Islam 101
American Edition
compiled by
Dr. Ishaq
Zahid
The Sabr
Foundation, P.O. Box 958, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Website:
http://www.sabr.com, Email:
webmaster@sabr.com
I seek
refuge in Allah from the rejected Satan.
In the
name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind.
Contents
1.
Islamic Theology and Its
Rituals
3
- What They Say About Muhammad (peace be on
him) 7
3.
Allah in the
Bible
11
4.
Statements of Muslim World Leaders on Sept 11, 2001
Tragedy 13
- Human Rights in
Islam
14
- Bible and
Terrorism
15
- Recent Great
Tragedies
16
- Tolerance, Respect and safeguard for
Non-Muslims 17
- Guilt by Association
(The Executive Summary of Report published by CAIR)
18
- A short List of Recommended Websites, Books,
Video 19
Cover Picture: Masjid Omar ibn Al-Khattab,
Los Angeles, CA,
http://www.islam.org/Culture/Mosques/america/USA_MasjidOmar.htm
"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most
influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by
others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful
on both the religious and secular level."
Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS
IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.
Islamic
Theology and Its Rituals
Key Words: Allah, Islam,
Muslim, Muhammad, Quran, Shahada, Salat, Ramadhan, Zakat, Hajj, Shariah
ALLAH
- for Muslims the greatest and most inclusive of the Names of God, an
Arabic word of rich and varied meaning, denoting the one who is adored
in worship, who creates all that exists, who had priority over all
creation, who is lofty and hidden, who confounds all human
understanding. It is exactly the same word that the Jews, in Hebrew, use
for God (eloh), the word which Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when
he prayed to God. God has an identical name in Judaism, Christianity and
Islam; Allah is the same God worshipped by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
"He is God, the One God Independent and
sought by all; He begets not, nor is begotten, and there is none like
unto Him" (The Holy Qur 'an - Chapter 112 - Al-Ikhlas- Sincerity of
Faith)
Islam
teaches that all faiths have, in
essence, one common message:
the existence of a Supreme Being, the one and only God, whose
Sovereignty is to be acknowledged in worship and in the pledge to obey
His teaching and commandments, conveyed through His messengers and
prophets who were sent at various times and in many places throughout
history.
Islam,
An Arabic word, rich in meaning.
One important dimension is the "commitment to submit and surrender to
God so that one can live in peace"; Peace (Salam) is achieved
through active obedience to the revealed Commandments of God, for God is
the Source of all Peace. Commitment to Islam entails striving for
peace through a struggle for justice, equality of opportunity, mutual
caring and consideration for the rights of others, and continuous
research and acquisition of knowledge for the better protection and
utilization of the resources of Creation.
Islam
teaches that the objective of the
Commandment of God is that peace should be established in the human
societies of this world, in preparation for a further dimension of human
existence in the world to come, the Afterlife. Islam's vision of
peace is therefore truly universal; it transcends time and
belongs to the order of God's eternity.
Islam
does not regard itself to be a new
teaching, different or separate from that of other world religions. It
is the reaffirmation of the ancient yet living truth of all religions,
which can be expressed in the following beliefs:
The Uniqueness of the one and only God who is
Sovereign of the universe;
The Revelation of the
teaching and commandments of God through Angels in heaven to Prophets on
earth, and written in sacred writings which all have the same
transcendent source; these contain the will of God which marks the way
of peace for the whole universe and all of humankind;
The Day of Judgment
which inaugurates the after-life, in which God rewards and punishes with
respect to human obedience and disobedience to His will.
Islam
affirms these simple beliefs as
the basis for the decent, civilized society towards which it strives.
