There is no great lack of ignorance about the religion of Islam in the United States. In a recent New York Times editorial, entitled "Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite", Jeff Stein relates having asked intelligence and law enforcement officials, as well as members of Congress, what the difference is between a Sunni and a Shiite. Not surprisingly, in his quest, he found that "Too many officials in charge of the war on terrorism just don't care to learn much, if anything, about the enemy we're fighting."
It's of no slight significance that the Times editorial should, while criticizing ignorance of Islam, describe Muslims as "the enemy". This is, perhaps needless to say, not atypical. But let us set the notion that Muslims are our "enemy" aside for the moment and concentrate first on the problem of ignorance.
To begin with, the perception that Islam is a religion of violence is a common one. For evidence, subscribers to this notion point to acts of terrorism by people calling themselves "Muslims", often otherwise referred to as "radical Islamists" or "Islamo-Fascists", etc.
The fallacy of this logic is simple enough to demonstrate. One simply need point out the many acts of violence committed by those calling themselves "Christians" through the ages. Were the actions of the Crusaders, the Conquistadors, or the Inquisitors representative of the Christian religion? Do we point to the slaughter of Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem, the slaughter of indigenous people in the Americas, or the torture and execution of dissenters in Europe and say, "see, Christianity is a religion of violence"? In the words of the apostle Paul, "certainly not!"
And the historical pattern hasn't necessarily discontinued. To cite just one contemporary example, very many Christians today virtually rejoice in certain actions of Israel, including its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories and numerous instances of aggression.
Let us accept, therefore, that the actions of some who call themselves by some title or another do not necessarily reflect the true beliefs and teachings of one religion or another. Having done so, we must next ask whether acts of terrorism are truly representative of Islam. There are no shortage of people, not least among the Christian community, who will tell you that the Quran preaches intolerance and violence. They will even cite passages to support their assertion. A common example is a line from Surah 9:5 that reads, "slay the idolaters wherever ye find them..."
Well, that certainly supports the theory that the Quran preaches violence-unless, of course, one is inclined to study the context. Those who quote such passages for such a purpose often fail to provide any context, such as in this case, where the verse just previous explicitly forbids committing any violence against those who keep their peace with you. This Surah refers to a time when Muhammed and his followers had made a treaty with the tribes of non-believers who controlled Mecca, only to have that treaty broken when the opponents of Islam attacked and massacred a tribe allied with the Muslims. Verse 4 states explicitly that those who have kept their treaty are excepted from the command of violence. As for the call to arms, it is explicitly a call to self-defense, not aggression. As verse 13 reads, "Will ye not fight a folk who broke their solemn pledges, and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack you first?"
Surah 2:191 is another commonly quoted evidence of the violence of Islam. It begins, "And slay them wherever ye find them..." What is left conveniently unmentioned is that the previous verse explicitly forbids violence except in self-defense. "Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors." The command to "slay them" refers to those who have engaged in hostilities and is a command to defend against aggressors. The very next verse, similarly conveniently left out in such arguments, explicitly states that if the aggressors cease from their hostilities, Muslims are to "desist", only to "fight them until persecution is no more", for "Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
Most people, most Christians certainly being no exception, would be surprised to learn some other things about what the Quran actually says. It calls the Jews the "Children of Israel" and recognizes the covenant between the God of Abraham and his descendants. It refers to the great prophets of old, such as Moses, who received the Ten Commandments "that ye might be led aright." It recognizes the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as "Scripture", for before the Quran, Allah had "revealed the Torah and the Gospel".
The Quran describes faithful Jews and Christians as being "People of the Scripture". They are included with Muslims as those who "believeth in Allah and the Last Day" and who "doeth right", and says of them that "their reward is with their Lord". It asks, "And who forsaketh the religion of Abraham save him who befooleth himself?" Where it criticizes Jews and Christians, it is on the grounds that "Ye have naught till ye observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed unto you from your Lord." Jesus, it may be noted, made a similar criticism of his people.
As in the New Testament, the Quran speaks of the "Day of Resurrection" and speaks of "Jesus, son of Mary," the "Messiah" who was supported "with the holy Spirit" who confirmed the Torah that was before him, who ascended to God.
The Quran gives instructions on how to treat women, calling upon men to respect them. Islam raised women from being mere chattel to having legal rights, such as rights of inheritance and, "If a woman feareth ill-treatment from her husband", divorce.
