Until recent history, Islam has had a negative and violent image in the West. However, today we live in the age of “tolerance,” when it is politically incorrect to criticize any religion, with the sole exception of Christianity which is deemed to be the source of all the evils in the world.
I am going to be politically incorrect and state the obvious: the hijackers who inflicted such horrible devastation and suffering in New York, Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh on September 11, 2001 were not evangelical Christians or, for that matter, even fundamentalist Christians. Nor were they Israelis. There are hundreds of religions in the world, yet almost two-thirds of all terrorism worldwide is carried out by the followers of one religion--the religion of Islam.
If you have watched TV, listened to the radio, or read the print media in the weeks since the horrendous acts of terrorism in the United States, you have heard repeated over and over like a broken record such statements as this: “The religion championed by the terrorists who perpetrated these acts of terror are unrepresentative of the true spirit of Islam.” Prime Minister Tony Blair, careful not to offend Muslim voters, said gingerly a few days after the September 11 terrorist attacks, “Such acts of infamy and cruelty are wholly contrary to the Islamic faith.” President George W. Bush has made numerous statements, echoed by other government leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, to the effect that we must distinguish between terrorism perpetuated by extremist Islamic groups and Islam itself, which is peaceful. Muslims have stated over the airwaves in no uncertain terms that Islam is “a religion of peace,” which has been parroted by journalists, TV presenters and government officials alike. The word Islam itself means “peace” the mantra goes.
In the aftermath of the catastrophes in New York, Washington, and Pittsburgh, Karen Armstrong, a former Catholic nun converted to “the truth found in all religions,” soothingly informs us in the October 1, 2001 issue of Time,
There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, and Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion. If the evil carnage we witnessed on Sept. 11 were typical of the faith, and Islam truly inspired and justified such violence, its growth and the increasing presence of Muslims in both Europe and the U.S. would be a terrifying propect. Fortunately, this is not the case.
The very word Islam, which means “surrender,” is related to the Arabic salim, or peace.... In the Koran...the only permissible war is one of self-defence.... Islam is not addicted to war, and jihad is not one of its “pillars,” or essential practices.... Islam did not impose itself by the sword....1
In this study, I will show beyond doubt that these statements are categorically not true. In fact, true scholars of Islam, both Islamic and non-Islamic, know that Islam has been the most bloody religion in history. Furthermore, I will prove to you that war, violence, and the type of terrorism we witnessed with horror on September 11 are not aberrations of Islamic teaching and culture, but are, in fact, part of the warp and woof of much, if not the majority, of Muslim thinking and practice around the world and throughout much of its history.
In doing so, I must be fair and add that though violence, war, and terrorism against non-Muslims is an intrinsic aspect of Islam in its purest, most historical form, that does not mean that all Muslims agree with terrorist actions, at least with the scale of suffering inflicted by the September 11 attacks. Just as there are liberal Christian theologians who deny the basic doctrines of Christianity and many others who believe them but do not live consistently according to them, there are many Muslims who are more moderate or even liberal in their Islamic beliefs. However much we wish there were more like them(!), in reality, what the extremists believe is more representative of the actual history and teachings of Islam and its holy writings. In other words, the “extremists” are the “true believers” of Islam--the faithful guardians of Islamic faith.
Some of my commentary quotations will be from non-Muslim sources. However, most of my original sources will not be non-Muslims who have a bone to pick with Islam. Rather we will hear from the Muslim historians and clerics themselves. We will look at the very words of the Qu’ran for ourselves. We will examine the Qu’ranic Hadiths2 and let them speak for themselves.
So, is Islam truly a religion of peace and toleration, abhorring violence and terrorism, as has been so often claimed in the aftermath of the grisly death and destruction of September 11? Consider the following:
ISLAM’S FIRST TERRORIST
As shocking as it may seem, Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was himself a terrorist. No one reading the biographies of Muhammad written by Muslims themselves could come to any other conclusion.
(Snip, full article
here)