Its vision of society is; in essence, no different from that upheld by
all monotheistic religions. This is particularly true of Judaism and
Christianity, which share with Islam the direct spiritual lineage
of the Prophet Abraham. Islam affirms the divinely ordained
missions of the Prophet Moses, through whom God revealed the sacred
scripture called the Torah, and of the Prophet Jesus, through whom God
revealed the scripture known as the Gospel. The message of Islam is in
essence the same as that which God revealed to all His prophets and
messengers. The Prophet Muhammad (the peace and blessing of God be upon
him) was commanded to recite in the Holy Qur'an:
"Say, we believe in
God, and that which was revealed unto us, and that which was revealed
unto Abraham and lshmael and Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes, and that
which was vouchsafed unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their
Lord; We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have
surrendered" (The Holy Qur 'an 3.84)
The success of
civilizations and cultures is directly related to the extent of their
practice of the righteous way of life revealed in the teaching and
commandments of God, and set forth in the monotheistic religions which
are confirmed by Islam. God's revelation enshrines the highest
values of humankind, and the divine commandments are essentially no
different from the values which human beings have cherished and striven
to maintain throughout history, regardless of cultural, racial,
linguistic and socioeconomic differences. Success in this life is
directly related to the practice of these values.
The irreducible minimum of faith is to
believe in God as the sole sovereign Lord of this world and the
next, and to believe in the reality of the Afterlife for which
human beings are to prepare by living righteously in this world. God
Alone is the Judge of human righteousness, and it is God Alone who
rewards and punishes in this life and in the life hereafter.
Righteousness does not mean for you to
turn your faces towards the East and towards the West, but righteousness
means one should believe in God
(Alone), the Last Day, the angels, the Book and the prophets; and no
matter how he loves it, to give his wealth away to near relatives,
orphans, the needy, the wayfarer and the beggars, and toward the freeing
of captives, and to keep up prayer and pay the welfare tax, and those
who keep their word whenever they promise anything; and are patient
under strain and hardship and in time of peril Those are the ones who
act royally and perform their duty. (The Holy Qur 'an 2:177)
A Muslim is one who is committed to peace
continuously striving to follow the way of righteousness and justice
revealed by God; the Arabic word muslim refers to a man, muslima to a
woman. In either case the literal meaning is "one who submits to God's
teachings and commandments, which leads to peace."
Muslims
have three distinct advantages to
help them in the practice of Islam as their way of life:
1. The
Sacred Scripture called the Qur'an, which was revealed to
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the 7th century of the
Common Era, and which, after 1400 years, remains authentic in its
original Arabic text, in the language which is still used and understood
by millions of people throughout the world today; it contains God's
guidance in teachings and commandments which are valid for all times and
all places, and which encompass all spheres of human life.
2. The Prophet Muhammad,
whom the Qur'an names as "the Seal (last) of the Prophets", and of whose
life and mission there is a complete and authentic record in the Sira
and the Hadith. These show how he exemplified the teachings
and commandments of God in practice, and elaborated the principles laid
down in the Qur'an in order to provide a sure guidance for their
interpretation and application for all later times and societies.
3. The Sacred Law,
called the Shari'ah, which sets out the way of worship
prescribed in the Qur’an and the Prophet's practice; it goes beyond the
common understanding of worship as the performance of religious rituals,
and encompasses the whole of human life, individual as well as social.
Thus all so-called secular activities become acts of worship, provided
they are performed with pure and righteous intention, seeking God's
pleasure.
Muslims
are enjoined to organize their
lives on the basis of a series of ritual acts of worship which are
ordained in the Qur'an as ways which discipline human beings to remember
God constantly, accepting his Sovereignty and pledging to obey His
commandments:
- Declaration of belief (Shahada):
this is the initial act of faith, expressed in a simple statement
which testifies to one's commitment to following the straight path of
God's guidance upon which Muslims seek to live their lives;
"I bear witness that
there its no god but God; I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant
and His Prophet. "
2. Prayer (Salat),
offered five times a day, has the effect of reminding the faithful
that "remembrance of God is indeed the greatest virtue", and helps them
adhere to the path of righteousness, and to restrain from indecency and
evil.