Criticism of Islam from some Christians is particularly intriguing. One is forced to wonder whether many Christians have ever even read their own Book, much less the Quran. The Bible contains no shortage of passages one could take, either in or out of context, to support the argument that Christianity is a violent religion. Take 1 Samuel 15:3, in which the Israelites are commanded to attack the people of Amalek "and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." There are no similar incitements to genocide within the pages of the Quran. While the command to commit an indiscriminate act of revenge in the Bible is commonly explained away as righteous execution of God's judgment, the command for Muslims to "slay" those who have engaged in hostilities against them in the Quran is regarded as "terrorism" and the like.
There could, perhaps, be a lesson to be learned from this pattern.
Islam, we are often told, has brought only bloodshed and violence to this earth, history notwithstanding. The fact that Muslim scholars in Baghdad and other great centers of learning studied and translated great works of old, keeping alive centuries of knowledge and expanding upon it while Europe digressed towards barbarism during the Dark Ages, barely makes a dent in the arguments that Islam is the "enemy" of civilization itself.
Compared with the history of Christianity, the relative tolerance of Islam may be dismissed. The mercy of Saladin compared with the bloodlust of the Crusaders as they massacred not only Muslims but also Jews as they sacked Jerusalem was more a representative snapshot than an aberration of history, but we may forget about that.
Jeremy R. Hammond is the owner, editor, and principle writer for Foreign Policy Journal, a website dedicated to providing news, critical analysis, and commentary on U.S. foreign policy, particularly with regard to the "war on terrorism" and events in the Middle East, from outside of the standard framework offered by government officials and the mainstream corporate media. He has also written for numerous other online publications.
Let us stay in the present, please, instead of dragging boring Koran or Bible quotes into your prose.
Do not automatically assume that everyone who criticize Islam is a right-wing Christian.
Theo van Gogh was an atheïst.
He made a film about the [mis]treatment of women in Islam.
When he bicycled to his work, he was shot 7 times in his leg, then his throat was cut - nearly decapitated him - and finally a knife with a letter attached to it, was stuck in his stomach.
This was done by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch/Morrocan Muslim, who butchered van Gogh in the name of Allah.
The letter in van Gogh's stomach said so.
It also threatened Ayaan Hirsi Ali and several politicians, who since then have been in hiding, or have emigrated.
This all happened on November 2 2004 in Amsterdam, in broad daylight.
Then we had the Danish cartoon rows that killed dozens of people.
Murdered by muslims.
Then we had the pope, who quoted an article that said that Islam was violent.
Which promptly was proven when a nun was killed and two priests were stabbed.
etc. etc. etc.
I suggest that the author of this piece reads some papers, instead of looking for innocent Koran verses.
Islam is a xenofobic, homofobic, anti-semitic and female hostile religion/doctrine.
The sooner you'll admit this, the healthier for your posterity. It will also give you more credibility as a writer.
GJ Klaver,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
[Left-wing atheïst]
by
GJ Klaver (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Thursday, October 19, 2006 at 2:16:17 PM
I do not presume that the past is irrelevant, nor do I presume that the scriptures of the religions in question are so, and therefore I reject Mr. Klaver's assertion that the past and the scriptures should be left out of the discourse.
That's nonsense, of course.
Nor have I presumed that "everyone who criticize[s] Islam is a right-wing Christian." I merely made particular note of Christians amongst those who "criticize Islam", as Mr. Klaver has put it.
As evidenced by his argument, he missed one of the major points of the article. I'll quote it, since it was so conveniently overlooked: "Let us accept, therefore, that the actions of some who call themselves by some title or another do not necessarily reflect the true beliefs and teachings of one religion or another."
Mr. Klaver also missed this part: "Were the actions of the Crusaders, the Conquistadors, or the Inquisitors representative of the Christian religion? Do we point to the slaughter of Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem, the slaughter of indigenous people in the Americas, or the torture and execution of dissenters in Europe and say, "see, Christianity is a religion of violence"?"
But sticking to the present, as Mr. Klaver so desires, he conveniently failed to address this part: "And the historical pattern hasn't necessarily discontinued. To cite just one contemporary example, very many Christians today virtually rejoice in certain actions of Israel, including its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories and numerous instances of aggression."
I would suggest to Mr. Klaver that he read the Quran and see what it actually teaches, instead of relying on what he reads in the papers about what the Quran teaches. I would suggest to Mr. Klaver not to repeat the same fallacy as addressed in the article, to take the actions of an individual or the few and ascribe them to the beliefs of the many. For if this is the standard, then we must conclude that Christianity is an extremely violent religion (I'm sure Mr. Klaver would agree).
