Attacks in U.S. Show Skewed Views of Islam

Reuters/September 17, 2001
By Caroline Drees

Cairo -- For many in the West, Islam conjures up images of gun-toting militants, sinister mullahs and homemade bombs. Wherever they look, it seems Muslim radicals are rigging explosives, blowing up ancient statues, hijacking planes or kidnapping tourists. In some of the Western press, "Islam" seems to go hand-in-hand with "terrorism." But Islamic scholars say this image is wholly undeserved for a faith which bans suicide and the killing of innocents.

After 1,400 years, Islam remains a mystery to most non-Muslims, laced with connotations of evil. Last week's airliner suicide attacks in the United States have again put Islam in the spotlight after Washington said a prime suspect is Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, the "guest" of Afghanistan's purist Islamic Taliban.

Muslim scholars say that in the court of public opinion, Islam has already been convicted. Few realize that a billion people around the globe, from Asia to America, are Muslim. "Islam is a religion with vast dimensions...while terrorism is something that is carried out by irresponsible groups," said Andrea Riccardi, a religion historian and founder of Italy's Catholic Sant' Egidio peace group.

Analysts say ignorance and misconceptions about Islam are rampant, particularly concerning its teachings on violence. They say Islam is a peaceful religion based on tolerance and respect which has been demonized by centuries of misinformation. The Arabic word "Islam" means submission to the will of God, and comes from the same root as the word for peace, "salaam."

Judging Islam by suicide bombers, hijackers or the Taliban is akin to basing an understanding of Christianity on the crusades, Spanish Inquisition, or sects like the Branch Davidians, they argue.

"There's a verse in the Koran that says anyone who kills another person is considered to have killed all of humanity. Anyone who saves one person, is considered to have saved mankind," said Mohamed Serag, professor of Islamic Studies at the American University in Cairo, adding that suicide was also forbidden.

"The Koran says that if anyone shows any inclination toward peace, even if you fear they may not be sincere, then you must accept their offer," he said. "This shows that human life is very important in Islam."

Muslims say Attacks Contradict Islam

Muslim clerics throughout the world, including religious leaders of extremist groups, have condemned last week's attacks as horrific acts which contradict Islam. Saudi Arabia's top judicial official, Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammed al-Luhaidan, spoke for many when he said: "Islam does not condone murder except (to punish) those who kill or who attack Muslims, and therefore, such crimes which do not differentiate between a baby, woman or elderly person...are considered one of the greatest crimes."

The head of the Islamic World League, Abdullah bin Abdul-Muhsin el-Turkia, said in Sarajevo on Monday: "Islam does not recognize terrorism and its history proves it...It also does not recognize injustice and aggression against other peoples."

Like the Old Testament call of "an eye for an eye," the Koran does condone some forms of retribution. But Muslim scholars emphasize Islam only allows violence in self-defense, and never permits innocent casualties or suicide.

"We are horrified by these attacks, which no religion, human logic or political justification can sanction," said Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, a top Shi'ite cleric and former spiritual mentor of the militant Hizbollah movement. He said no religious teaching could justify the attacks.

In the Name of Islam

Considering the official views, why do Muslim militants like kidnappers in the Philippines, suicide bombers in Israel, and the culprits behind bombings in the Gulf, Africa or United States believe they are following God's orders?

"There are fanatic people who feel they have been humiliated, who seek any justification for their wish to take revenge. The nearest thing to their mind, the only philosophy we have, is Islam. So they draw their justification from their misunderstanding of Islamic principles," one theologian said.

Analysts say certain concepts in Islam such as martyrdom, "Jihad" and defense of the faith lend themselves to misinterpretation, and many political and religious movements have hijacked these concepts to further their particular cause.

They say many of these ideas, particularly martyrdom, are not uniquely Islamic, and have, for example, led centuries of Christians to commit unspeakable crimes and support racism and anti-Semitism in the name of Jesus Christ.

"The misuse of religion is not uncommon. People who have a base and contemptible motive try to give it some nobility and respectability by covering it with a religious color. Such people just say they are Muslims. But they are not," said Zaki Badawi, principal of the Muslim College in London.

"They also use religion as a mobilizing force. If you remember, even (Josef) Stalin, an ardent atheist, mobilized the (Russian) Orthodox Church to try to get the people to fight against the Nazis," Badawi said.

Detractors frequently cite the concept of "Jihad" as proof Islam is a violent faith. Often translated as "holy war," the word actually means "holy struggle," and can refer to internal as well as external efforts to be a good Muslim.

Scholars said anything striving to help the community or the restraint of personal sins would be regarded as Jihad.

"The well-known term Jihad is a religious term which is addressed above all to Muslims themselves and not primarily as an aim against others. There have been holy wars in the past, and they can be fought again, but this is not what the overwhelming majority of Muslims want," Riccardi said.

Badawi, whose graduate school of theology seeks to dispel some of the misconceptions of Islam, said some people pushing militant ideas about jihad or martyrdom were trying to play God.

"Islam is a religion that accords every human being, regardless of their color or creed, the dignity and respect and protection of their life, property, honor and freedom of thought and freedom of worship," Badawi said.

"Anyone denying any person in the world the right to life, or the right to practice their own religion in freedom, or to think freely, would be demeaning to Islam and acting against Islam itself."

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