3. Fasting (Sawm),
observed through the daylight hours of the 29/30 days of the Islamic
month of Ramadan, involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and
marital intercourse; this reminds the believers of their dependence upon
God, as well as their kinship with, and responsibility for the millions
of human beings in the world who experience involuntary fasting because
of lack of food, or its unjust distribution.
4. Purification of
wealth (Zakat); this requires the annual giving of a fixed
amount of excess personal assets for the benefit of the poor, the
incapacitated, the deprived, and the welfare of the community; it serves
to remind Muslims that all beneficence comes from the bounty of God, and
is enjoyed only through His mercy; sharing becomes an act of
purification both of the wealth itself, and of the giver whose soul is
disciplined against greed by the practice of selflessness.
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj), which all
Muslims should perform at least once in a lifetime, if personal
circumstances permit; it gathers the believers as members of the diverse
human family into a single community. They perform prescribed acts of
worship at the Holy House of the Ka’ba in Makkah (Mecca) which,
according to the Qur'an, was originally built by the prophet Abraham and
his son Ishmael; and at Mount Arafat, where they remember the pure and
original way of life of Adam, the progenitor of the human
race, reaffirmed by the Patriarch of the entire human family, the
Prophet Abraham, and finally perfected and completed by God for all
humanity through the mission of the Prophet Muhammad - the way of life
known as Islam which has at its heart the doctrine of the unity
and uniqueness of the One God.
Each of these prescribed acts of worship
brings Muslims daily and repeatedly before God Almighty as the
Creator, Sustainer and Judge of all humanity.
Through these acts of worship, God helps
Muslims to fulfill the obligation of striving which he has ordained for
this life; the striving actively and freely to surrender one's own
will in obedience to the Will of God, inwardly in intention and
outwardly in word and deed; individually in personal conduct and
collectively in the improvement of society; the striving for peace in
the world through the proclamation of true faith, and its defense
against all that threatens it.
Islam
presents human beings with a
simple two-fold invitation:
to witness that there is no God but God
Almighty;
to witness that Muhammad is the Messenger
of God.
This declaration is the door to a life of
service. One of participation in a community of believers whose highest
duty is to call on humanity to embrace what is righteous and good and to
reject what is evil and degrading. Muslims are
brothers and sisters of all people of good faith, and wish
to strive with them for peace in this world.
You Must
Know This Man
You may be an atheist or an
agnostic or you may belong to any of the religious denominations that
exist in the world today. You may have been a Communist or a believer in
democracy and freedom. No matter what you are, and no matter what your
religious and political beliefs, personal and social habits happen to
be— YOU STILL MUST KNOW THIS MAN!
He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this
earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid
down a moral code, initiated numberless social and political reforms,
established a dynamic and powerful society to practice and represent his
teachings, and he revolutionized the worlds of human thought and human
action for all time.
His name was Muhammad (peace and blessings of Almighty Creator be
upon him)—and he accomplished all these wonders in the unbelievably
short span of twenty-three years.
Muhammad (pbuh) was born in Arabia in 570 CE, and when he died at the
age of 63, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula had changes from paganism
and idol worship to the worship of One God; from tribal quarrels and
wars to national solidarity and cohesion; from drunkenness and
debauchery to sobriety and piety; from lawlessness and anarchy to
disciplined living; from utter moral bankruptcy to the highest standards
of moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete
transformation of a people or a place before or since.
The Encyclopedia Britannica calls him "the most successful of all
religious personalities of the world." Bernard Shaw said, "if Muhammad (pbuh)
were alive today, he would succeed in solving all those problems which
threaten to destroy human civilization in our times." Thomas Carlysle
was amazed as to how one man, single-handedly, could weld warring tribes
and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less
than two decades. Napoleon and Gandhi never tired of dreaming of a
society along the lines established by this man in Arabia fourteen
centuries ago.
