The Islamic Stance on Terrorism and War - Direct from the Sources

 

Demystifying Islam

 by Dr. Ali Shehata

 

The Islamic Stance on Terrorism and War - Direct from the Sources

 

Having understood from the previous chapters that Islam is a total way of life, it then doesn’t seem the least bit unusual that Islam possesses a code of regulations concerning war.  How many societies, from the beginning of civilization until now, have constitutions that have no provision for war?  Few, if any, have left out this important matter, for people of wisdom understand that war is unfortunately an inevitable reality in this life. 

 

There will always be corrupt and ruthless individuals in this world, and rogue, tyrannical governments that will take advantage of their strength in order to rob, raid and oppress weaker peoples and nations. Orderly civilizations must have an answer to deal with such groups, or else such corruption would take over the world. After mentioning how, He aided David over the oppressive forces of Goliath, God says in the Quran:

 

By God's will, they routed them, and David slew Goliath, and God gave [David] power and wisdom and taught him whatever else he willed. And had not God checked one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of corruption, but God is full of Bounty to the Universe. {2:251}

 

Yet, ever since the spread of Islam into Christian territories in the seventh century, the religion of Islam has been falsely branded as a religion of violence and war.*  With the more recent violence in the Middle East and the events of 9/11, Islam has further been accused of being a religion of terrorism and intolerance. Is this true, or are there some important pieces missing from the puzzle?

* Kaegi, W.E. (1969, June). Initial Byzantine Reactions to the Arab Conquest. Church History, Vol. 38, No. 2 p. 139–149, p. 139–142, quoting from Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati 86–87

 

What are the Verses from the Quran that Mention Violence and War?

 

As is often unfortunately the case, there are those who intend to deceive the general public about what the Quran says concerning violence. They even use the statements of religious extremists to strengthen their arguments, but never really mention the importance of context.

 

For example, when a person sees the following verse from the Quran, they may be shocked and begin to believe much of the rhetoric:

 

And kill them wherever you catch them. {2:191}

 

This fragment of a verse is often cited by those who seek to stir up hatred and misunderstandings between Muslims and non-Muslims. And to make matters worse, some of the uneducated poor in some Muslim countries have declared this to be their evidence for killing non-Muslims. So what to believe then? 

 

As always, looking at the context of any statement will allow us to best understand what is intended. Let’s review the context of these words then to see if the picture gets clearer.

 

 Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not be the aggressors, for God does not love those who transgress. And kill them wherever you catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out, for persecution and oppression are worse than killing. But, don’t fight them at the Sacred Mosque, unless they first fight you there. So, if they attack you, then kill them. Such is the reward of those who deny faith. But if they cease their aggressions, then indeed is God Forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them until there is no more persecution or oppression, and justice and Faith in God prevail. But, if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression. {2:190-193}

 

So it becomes clear, that in this verse, God is guiding the believers on how to deal with oppression and persecution; how to deal with those that attack you!  

 

So the valid question then becomes, should God have instead said, “Hug them wherever you find them, and kiss them in return for them evicting you from your homes and trying to murder you”?  There is no law on Earth, nor logic, which would support this! This is quite clear in today’s world where some nations attack others based on the possibility that they will be attacked, termed pre-emptive war, not even waiting for hostilities to start.

 

Islam and Tolerance of Other Faiths

 To get a clearer picture of how Muslims should deal with people who don’t share their faith, let us review the following passage from the Quran. They clearly illustrate how God teaches His followers that they must maintain peace with ordinary and peaceful non-Muslims, and that they should only fight a hostile enemy:

 

But if the enemy inclines towards peace, you also must incline towards peace, and trust in God, for He is One that Hears and Knows all things.  {8:61}

 

Permission to fight is given to those who are being attacked, because they have been wronged. And surely God measures out help for them. {22:39}

 

God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you concerning your religion and have not driven you out of your homes. Indeed, God loves those who are just. God only forbids your friendship with those who fight you in the religion and drive you out from your homes and support those who drive you out. And whoever befriends them, such are the wrongdoers. {60:8}

 

And why should you not fight in the cause of God, and of those who, because they are weak, are persecuted and oppressed? Those whose cry is, “O’ Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors, and raise for us from Yourself one who will protect us, and raise for us from Yourself one who will help us.” {4:75}

 

Let there be no compulsion in religion.  Truth stands out clear from error.  Whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks.  And God Hears and Knows all things. {2:256}

 

After seeing these verses, it should be clear that the religion of Islam does not support the killing of those who don’t agree with them. It commands a careful, thoughtful approach to prevent persecution and oppression of both Muslims and non-Muslims, and to try to find peaceful solutions to such issues, if at all possible, before resorting to combat. Also, a review of history will demonstrate how Muslim armies were sometimes dispatched to protect non-Muslims, as this is the command of God; justice and freedom for all people.

 

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Islamic State or Muslim Country – Is there a Difference?

