“Whoever kills a human being…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (Qur’an, 5:32)
Once again we have seen the name of God used to justify bloodshed, most recently in France, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Once again, we have seen the complete misinterpretation of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings to advance a wicked political philosophy whose sole purpose seems to be a continued perpetuation of authoritarian power.
First and foremost, let me express our sincere condolences to all those in France on Friday and in Lebanon on Thursday who lost their lives at the hands of violent extremism. And let us not forget those in Egypt earlier this month and the hundreds in Syria and Iraq every single day over the last several years – all of whom have seen their lives cut short by actions attributable to ISIS and similar violent groups.
Georgia-based Madina Institute USA abhors and categorically condemns the actions attributed to ISIS and which are being perpetuated in the mistaken impression that those actions represent Islam. The actions of violent extremists such as ISIS and the like — whether they be in France Friday, Lebanon this past week, Egypt this past month or daily in Syria and Iraq over the past few years — are in no way in accordance with the basic principles of Islam, whose foremost teachings involve love and unconditional compassion.
What happened and is happening is horrendous, and it must not be made even more so by allowing to take root the fear and — most specifically — hatred that violent extremism seeks to sow. Unfortunately, it is already doing so, as is evidenced by the very many hateful and ignorant comments on social and other media attacking all Muslims.
One of the most misrepresented aspects of being an American Muslim is the ridiculous charge that we do not often or strongly enough condemn such senseless violence. Whether some choose to hear us or not, our stand against violence has and always will be unequivocal.
Let us be clear: Since its establishment, Madina Institute has been one of the most vocal Islamic voices on nonviolence. We regularly make this stand clear through platforms such as conferences, seminars, workshops and lectures throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, South Africa, Canada, Malaysia, and wherever Madina Institute chapters have been established. Ours is a mission to spread the true, loving, compassionate, caring and nonviolent message of Islam, to take back the name and image of our religion, which has for so long now been hijacked by extremists — violent and non-violent alike — for their own political agendas.
While injustices are everywhere in this world – in the form of evil, violence, wars and Islamophobia — the answer is never violence. Non-violence is the weapon that knows no defeat. Non-violence does not mean to be passive and to accept injustices and oppression. Non-violence means to actively struggle against those injustices, using all possible means short of violence and bloodshed.
Violence is evil. It is no more native to Islam than it is to the teachings of Jesus or Moses. Violence is, in fact, inconsistent with Islamic principles, not viable with its ethics, and violates its most sacred values.
So why is violence such a constant? The true causes of violence are greed, ambitions and envy. In order to sanitize these underlying causes, those who view violence as an acceptable means to an end seek to cloak their self-serving goals in religious rhetoric.
The pursuit of power and money through the use of religion has been evident throughout history, and has been used by most if not all religions and faith systems.
As Americans — whether of the Muslim, Jewish, Christian or other faiths — we must stand united in not allowing ourselves to fall into the hatred and easy, racist stereotyping that is so rampant on social media and elsewhere. We encourage our fellow Americans to engage with us, the American Muslim community, who are more representative of the religion followed by 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, rather than to fall prey to the likes of ISIS, whose actions reflect neither the Islam we know or any true understanding of The Merciful and Loving Creator, whether you call Him God or Allah or whatever else.
In the end, what we all choose to label ourselves is nowhere near as important as how we carry ourselves and live our lives; the latter being the clearest manifestation of one’s faith.
About the Author