Indeed no other human being ever accomplished so much, in such
diverse fields of human thought and behavior, in so limited a space of
time, as did Muhammad (pbuh). He was a religious teacher, a social
reformer, a moral guide, a political thinker, a military genius, an
administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a wonderful companion, a
devoted husband, a loving father—all in one. No other man in history
ever excelled or equaled him in any of these difficult departments of
life.
The world has had its share of great personalities. But these were
one-sided figures who distinguished themselves in but one or two fields,
such as religious thought or military leadership. None of the other
great leaders of the world ever combined within himself so many
different qualities to such an amazing level of perfection as did
Muhammad (pbuh).
The lives and teachings of other great personalities of the world are
shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much speculation about the
time and the place of their birth, the mode and style of their life, the
nature and detail of their teachings and the degree and measure of their
success or failure that it is impossible for humanity today to
reconstruct accurately and precisely the lives and teachings of those
men.
Not so this man Muhammad (pbuh). Not only was he born in the fullest
blaze of recorded history, but every detail of his private and public
life, of his actions and utterances, has been accurately documented and
faithfully preserved to our day. The authenticity of the information so
preserved is vouched for not only by faithful followers but also by
unbiased critics and open-minded scholars.
At the level of ideas there is no system of thought and
belief—secular or religious, social or political —which could surpass or
equal ISLAM—the system which Muhammad (pbuh) propounded. In a
fast-changing world, while other systems have undergone profound
transformations, Islam alone has remained above all change and mutation,
and retained its original form for the past 1400 years. What is more,
the positive changes that are taking place in the world of human thought
and behavior truly and consistently reflect the healthy influence of
Islam in these areas.
It is not given to the best of thinkers to put their ideas completely
into practice, and to see the seeds of their labors grow and bear fruit
in their own lifetime. Except of course, Muhammad (pbuh), who not only
preached the most wonderful ideas but also successfully translated each
one of them into practice. At the time of his death his teachings were
not mere precepts and ideas straining for fulfillment. They had become
the very core of the life of tens of thousands of perfectly trained
individuals. At what other time or place and in relation to what other
political, social, religious system, philosophy or ideology—did the
world ever witness such a perfectly amazing phenomenon? Except of
course, ISLAM, which was established as a complete way of life by
Muhammad (pbuh)himself. History bears testimony to this fact and the
greatest skeptics have no option but to concede this point.
In spite of the phenomenal success which crowned his efforts, he did
not for a moment claim to be God or God's incarnation or Son —but only a
human being who was chosen and ordained by the Creator to be a teacher
of truth to mankind and a complete model and pattern for their actions.
He was a man with a noble and exalted mission —and his unique mission
was to unite humanity in the worship of the One and only God and to
teach them the way to honest and upright living in accordance with the
laws and commands of God. He always described himself as a Messenger and
servant of God, as indeed every single action and movement of his
proclaimed him to be.
A world which has not hesitated to raise to Divinity individuals
whose very lives and missions have been lost in legend and who,
historically speaking, did not accomplish half as much—or even one
tenth—as was accomplished by Muhammad (pbuh), should stop to take
serious note of this remarkable man's claim to be God's messenger to
mankind.
Today, after the lapse of some 1400 years, the life and teachings of
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), have survived without the slightest loss,
alteration or interpolation. Today they offer the same undying hope for
treating mankind's many ills which they did when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
was alive. This is our honest claim and this is the inescapable
conclusion forced upon us by a critical and unbiased study of history.
The least YOU should do as a thinking, sensitive, concerned human
being is to stop for one brief moment and ask yourself: Could it be that
these statements, extraordinary and revolutionary as they sound, are
really true? Supposing they really are true, and you did not know this
man Muhammad (pbuh) or hear about his teachings? Or did not know him
well and intimately enough to be able to benefit from his guidance and
example? Is it not time you responded to this tremendous challenge and
made some effort to know him? It will not cost you anything but it may
well prove to be the beginning of a completely new era in your life.