To close, I'd like to share another response I received to this article:
"Islam means total surrender to Allah, abandoning your own desires and adhering to the will of Allah, the only God, the God of love and peace.
Love for all creatures and peace with all creations, starts with oneself, as God is within all of us, the soul that gives us life is part of his universal soul, each of us has a share of it. May God place your soul with the righteous souls and continue to lead you in the right path.
Many thanks for an excellent and truthful article at a time when falsifications and fabrications are rife."
by
Jeremy R. Hammond (31 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 84 comments)
on Thursday, October 19, 2006 at 11:14:26 PM
Thanks for this article. I think Islam is an interesting religion, that has more principles in common with Christianity than differences. It's sad that a small, fundamentalist segment of Muslims give the entire religion a bad name (sort of like the way Bush's neo-con fascist "Christian" supporter base reflects badly on all of Christianity).
Violence, fascism, hatred, endless war, torture, etc have no place in true Christianity or Islam. Those who advocate or participate in such things are not truly living their religions.
In my opinion, poverty in the Middle East (and everywhere else) is the real enemy. If children grow up in poverty, without access to education, it's that much easier for some fundamentalist preaching his own brand of violent (non)Islam to recruit them as suicide bombers. I'd imagine that to someone who's spent most of their life hungry, watching thier country be destroyed by "the great Satan," the prospect of going to "paradise" by blowing somthing up doesn't sound too bad. The poor, and especially children, are easy prey for bad people who are preaching violent, fundamentalist ideals. (Just watch a clip of "Jesus Camp").
A government that is serious about stopping terrorism would provide humanitarian aid to the poverty stricken people in the ME, and work with them to make living conditions better for the general population in the region. If families there had a better standard of living, including education, perhaps terrorist organizations would have a harder time recruiting.
A military occupation of the area, along with decimation of the civillian population does just the opposite.
by
Amanda Butler (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 21 comments)
on Friday, October 20, 2006 at 5:37:50 PM
1675-- In India, Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur along with his disciples was burned to death by the Moghul ruler Aurangzeb in 1675. Another Sikh, Bhai Mati Das was sawn into right and left halves while he was still alive.
1843 to 1846-- From 1843 to 1846 10,000 Assyrian Christians including women and children were massacred by the Muslims
1894 to 1896 -- From 1894 to 1896 Abdul Hamid, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, killed 150,000 Armenian Christians.
1915 to 1918 -- From 1915 to 1918 750,000 Assyrians were killed in the name of Islamic Jihad.
1933--In 1933 thousands of Assyrian villagers were murdered by the Iraqi soldiers in Northern Iraq.
1960-- Over 30,000 Mauritanians have been killed by the Islamic dictators since 1960.
1971-- Genocide committed in the name of Allah: 3,000,000 Bangladeshi Hindus Killed during the Pakistan-Bangladesh war in 1971.
1971 to 1979-- Over 280,000 Ugandans killed during the reign of Idi Amin from 1971 to 1979.
1974-- In July 1974, 4,000 Christians living in Cyprus were killed by Fahri Koroturk, president of Turkey and his Islamic army.
1980-- In 1980, 20,000 Syrians were murdered under the rule of Hafez Al-Assad, President of Syria.
1990-- Since 1990 more than 10,000 Kashmiri Hindus have been brutally murdered by Islamic fundamentalists.
Since 1992 120,000 Algerians have been murdered by the Islamic fundamentalist army.
July 17, 2004-- As of July 17, 2004, over 30,000 non-Arabs have been murdered and over one million have been displaced mainly by the Janjaweed Arab Militia (JEM) supported by the Sudan Muslim government.
This past case was just for one month in 2004, it is estmated that over 400,000 Christians and animists have been murdered in the most cruel ways by Muslims. James Mitchner was correct when he said, "People reflect the gods/god they worship."
by
pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 962 comments)
on Saturday, November 4, 2006 at 11:14:58 AM
Shall we list cases of "Christian" Violence throughout history?
If you're trying to suggest that Islam is a violent religion based on incidents of what you call "Islamic" violence, I suggest you read the article, which addresses the fundamental fallacy of this logic.
by
Jeremy R. Hammond (31 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 84 comments)
on Saturday, November 11, 2006 at 4:50:51 AM
5 comments
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