Title: Islam & Terrorism Question: Why do people relate Islam with terrorism? Does your holy book preach terrorism? Please explain to me in full detail what Islam preaches & why some people are using the name of Islam for achieving their personal goals? And also how Islam has been misinterpreted? Muthukrishnan S Answer: It is very difficult to give an exhaustive explanation of the various reasons and bases for the many deviations of the Muslims, which has resulted in their extremely perverted views regarding Jihad and the position of non-Muslims. I would, however, try to give a brief analysis of the more important religious bases of these deviations among the Muslims. In my opinion, the most important, and probably the decisive, reason for the referred deviation among the Muslims has been their general lack of appreciation of the uniqueness of the position of the Messengers of God [1] . It is primarily because of this reason that many Muslims, on the basis of those verses of the Qur'an, which actually relate specifically to the Messengers and their companions, have derived their ideologies, points of views and actions. This mistake has resulted in an extremely confusing state of affairs: Because the mistake relates to the interpretation and application of the Qur'anic verses, the referred deviant ideologies, even though they are incorrect, yet, according to the understanding of their adherents, are actually based on the Qur'an. This has resulted in the fact that although the actions of these deviant groups are not in keeping with the teachings of Islam, yet they are, in fact, derived from the Qur'an - whether due to misinterpretation or due to 'personal goals'. To understand this point more thoroughly, suppose someone suddenly comes up with the idea that because the Gospel narrates Jesus Christ (pbuh) as having said: Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10: 34) therefore, a true Christian should strive to achieve the goals outlined in the referred verse - that is 'war on earth'. The idea would, obviously, not be correct, yet it would be said to have been derived, even though due to misinterpretation and incorrect application, from the sayings of the Christ. The problem with the ideologies of the Muslim 'terrorists' is quite similar in nature. A brief outline of some of the important points of the Qur'anic information relating to God's Messengers is summarized below [2] : The Qur'an informs us that the Messengers ( Rasu'l ) of God, in contrast to God's Prophets ( Nabi ) are not merely the deliverers of God's message. In addition to being the deliverers of God's message, the Messengers of God are a sign of God's final justice that shall be manifested for the whole world on the Day of Judgment; In their capacity as signs of God's justice, these messengers of God are subject to some of God's laws, which are specific to them. These laws include: These messengers are sent and raised in the most influential geographical location, with reference to the peoples, whom these messengers address; God makes special and unique arrangements to completely manifest the Truth brought by these messengers; These messengers are directed to continue delivering God's message and calling people to God's Truth, irrespective of the response that they receive from their addressees, till the time that God directs them to discontinue doing so; After a certain time, which may vary considerably in length and which is determined solely by the All-Knowing God, when God decides - on the basis of His absolute knowledge - that the Truth has become completely manifest upon the addressees of the messengers and, yet, they persist in rejecting it, God directs His messengers to discontinue addressing these rejecters; Immediately following the preceding point, God directs the messenger to leave the place in which he was sent and, subsequently, the Rejecters are subjected to a severe punishment of God, for rejecting God's Truth, even after it had become apparent to them. The severity of God's punishment implemented upon the Rejecters may vary as follows: If the Rejecters of the messengers persist in ascribing partners to God, then they are subjected to the punishment of death; If the Rejecters of the messengers do not ascribe partners to God, then they are subjected to accepting the political supremacy of the believers. The nature and mode of God's punishment implemented upon the Rejecters may vary as follows: If the followers of the messengers are few in number and through their migration, the messengers do not get the opportunity to form an organized state, then the punishment is implemented directly through the intervention of the Almighty (whether through wind-storms, floods etc.) If the followers of the messengers are of a significant number and through their migration, the messengers form an organized state, then the punishment is implemented through the 'sword' of the messenger and his followers, which serves the double purpose of punishing the 'Rejecters', on the one hand, and testing the sincerity, obedience and honesty of the believers. In this particular situation, the companions of the Messengers are also given the responsibility of expanding the Divinely ordained mission of the Messengers to a predetermined geographical limit. This is the basic outline of the Divine Law relating to the Messengers of God. Keeping this outline in perspective, it becomes quite clear that most of the directives relating to fighting the 'Rejecters', killing the polytheists among the 'Rejecters' and politically subduing the 'Rejecters' from among the non-polytheistic creeds are, in fact, specific to the foregoing Divine Law relating to the Messengers of God and their companions and are, therefore, not universal or general in their implication and application. By applying these directives to the whole world, the present-day Muslims have not only committed the grave mistake of placing themselves in a position, which is specific to the Messenger of God - Muhammad (pbuh) - but have also disturbed the whole balance of the peaceful religion. The religious bases of the ideology, which has promoted the great vice of 'terrorism' among the Muslims are as follows: It is the Divinely ordained responsibility of the Muslims to strive for the political domination of Islam over the whole world; For the purpose of achieving the political domination of Islam over the whole world, the Qur'an has directed the Muslims to fight the 'non-Muslims' [3] ; The present-day Muslim states are neither in a position nor are willing to carryout the directive of declaring a war on the more powerful non-Muslim states of the world and, thus, are guilty of ignoring the Divine command; In view of the position of the present-day Muslim states, it is the 'obligation' of individual Muslims to organize themselves into militia groups and, subsequently, to carryout the directive of rendering Islam the sole dominant political force in the world. The first two points are, in fact, an incorrect derivation from such verses of the Qur'an, which relate to the domination of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, as a result of the advent of a messenger of God - Muhammad (pbuh) - in the Peninsula. These verses are specific to the Messenger, his companions and the rejecters among his direct addressees. While the last two points are only a corollary of the mistake entailed in the first two points, as well as of complete ignorance of the moral and political conditions imposed by the Islamic Law, relating to armed aggression against another people. I have tried to summarize the religious bases of the Muslim ideology, which has ultimately resulted in the hazardous vice of 'terrorism'. It should, however, be remembered that it is not merely these religious bases, which has strengthened the vice among the Muslims. In my opinion, as a parallel to these religious bases, the psyche of depression and socio-political deprivation, in many cases, has led Muslims to resort to activities not authorized by Islam. Nevertheless, the state of affairs calls for a much more in-depth study and analysis from the social, political, economic, psychological and religious perspectives than an individual like myself can afford to undertake. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad October 14, 2001 [1] The word 'Messengers', over here is used as distinct from 'Prophets'. [2] For more details on this topic, refer to one of my earlier responses relating to ' The Political Revolution Brought about by the Messenger of God '. [3] This is derived from the directives of the Qur'an relating to fighting the rejecters of the Messenger of God.