Come, let us make a new discovery, the life of this wonderful man
Muhammad (pbuh), the like of whom never walked on this earth, and whose
example and teachings can change YOUR life and OUR world for the better.
May God shower His choicest blessings upon him!
Written by S. H. Pasha
Name Muhammad is mentioned in
original Hebrew text in the Song of Solomon 5:
16 His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.'
טז חִכּוֹ,
מַמְתַקִּים, וְכֻלּוֹ, מַחֲמַדִּים; זֶה דוֹדִי וְזֶה
רֵעִי, בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם
Source
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt3001.htm
•
מ
=m חֲ=h
ד =d
י =e
ם =final m
•
די ם
מ חֲ מ =
Mhmdem, remember em means pleural in Hebrew which indicates
respect e.g. Elohem (one god with full respect), so Mhmdem is Mhmd with
full respect.
•
Solomon 5:10 he is mentioned as “pre-eminent
above ten thousand.” indicating his concurrence of Makkah leading 10000
Muslims.
Allah in The
Bible?
ALLAH
- for Muslims the greatest and most inclusive of the Names of God, an
Arabic word of rich and varied meaning, denoting the one who is adored
in worship, who creates all that exists, who had priority over all
creation, who is lofty and hidden, who confounds all human
understanding. It is exactly the same word that the Jews, in Hebrew, use
for God (eloh), the word which Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when
he prayed to God.
•
"ELOI,
ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?
which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken
me?" (Mark 15:34).
•
ALLELUYA = YA ALLA HU = OH! Allah
•
Elohim =Eloh +im (pleural), translated to Allah in Arabic Bible.
At the bottom of this
text is an image of the Ten Commandments from the Bible. Well, it is
Bible in Arabic,
"Al-Kitab Al-Muqqadis," available from the Barnes and Nobles
Bookstores. The Arabic Bible, as is evident from the image below, uses
the word Allah to refer to God. Thus Arab Christians' God is Allah. It
may surprise many in the West, but it is the plain truth. Allah is the
One God of every one. Allah is the Creator of prophets like Jesus and
Muhammad (peace be on them). It is not just the name Allah for God, the
Almighty. All beautiful names belong to Him.
Say: “Call upon Allah,
or call upon Rahman (the Most Merciful): by whatever name ye call upon
Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” (The
Holy Quran,17:110)
Allah is He, than Whom
there is no other god; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He,
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Allah is He, than Whom
there is no other god; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace
(and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the
Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High
is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.
He is Allah, the
Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong
the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth
declare His Praises and Glory; and He is the Exalted in Might, the
Wise. (The Holy Quran: 59:22-24)
Statements
of Muslim World Leaders on Sept 11, 2001 Tragedy
"Not only did the terrorists hijack planes and
destroy life, but also they hijacked the peaceful religion of Islam and
split the brother and sisterhood of mankind." (Yusuf Islam, formerly
Singer Cat Stevens)
"Hijacking Planes, terrorizing innocent
people and shedding blood constitute a form of injustice that can not be
tolerated by Islam, which views them as gross crimes and sinful acts."
Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Ashaikh (Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and
Chairman of the Senior Ulama, on September 15th, 2001)
The terrorists acts, from the perspective of
Islamic law, constitute the crime of hirabah (waging war against
society)." Sept. 27, 2001 fatwa, signed by: Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi
(Grand Islamic Scholar and Chairman of the Sunna and Sira Countil,
Qatar), Judge Tariq al-Bishri, First Deputy President of the Council
d'etat, Egypt, Dr. Muhammad s. al-Awa, Professor of Islamic Law and
Shari'a, Egypt, Dr. Haytham al-Khayyat, Islamic scholar, Syria, Fahmi
Houaydi, Islamic scholar, Syria, Shaykh Taha Jabir al-Alwani, Chairman,
North America High Council
"Neither the law of Islam nor its ethical
system justify such a crime." Zaki Badawi, Principal of the Muslim
College in London. Cited in Arab News, Sept. 28, 2001.
