There seems to be a great deal of confusion these days as to what is Islam. Are Muslims prone to being terrorists, and murderers, does the Islamic “community” support acts such as occurred on 9/11 in New York and 7/7 in London, as well as the atrocity in Spain and so many others?
The Koran, to answer these questions, explicitly forbids Muslims from taking the lives of civilians, indeed Muslims are only allowed to go to war at all if they have been explicitly attacked and are therefore defending themselves. Muslims are forbidden from taking their own lives, it is a sin. It has been said, that the only truly valid war that Muslims have been involved with has been that in the Balkan States of the 1990’s when Muslims were deliberately targeted because of their faith. Remember Srebreniza? 6000 young men, old men and boys murdered because they were Muslim. It is allowed by all faiths, and all nations, that one may defend oneself.
When we speak of Muslims we speak of many different cultures, national groups, people of all colours, all classes of society, and all areas of human activity. Each of these groups may have individual views as to what it is to be a Muslim, each “group” may have differing grievances against a number of peoples, governments and/or organisations.
When we hear therefore that Muslims are bombing London, or New York, Spain, or Cairo, we are not seeing the Islamic faith, we are seeing the outcomes of individual groups of people who hold grievances, rightly or wrongly, I believe wrongly, against those they have assaulted. How can we hold the whole faith to account for the activities of these people. The faith is used a a cover story for the activities of fanatics.
In Northern Ireland for 30 years we heard of Catholics fighting against Protestants. The truth was more like Nationalists fighting against those who wished to remain “loyal” to the British state. Catholicism had no meaning to these people, nor did Protestantism, no priests, that we are aware of carried guns or planted bombs? The religious affiliation of the terrorists in that case was, at best accidental, and at worst a deliberate, on their part, attempt to justify unacceptable actions.
Muslims in the main are peaceful people, Islam teaches one to worship God, and nothing else, we should not worship the gun, and we should not seek to destroy others lives.
Islam, is a religion to be lived, not one to die for. Those who claim to follow Islam and to die in suicide bombings are fools, anti-Islamic in their actions and an insult to the memory of the prophet.
Mercy even in war, is a major tenet of the Islamic faith, mercy and good and fair treatment for all people is the objective of Islam
Those who disagree should look to their hearts, read the Koran, and think of the meaning of Gods word contained therein.