in Gujarat.1000s of people that have been killed in Palestine.

Any terrorist activity, no matter who does it and for whatpurpose, is the greatest blow to all religious and humanistic values.

For this reason, no one - and certainly no true Muslim - canapprove of any terrorist activity. A true Muslim is not treacherous,and he is not deceitful, and he does not lie, and he does notoppress. This is what Islam teaches and this is something that isclear from the Shareeah (Quran and Sunnah).

As for terrorism, it distorts the true image of Islam and itascribes to it that which in reality is not from it. Verily the true

Muslims, those who understand the reality of Islam, in everyplace, they hate, reject and they criticize these criminal acts andthey warn against those people who call to these acts. Terrorism isnothing but evil and the act of the devil.

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ConclusionConclusion


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Islam means to submit ones will to Allah. It is the way oflife for anyone who chooses to accept that there is One God only,and none is worthy of worship but Him. This world is temporaryand no more than a trial for us, after which we will all die, and lifeof the hereafter is forever.

Allah, for the guidance of mankind, sent us Prophets:Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, all Prophets of Islam (Peacebe upon them). Allah chose Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as Hisfinal Prophet and honored him with the privilege of revealing theQuran through him. The Quran is the speech ofAllah, not theword of Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Allah has Preserved theQuran with its teachings for the whole of mankind.

Islam has five fundamental pillars:

1. To bear witness that there is no deity worthy of Worship exceptAllah, without any partner and that Muhammad is His servant andHis Messenger. (Shahadah)

2. To pray five times a day (Salaah)3. To Pay the Zakah (yearly Alms )

4. To Fast during the month of Ramadhan(Saum)

5. To Make a pilgrimage to Makkah (Hajj)

Islam offers a complete legal code for humankind. Iteliminates and corrects the human errors that found their way into

previous religions in the realm of both belief and practice. Just asany new revised law supersedes and nullifies what came before it,Islam naturally abrogates all earlier religions.

Without doubt, one will find in every religion, especiallythose of divine origins, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam,noble teachings, good moral values, encouragement toward gooddeeds and warnings against evil.

However, what distinguishes Islam from other faiths is thatIslam goes beyond simply urging people to be upright and honest.Islam diagnoses illnesses and prescribes the treatment. It givespractical solutions to mans problems and provides the means of

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achieving righteousness and eliminating evil from individual andcollective lives. Islam is guidance for mankind from the Creatorwho knows what is best and most suitable for His creation. That is

why Islam is called the natural religion of man.Finally, I call upon all Muslims as well as non-muslims to

never rely on second hand information, but to study and knowIslam from authentic sources. And not to get carried away bywords of politicians and antisocial elements who for their ownpersonal benefit want to cause disharmony and hatred amonghuman beings and disrupt peace on earth by dividing us in the

name of religion.Islam is a beautiful religion which teaches that each human

being has a right to live in this world peacefully, regardless of theirfaith and beliefs.

Extremism :Its Cause,Effects and Cure, Shayk h, D r Baasim bin Faisal al Jawaabirah.

Islam against Terrorism, www.fatwaonline.com

Is Terrorism a Muslim Monopoly,Dr. Z ak ir N aik (DVD)

Jihad According to the Quran and Sunnah, www. muttaqun.com

Jihad for Allahs sake,Muhammad Saeed al-Qahtani.

Muhammads Prophethood Reality or Myth,A bdur R adhi MuhammadA bulMuhsin.

Religious Extremism In the lives of contemporary Muslims Dr. A bdurRahmaan ibn Mualaa al-L uwaihiq al-Mutairi

Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih Al-'Uthaymeen on Terrorism & RelatedIssues , A uthenticTranslations.com

Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Ibn Baaz on Terrorism & Related Issues,A uthenticTranslations.com

The Evils Of Terrorism, Shayk h Muhammad ibn A bdul Wahhaab al-A qeel

The Freedom Of Opinion In Islam, A bdus Salam al-Basuni.

With which inntellect and Religion can Suicise Bombings and Destruction beConsidered Jihad? , Shayk h A bdul Muhsin Ibn H amad A l-A bbaad.

BibliographyBibliography

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Documents

Terrorism Has No Religion Ayaz Kazi