"It is wrong to kill innocent people. It is also wrong to Praise those
who kill innocent people." Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, Pakistan. Cited
in NY Times, Sept. 28, 2001.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 9/11/01
U.S. MUSLIMS CONDEMN TERRORIST ATTACKS
(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/11/2001) - The American Muslim Political
Coordination Council (AMPCC)*, today condemned the apparent
terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and offered condolences to
the families of those who were killed or injured.
The AMPCC statement read in part:
"American Muslims utterly condemn what are apparently vicious and
cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. We join with all
Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and punishment of the
perpetrators. No political cause could ever be assisted by such immoral
acts."
ISNA JOINS AMPCC IN CONDEMNING TERRORIST ATTACKS
(Plainfield, IN - 9/11/2001) - The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA),
along with other Muslim organizations throughout North America, today
condemned the apparent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and
offered condolences to the families of those who were killed or injured.
MUSLIMS ASKED TO OFFER HELP FOR VICTIMS OF TERRORIST ATTACKS
(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/11/2001) - CAIR is calling on Muslims
nationwide to offer whatever assistance they can to help the victims of
today's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
Muslims in local communities should take the following IMMEDIATE
ACTIONS:
·
Muslim medical professionals are asked to
go to the scenes of the attacks to offer aid and comfort to the victims.
·
Muslim relief agencies should contact
their counterparts to offer support in the recovery efforts.
·
Individual Muslims should donate blood by
contacting the local office of the Red Cross. (Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.)
They should also send donations to those relief agencies that are on the
scene of the attacks.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM - A BRIEF
The two primary sources of knowledge in
Islam are the Holy Quran and Sunnah. The Holy Quran consists of the
Arabic text revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) over a
period of 23 years. The Sunnah refers to Prophet's sayings and deeds,
also known as Ahadith. The Ahadith are collected in different books,
mostly named after the scholar who collected it.
The Right to Life
The first and the foremost basic right
is the right to live and respect human life. The Holy Quran lays down:
"Whosoever kills a human being
without (any reason like) man slaughter, or corruption on earth, it is
as though he had killed all mankind ..." (5:32)
"Do not kill a soul which Allah has
made sacred except through the due process of law ..." (6:151)
The Right to Justice
This is a very important and valuable
right which Islam has given to man as a human being. The Holy Quran has
laid down: "Do not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression"
(5:2). "And do not let ill-will towards any folk incite you so that you
swerve from dealing justly. Be just; that is nearest to heedfulness"
(5:8).
Equality of Human Beings
This has been exemplified by the
Prophet in one of his sayings thus:
"No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have
any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority
over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man.
You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay" (al-Bayhaqi
and al-Bazzaz).
The Security of Life and Property
In
the address which the Prophet delivered on the occasion of the Farewell
Hajj, he said: "Your lives and properties are forbidden to one another
till you meet your Lord on the Day of Resurrection." God
Almighty has laid down in the Holy Quran: "Anyone who kills a believer
deliberately will receive as his reward (a sentence) to live in Hell for
ever. God will be angry with him and curse him, and prepare
dreadful torment for him" (4:93). The Prophet has also said about the
dhimmis (the non-Muslim citizens of the Muslim State): "One who kills a
man under covenant (i.e. a dhimmi) will not even smell the fragrance
of Paradise" (al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud).
The Protection of Honor
Holy Quran clearly lays down: (a) "You
who believe, do not let one (set of) people make fun of another set. (b)
Do not defame one another. (c) Do not insult by using nicknames. (d) And
do not backbite or speak ill of one another" (49:11-12).
