“Terrorist” has unfortunately been synonymous to “Muslim” these days. The media is flooded with quotations and statements from people who take certain verses and twist the meaning and ignore what the Arabic language actually indicates, and pass judgments that make Islam and Muslims a very frightening phenomena, which is contrary to the reality. Listen, there have been many crimes committed and millions of people killed by individuals, groups and governments in the name of one religion or another - justifying their actions by some perversion of the revealed texts. The victims come from every race, ethnicity, and religious group. At the current moment, many of the perpetrators are Muslims. Religion is a powerful tool. Correctly used, it has led to the vision of God. But when usurped by violent men, religion has proven extremely effective in rousing the masses to violence and aggression. People of Islam, my fellow Muslims...here is a clear call to action, if there ever was one. Here is a call to engage, at all costs, to repair and restore the image of our beautiful religion. Muslims all over the world, but even more importantly...those of us living here in the United States where weve been given the right to practice our religion freely need to take on the responsibility of being more proactive in showing the righteous ways of Islam and speak out loud and clear against extremism. ISIS is a prime example of an abhorrent manipulation of Islam and we cant just stay quiet about what theyre doing and the damage theyre causing to our name and what we stand for. We have to refuse to give up true Islam to these extremists and radicals that seem to be popping up all over the place these days. It is already being implied by the media that all Muslims are radical and there is a growing fear of that in this country and around the world that can lead to devastating consequences against us such as discrimination and hate. The trend is pointing towards that unless we do something. It’s time for us to start cleaning up those messes. And even going beyond that, it’s time for us to contribute to the reconstruction of something that is beautiful. We as Muslims are instructed to respond to tyranny and to fight it in a proper manner. We are to promote liberty, diversity, equality, justice and tolerance. We are to eliminate violence and hatred. We should all be ambassadors to our religion and a righteous people who carry themselves with the upmost manners. We are all held captive by a fanatical, criminal minority. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, told us that “A Muslim is that person from whose hands and tongue the others are safe” and that we follow a religion that represents a middle path between exaggeration and negligence, because both are blameworthy in the matter of religion. Muslims are guided and obligated by the Qur’an, which reveals to us that we must not wage war for self-interest, material gain, or mere retaliation. We’re not barbarians as ISIS are tainting us as. Muslims are to fight or wage war only when someone hinders them from the worship and work of God. And when we fight, we must reject barbaric methods of warfare and doing any harm to women, children, the elderly, the sick or wounded, and even to animals or vegetation. So again, this is a call for us to stand up and speak up. As Muslims, we are commanded by God in the Qu’ran `O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice even as against yourselves or your parents or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor.’ {4:135} `O you who believe! Stand out firmly for God as witnesses to fair-dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just, that is next to piety. And be regardful of God, for God is well-acquainted with all that you do.’ {5:9}. This is part and parcel of being not just Muslim, but really of being a righteous human being.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 00:40:17 +0000
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