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The Real
Islam
The
misunderstanding
that leads to hatred
Marya Khan
4/29/2012
Marya Khan
4/29/2012
English 1010
Issue Exploration
There are many things that affect us all here in the United States, but one thing that
changed our lives forever was the day when our country was attacked by vicious, misguided
individuals on Sept. 11, 2001. That day scarred us for life, and will never be forgotten, neither
will the criminals who planned and carried out those attacks. The group who was responsible
was an Islamic group Al-Qaeda; they used religion to recruit individuals who would fight for AlQaeda’s cause. When we see all those individuals who are burning the American flag and
training to attack the U.S or any other country who share similar values, are the ones who do not
fully understand the words in the Quran. Islam does teach to defend when being attacked or
forced to change your beliefs, but it never states that one should threaten or attack anyone else
regardless of their faith.
I feel since 9/11 most of the population here in America had a resentment and hatred towards the
Muslims all around the world, especially the ones here in the United States. And one of the
biggest reason of this hatred is the misconceptions; that Islam teaches violence and to terrorize
anyone that is not a Muslim. Nothing could be more far off than that statement, I am an
American-Muslim and I know the truth about my religion and I also know how it can be
misinterpreted.
I feel that the majority of people who feel the anger towards the Muslims is because they are not
fully educated on the background of Islam and I know that if we make the information available,
we could eliminate most of the confusion, which could potentially stop the bullying and
mistreatment of Muslims here in America. Quran says “If anyone killed a person not in relation
of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all humankind, and
if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he has saved the life of all mankind” (The Holy Quran –
5:30). This verse clearly shows that Islam does not teach violence, in fact it teaches peace and
harmony.
Many people, who don’t understand, tend to fear Muslims and fear is what usually becomes root
to the hatred and harassment. Islam has been directly tied to terrorism, many feel it is necessary
to let the people who commit violent acts know that it is not ok, some feel it is necessary to
harass or to bully them. There is a specific event that happened to my niece who is in middle
school, she wears a hijab (scarf) to cover her hair and some of the students there would either
completely ignore her as if she did not even exist and the others would torment her, throwing spit
wads, paper clips, etc. This harassment comes from the lack of education the parents are
providing to their children. If parents knew what Islam is then they would be able to pass on the
information to their kids so they can have better knowledge.
We live in a country where we have a lot of racial and religious diversity, and the need to know
of all the backgrounds is extremely important, by learning all the different cultures and religions
we then can stand up for one another when violent attacks occur, and when someone claims that
it is in the name of one’s religion, we will all know that is false. There are over 800 million
Muslims across the world, in that 800 million there is sure to be misguided or even deranged
individuals who are out to seek something for their own gain.
One big Arabic word that gets thrown out a lot especially by media is jihad. The problem is that
they don’t fully explain what jihad means. The real meaning, “Jihad is simply the process of
"exerting the best efforts," involving some form of "struggle" and "resistance," to achieve a
particular goal. In other words, jihad is the struggle against, or resistance to, something for the
sake of a goal. “Jihad in Islam is striving in the way of Allah by pen, tongue, hand, media and, if
inevitable, with arms. However, jihad in Islam does not include striving for individual or national
power, dominance, glory, wealth, prestige or pride” (Ali). That means one cannot inflict pain or
harm to other for his/her own benefit.
Media picks and chooses some of the meanings of jihad that get people upset anytime they hear
it. What is communicated to the population is that it’s a “holy war” and Muslim’s duty is to do
jihad, which scares people because they begin to think that every Muslim is required by their
faith to inflict harm to others. What is not communicated is that jihad also means for an
individual to abstain from committing adultery, or from stealing, lying, or any other thing that
would make a negative impact on anyone’s life. So when you see all those individuals who are
burning the American flag and training to attack the U.S or any other country who share similar
values, are the ones who do not fully understand the words in the Quran. Islam does teach to
defend when being attacked or forced to change your beliefs, but it never states that one should
threaten or attack anyone else regardless of their faith.
One major issue is that the Quran is easily misinterpreted; it has not been changed or revised
since its revelation. That makes it easy for individuals to take a different meaning from what the
text is actually trying to convey. Muslims are ordered by God to "slay [enemies] wherever you find
them!" (4: 89). Extremists such as Osama bin Laden like to quote such verses but do so selectively. They
do not include the exhortations to peace, which in almost every case follow these more ferocious
passages: "Thus, if they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer you peace, God does not allow
you to harm them" (4: 90) (Armstrong, 2001). This is an example of how people are using verses
from Quran to fulfill their own purposes.
Groups like Al Qaeda use every single word in the Quran and make it seem like it is absolutely
true and use it for convincing and recruiting other individuals, for example, “Kill them whenever
you confront them and drive them out from where they drove you out” (Holy Quran 2.91), that
sounds so violent and if anyone were to read this they would be convinced that the Islam is a
violent religion. The issue with that is, that Al Qaeda did not use the full verse as it reads, “Kill
them whenever you confront them and drive them out from where they drove you out. (For
though killing is sinful) wrongful persecution is even worse than killing. Do not fight against
them near the Holy Mosque unless they fight against you; but if they fight against you kill them,
for that is the reward of such unbelievers.” (Holy Quran, 2.91) In that full verse it tells you that
killing is a sin and should not be committed unless it is in a response to what someone else has
inflicted. Terrorist groups use verses like that to convey the poor people who follow Islam but
are uneducated to fully understand. Al Qaeda tells them that if they commit these acts that they
will take care of their families financially and that they are doing jihad and will go to heaven if
they do so. So when we see these Muslims who are viciously attacking innocent people are ones
who are guided in the wrong direction by evil people, and not because their religion tell them to
do so.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said “A believer is not the one who eats his fill when his neighbor
is hungry.” This hadith (Quote of Prophet Muhammad) shows that Islam teaches kindness and
generosity. A religion where kindness, forgiveness and generosity are the keys to be successful
in world and here after, cannot teach violence.
I think if the people who are knowledgeable about Islam went out and educated the young
population, we could curb most of the bullying and harassment that is affiliated with religion.
There is also the risk that the individuals take when they would go out and speak; I mean they
could potentially be the subject of harassment just as easy as any other Muslim. That is why I
believe if we had a group mixed with individuals from all different types of religious
backgrounds as spokespeople. I know that it would help others to understand a little more if it
came from them as opposed to coming from a Muslim. They will be able to relate to audience by
using logical explanations of the Quran to get their points across. They can cite the Quran and let
the audience hear what is written, and then explain to them the true meaning behind it.
If we can get the truth out there, there will be less fear from Muslims, and Muslims will have less
fear of getting harassed or tormented because of their faith. I feel this can easily be done if we
take in the facts and expel our own biases, and work together as a functioning society.
Regardless the people who want to inflict pain and make others suffer are going to find any
means necessary to do just that, violence and terrorism does not come with a religion.
Work Cited
Ali Amir. “Jihad Explained”. The Institute of Islamic Information & Education. Brochure No.
18. Web. Apr 29. 2012.
Armstrong Karen. “The True, Peaceful Face Of Islam”. Time.com . Sep 23. 2001. Web. Apr 29.
2012.
The Holy Quran. Print.
“Terrorism Not From Islam”. turntoislam.com. Sep 28. 2006. Web. Apr 29. 2012