The Rights of the Non-Combatants:
Islam has first drawn a clear line of
distinction between the combatants and the non-combatants of the enemy
country. As far as the non-combatant population is concerned such as
women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructions of the
Prophet are as follows: "Do not kill any old person, any child or any
woman" (Abu Dawud). "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or "Do not
kill the people who are sitting in places of worship" (Musnad of Ibn
Hanbal).
These are excerpts of the articles at
http://islam101.com/rights/
Bible and
Terrorism
(by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi)
http://islam101.com/terror/bibleT.htm
It is important that we
study the religious texts in their proper context. When these texts are
not read in their proper textual and historical contexts they are
manipulated and distorted. It is true that some Muslims manipulate some
verses from the Holy Quran for their own goals. (Please read
The Quran on War, peace and Justice) But this is not only with
Islamic texts, it is also true with the texts of other religions. I can
quote dozens of verses from the Bible which seem very violent, if taken
out from their historical context. These Biblical texts have been used
by many violent Jewish and Christian groups. Crusaders used them against
Muslims and Jews. Nazis used them against Jews. Recently Serbian
Christians used them against Bosnian Muslims. Zionists are using them
regularly against Palestinians.
Let me mention just a few verses from the Old Testament and New
Testament and tell me what do you say about them:
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering
to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and
the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites
and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger
than you. And when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you
defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no
covenant with them and show no favor to them. (Deutronomy 7:1-2)
“When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms
of peace. If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all
the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall
serve you. However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war
against you, then you shall besiege it. When the LORD your God gives it
into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the
sword. Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is
in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and
you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has
given you… Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is
giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that
breathes (Deuteronomy 20:10-17)
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every
woman who has known man intimately. But all the girls who have not known
man intimately, spare for yourselves. (Numbers 31:17-18)
Even in the New Testament we read the following statements attributed to
Jesus saying to his disciples:
“I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the
one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. But
these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring
them here and slay them in my presence. (Luke 19:26-27)
"Do not think that I have come to send peace on earth. I did not come to
send peace, but a sword. I am sent to set a man against his father, a
daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law" (Matthew 10:34-35)
Muslims believe in all Prophets sent by Allah, and so do not misuse or
misinterpret the religious texts of other faiths in order to defame
them. Even in recent times, Muslims have and are facing genocidal
campaigns in Bosnia, Kosova, Chechnia, Kashmir, and Palestine - but they
have not questioned Judaism and Christianity. Such spirit needs to be
reciprocated.
________________________________________________________
This is a slightly edited version of
http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/2001/1012.html
(based on an article by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, which also appeared in
ISNA's magazine, Islamic Horizons)
Recent Great Tragedies
In addition to the great tragedy of Sept 11, 2001,
we have witnessed
- Iraq-Iran war between two Muslim countries in
which millions of Muslims were killed.
- Iraq’s Invasion into Kuwait causing great
destruction of people, economy and environment.
- Tragedy of Bosnia in which thousands of Muslim
women were raped by Christians and thousands of Muslims were killed.
- Ongoing displacement, persecutions and killings
of Palestinians by Jews in Israel. Millions of Palestinians living in
refugee camps. These people were used to be free with their own
property and houses.
- Ongoing killings of Muslim people of occupied
Kashmir by Indian army.
Tolerance, Respect and Safeguard for Non-Muslims
The following excerpts
are mostly from Dr. Ahmad Sakr's book, "Muslims and Non-Muslims, Face to
Face" (isbn: 091119-31-9).
A deputation from the
Christians of Najran (Yemen) came to see Prophet Muhammad (peace be on
him) in Madina. They came into the Prophet's Mosque (Masjid Nabawi) as
he prayed the afternoon prayer. The time of prayers of Christians having
come, they stood and prayed in the Prophet's Mosque, and the Prophet
said that they were to be left to do so. (see The Life of Muhammad by A.
Guillaume).
During the life of
Prophet Muhammad, the Jews in Madina had a synagogue and an educational
institute, Bait-Al-Midras. The Prophet preserved the institute and gave
protection to the Jews.
