Recently we have been bombarded with
increasingly murderous acts of modern militancy throughout the Islamic world.
The latest and one of the most savage, involved the bombing and shooting of
many innocent mosque attendees on their day of congregation. The notion of
violating the sanctity of a religious place, in modern times, can be seen as
dating back to the attack on the Holy mosque in Makkah in 1979. This attack was
led by Jeheman al-Etaibi and Mohamed al-Qahtani, the latter claiming to be the
awaited Mahdi (the guided leader). Hundreds of innocent people were murdered in
this act of callous and premeditated violence. Jeheman was one who perhaps
introduced the idea of armed religious insurgency, in this century, to unseat a
ruler and to replace him with one claimed to be the righteous and guided one.
From this moment the seed for existing extreme political ideology in Islam was
sown.
In the ensuing years, after massacre
in Makkah, we have seen the rise of al-Qaedah and ISIS(Daesh) which carry the
banners of religious confrontation and rejection of all else in the name of
pure Islam. Armed confrontations, such as these, continue to damage the
beautiful name of Islam. As a result many opportunists and ignorant people out
there took, and continue to take, the opportunity to call all Muslims
terrorists and the sublime Quran as a manual for terrorism.
The attack that has just happened in
Sinai in the mosque on a Friday, killing over 300 mosque goers, was a brutal,
inhumane and unjustifiable act, whatever the motives behind it. For true
Muslims it is unbelievable that an armed group of fellow Muslims should enter a
Mosque and indiscriminately open fire on the congregation. How has this brutal
concept crept into Islam? And who are the people who preach this concept of
extreme ideology?
Looking back over the last few years
at similar confrontations that happened in Pakistan, we see that, perhaps for
the first time in Muslim history,
suicide bombers enter a mosque on a Friday, the Day of weekly congregation,
blowing themselves and others to pieces.
Islam, the religion, gains nothing
by such acts of brutality and murder. Only political activists, those who are
angry and resentful, bereft of intelligence and clear thinking and regardless
of the fact that their acts are damaging Islam, think they can benefit. They are
wrong! These acts are a straightforward violation of Islamic teachings and
against the purpose of Islamic revelation written in the Quran.
Violence has taken over in the
Muslim world and has invaded the conflict resolution process in many areas of
our daily life. Most dangerous of all are the extreme thoughts and intolerance
expressed by many who regard themselves as Muslims. Justification of violence
and the use of brute force in solving any problem is un-Islamic. Islam endorses
education and the first word of the revelation of the Holy Quran was ‘Iqra’ –
Read.
Education and the development of
human thinking is a prime goal of Islamic teachings. True Islam is decent and
kind and promotes human decency to be kind and compassionate even to our
enemies.
We are taught to take pride in the
fact that Islam was the first religion that banned any suppression or
compulsion in religion. People must not be forced, against their will, to
accept any religion or interpretation of their religion.
In a hadith the Prophet Muhammad,
peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, said: ‘I am the leader of a house in the
outer Paradise for those who relinquish any confrontation even though he might
have been right. And I am the leader of a house in the middle of the Paradise
for those who relinquish lies, even in their jokes. And I am the leader of a
house in the upper Paradise for those who have the best manner’. Narrated by
Abu Daud
We now appear to be hovering on the
brink of total destruction with no thought for what this may bring down upon
us. This twisted mentality is becoming all pervading and one wonders where it
is going to lead us. The Quran describes such people in these words. ‘There are
the types of men whose speech about this world’s life may dazzle you and he
calls Allah to witness about what is in his heart. Yet it is he the most
contentious of enemies. When he turns his back, his aims everywhere are to
spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and progeny. But Allah
loves not mischief. When it is said to him: Fear Allah’, he is led by arrogance
to more crime. Enough for him is Hell,
an evil bed indeed (to lie on). S2 V204-206
Islamic teachings, which should be a
pacifying force for the believers in terms of violence, seem to have an
opposite impact on many who may be only loosely connected with Islam. No person
who fears Allah and follows the path of real Islam can commit brutality or such
murderous acts, as he knows he would be accountable for every act by Allah.
We hear the divine words, the words
of Allah, the beautiful prophetic guidance that encourages us to be Muslims of
high calibre and manner, but they seem to have no impact on us whatsoever. The
guiding revelations of Allah have been, in many people’s minds, reduced to
political goals or personal ambitions. We no longer use them to benefit humanity
and serve the cause of Allah or in the ways of Allah. The beautiful recitations
of the Quran, by eminent reciters, seem to have become musical entertainment,
with their words inciting no inspirations, but to be enjoyed only as a pastime.
These continual violent upheavals in
Islam, particularly those taking place in the Muslim countries in violation of
the religious character of its teachings, provoke great sorrow in many of us.
We also feel low, violated and helpless. Our Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah
be upon him, says: ‘Islam is superior and nothing can supersede it.’ This is
not a falsely boastful claim against other religious systems. It indicates the
character and the Islamic manner with which we deal in all our affairs. Islam
is all about good manners and best character. If this is deleted from people’s
life then it is Islam itself which will disappear from our lives and not just
the impact of Islamic teachings.
Islamic disciplines of belief and
commitment are disappearing fast from within the lives of Muslims. We need to
love Allah and commit to the leadership of our Prophet, Muhammad, peace and
mercy of Allah be upon him, and restore ourselves back to the guidance of the
Holy Quran and Prophetic Sunnah. That is the purity we need and only that will
result in our salvation.