 

Demystifying Islam

 by Dr. Ali Shehata

 

Islamic State or Muslim Country—Is there a Difference?

 

Amongst the major misconceptions that exist today amongst people in the West is the belief that "Muslim countries" are places where Islam is the rule of law from both a personal and governmental perspective. This leads many in the West to then equate whatever is going on in such “Muslim” countries with the practice of Islam—something which, in most cases, couldn’t be further from the truth!  It also leads many people in the West to wonder why so many Muslims are seeking to live in the West if they have Islam in their own homelands? The answer lies in the fact that "Muslim countries" are, for the most part, nations where only the population is predominantly Muslim, and not places where Islam is the primary law of the land.

 

In fact, the vast majority of these “Muslim” countries are run by severely tyrannical, oppressive dictatorships similar to, and in many cases worse than, governments like that of the World War II era dictators. A brief look into the policies and practices of countries like Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Jordan and Pakistan, just to name a few, will reveal severe and routine human rights violations and curtailed civil liberties. (Strupczewski, J. (2004, Dec 8). Experts: Men Distort Religion to Justify 'Honour' Killings. Reuters. Retrieved from: https://wwrn.org/articles/14661/ )

 

The dictators in these countries regularly rig elections, jail or murder any opposition party leaders and/or their followers, arrest entire families and keep them indefinitely in jail, without due process, and regularly practice acts of physical and emotional torture on prisoners, among other grave injustices and human rights violations.

 

For that reason, like the immigrants who came before them from Europe, many Muslims have fled these countries to come to the West seeking freedom and rights. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Islam has anything to do with the oppressive conditions that caused these people to flee from their homelands. A basic understanding of Islamic law would show that Islam is the absolute opposite of what is being practiced in these countries.

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The Issue of “Honor Killings”

 

Demystifying Islam

 by Dr. Ali Shehata

 

The Issue of “Honor Killings”

 

We now turn our attention to the issue of so-called “honor” killings, one of the true crimes of oppression in the world today. It must immediately be made clear that in no way does Islam condone, validate or support this oppressive and backward practice. Yet, most often when these heinous crimes are reported in the media, they often seem to occur in “Muslim countries”. This has unfortunately created an association in many people’s minds between these dreadful crimes and the religion of Islam. Is this justified though? 

 

“Honor” killings are crimes that target women who have usually been victims of rape. Since these women have tarnished the “honor” of their families by being raped, they are then killed,  almost always by a family member, in order to remove the dishonor from the family. Of course, in any civilized society this is quite inconceivable as these women should rather be receiving counseling and emotional support from their families after enduring the horror of rape.

 

As has been clearly explained above though, in the Shari’ah of Islam, a woman who has been raped is entitled to criminal court proceedings, not against her, but against her attacker. She should be protected by the Islamic governmental authority and given the emotional support that she needs, for she has done nothing wrong. Indeed, the Islamic punishment of her assailant should strike fear into the heart of any man who would even consider victimizing a woman.

 

The current reality though is that men all over the world are twisting the teachings of religion, not only Islam, but also Christianity*, to justify abusing their wives, sisters and daughters, leading to thousands of these "honor" killings a year in which secular courts provide virtual immunity for the perpetrator. In those countries where honor killings are known to occur, one would in fact be hard pressed to find any convictions of the family member who takes it upon himself to kill the raped woman.

 * https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-christian-honourkilling-kerala-kevin-p-joseph-southern-dalit-a8375891.html

 

Horror stories of women, and even girls as young as seven, being beheaded, burned to death, maimed, beaten, raped, forced into suicide or mentally abused, underscore that patriarchal violence against women pays no heed to religion.  In reality, almost all cases are rooted in cultural and tribal beliefs, rather than anything resembling religion.

 

When asked what role Islam has to play in honor killings Mrs.Nilofar Bakhtiar, adviser to Pakistan's prime minister on Women's' Development replied, "Islam as a reason for the honor killings is rubbish".* She blamed such violence in Pakistan on "the feudal tradition, the culture and the tribal system." She also said that such men found it "very convenient to say that what they don't want to do is against Islam and what they want to do is in the name of Islam."*

 

In line with her statements, reports clearly show that "honor" violence also occurs among Christian families. "After we got married, Hell started," a Christian woman from the Middle East said during a taped interview. Beaten and raped for questioning her husband's business practices, she fled to Sweden when he threatened to sell her into prostitution.*

 * Strupczewski, J. (2004, Dec 8). Experts: Men Distort Religion to Justify 'Honour' Killings. Reuters. Retrieved from: https://wwrn.org/articles/14661/

 

Such a horrific practice can only be uprooted by education and strict legal enforcement. It is a shame that such people have neglected or become ignorant of every advice of the Prophet to men regarding the treatment of women. He encouraged kindness and patience, and reminded men that God would indeed question them on the Day of Judgment concerning how they treated the women in their care. 

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