The Prophet respected
the autonomy of the Christian churches. The nomination and the
appointment of bishops and priests was left to the Christian community
itself.
Prophet Muhammad
promoted cooperation between Muslims and Christians in the political
arena as well. He selected a non-Muslim, 'Amr-ibn Umaiyah-ad-Damri, as
an ambassador to Negus, the King of Ethiopia.
The
Prophet sent a message to the monks of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai:
"This is a message
written by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt
Christianity, far and near, we are behind them. Verily, I defend them by
myself, the servants, the helpers, and my followers, because Christians
are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that
displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their
judges to be changed from their jobs, nor their monks from their
monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage
it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses. Should anyone
take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His
Prophet. Verily, they (Christians) are my allies and have my secure
charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or
to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female
Christian is married to a Muslim, this is not to take place without her
own wish. She is not to be prevented from going to her church to pray.
Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented
from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the
nation is to disobey this covenant till the Day of Judgment and the end
of the world."
The Status
of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2003
Guilt by
Association
The Executive Summary
of Report published by CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations)
Research Center
In
2002, Muslim community members in the United States reported 602
complaints of discrimination to CAIR. This represents a 15 percent
increase over the previous year. More than any other year, the daily
experiences of Muslims in schools, workplaces, public areas, airports,
and in encounters with the courts, police and other government agencies
included incidents in which they were profiled and singled out because
of actual or perceived religious and ethnic identity. Anti-Muslim
sentiment related to September the 11th has been cited in
many reports. Never before had an international terrorist act had such a
long-lasting impact on Muslim life in the United States.
When
compared to the year preceding September 11th, this year’s
reports show a 64 percent increase. The fallout from September 11
continues to impact Muslim daily life, whether at schools, in the
workplace or in general public encounters. Mistreatment at the hand of
federal government personnel continue to be reported in substantial
numbers. FBI agents and other local law enforcement authorities have
sometimes responded to hearsay reports, and conducted questionable raids
and interrogations.
In
2002, the Department of Justice has continued to take actions in the
name of combating terrorism, when in fact they have targeted broadly
Arabs and Muslims in this country. The investigation dragnet in 2002
included the special registration requirements that singled out students
and visitors to America from Muslim-majority countries. Also, many
Muslim homes and businesses were raided and private property seized
pending investigation. Moreover, queries by some FBI agents about mosque
membership lists and media reports about a proposed FBI counting of
mosques raised widespread apprehension among community members who
believed they were being scrutinized based on their religious
association. Other profiling-based interrogations and searches continued
throughout the year, though reported with less frequency than the few
months immediately after September 11th. Critics of the
government have charged that such actions violated the First and Fourth
Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Singling out Muslims is
increasing in all sectors of life. A significant number of cases took
place at private businesses, places of residence, the Internet, and
courts. Contributing to the rise of discrimination against Muslims is
the continuing anti-Muslim rhetoric, especially by some evangelical
leaders and neoconservatives. A segment of this report documents
examples of their divisive language. The vilification of Islam and
Muslims by such elements continues unabated.
This year the total number of individual complaints reported to CAIR
offices reached a new high: 602 complaints, or 15 percent increase
over the previous year. Compared to the pre-September 11th
reporting year (2000/2001), this year’s total is 64 percent higher. It
is also the highest ever record of such incidents and more than seven
times the total of the year 1995/1996, when the first edition of this
report was issued.
To obtain copies of this report, contact:
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Ave., SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
Ó2003 Copyright, Council on
American-Islamic Relations
Web Sites:
Books/Videos:
·
Islam in Focus by Hamudah Abul Ati
·
The Translation and Commentary of the Holy
Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
·
Islam the Straight Path by John Esposito
·
Unholy War, Terror in the name of Islam by
John Esposito
http://www.islam101.com/presentations/Islam101AmericanEd.doc
Refer this page to your friends / relatives
