The terrorists attack on 9-11 generated an insatiable demand for news reports and columns that fell quite short, in presenting an accurate portrait of Islam.

The public must be made aware of the best examples of sincerity in this religion and know it is to be for G-d’s purpose only.

This article presents several principles that address the notion that extremism is acceptable in Islam. When fairly considered, it is obvious, that Islam’s adherents have strayed away from the most profound principles of their faith.

Taking innocent lives. Savagely killing without conscious.

Collectively, humanity rejects that behavior, and only fools think that G-d accepts those actions.

Even when seeking relief from domination, Islam offers to its adherents and to the world, sobering instruction that nullify all forms of extremism.

By way of Prophet Muhammad, Islam instructs Muslims to “Fight until there is no more persecution and religion is free for G-d.”

The first part of that verse tells us that once an enemy stops assaulting, Muslims are to stop fighting them also.

More important than that, the second part says that religion is to be free for G-d and that implies that there is the possibility that religion may not be in fact, free for G-d. That there’s a chance, religion may not be established correctly in the people.

Religion may fall into the grip of oppressors who use it to keep the masses ignorant, under their control, used for their own selfish benefit and not allow religion to be free as G-d had intended. Nor should religion be used by the government, or by those who want to dominate the people, but let it be free for the individual to have their life with their G-d. A full life. A full freedom. The Qur’an mandates it. Prophet Muhammad established it.

A glaring failing of Muslims is, they forget what G-d says of Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an, that Muhammad is sufficient as a leader for all people, and in him can be found an excellent model to follow.

Contradicting that model is not acceptable if you claim Prophet Muhammad as your leader.

Prophet Muhammad was a peaceful man who did not like to fight. He took terrible abuses and still never had the spirit to fight. G-d had to command him to: “Fight until there is no more persecution and religion is free for G-d.” He didn’t have it in his nature to fight.

But when revelation came commanding him to fight, it was his nature to obey G-d.

When Prophet Muhammad went to war, he instructed the Muslims to follow a code of ethics.

He instructed them to keep the Muslim behavior safe and not let war change their nature by becoming motivated by the cruelty of war.

Muslims were not to treat civilians as persons who were armed against them. No harm to civilians! He even said no injury to crops or trees the people depended upon for their living.

So this cruel behavior the world has witnessed did not come from Muhammad the Prophet and certainly not from Islam. That cruelty was produced by the influences of the world.

When reading the Qur’an Muslims are reminded that G-d says: “And follow the best thereof.”

That is practical advice for reading any scripture. Religion invites people who are on many, many different levels. Different levels of understanding, different levels of morality, different levels of sincerity, etc. etc. etc.

There are extremists who read the Qur’an and read into it something that is not there.

Similar to that is like the Ku Klux Klan’s claim to have found pages that they’re following from the Bible. They also take the worst thereof, not the best thereof.

The extremists follow what they think those pages suggests to them with the very strange minds that they have.

Extremism is not part of Islam’s faith system. But the west has unjustly labeled Islam as the religion of violence and being evil at its core, while knowing from experience that even America stumbled before she found her present day footing.

Much can be written about how America’s former slaves didn’t attack and attempt to destroy the beautiful premise found in the spirit of the noble document that came out of the 13 colonies when seeking independence from the British.

With Frederick Douglass leading the way, they appealed to the moral consciousness of those leaders, and reminded them of the glaring inconsistencies and shortfalls, that its citizenry exhibited, in order to maintain its disgusting system of slavery.

It was their behavior that was invalidated.

Not the guiding principles this country was established upon and hailed in its founding documents.

Americans would do well if they took a page from that history, and make the clear distinction between what the religion Islam actually stands upon, and the lack of regard for it that its followers are actually displaying.

Just as the descendants of former slave owners have finally come to understand the message that constitutes America’s special idea of freedom, the west should remind the Muslim world of the great principles of faith that Islam demands, but how shameful it is that they have terribly deviated from their own religion.

nashid

Peace.

(revised post from ezinearticles.com on Oct 9, 2007)