A (good) Muslim has to be a terrorist

This article is an essay by Seifturki. Essays do not necessarily reflect the views of WikiIslam

Since the freedom of expression is a basic human right, most people have no problem in coexisting alongside any belief system, no matter how absurd or alien they may appear to be. But when an ideology incites its members to kill those who do not share the same set of beliefs, it becomes incumbent on all of us to expose such detrimental creeds.

When we hear on a daily basis that Islamic terrorists and extremists have struck again, the exposure of Islam becomes of vital importance for preserving life and peaceful existence for the whole of humanity. Exposing true Islam according to the Qur'an and Sunnah of Muhammad (which is gleaned from the Hadith and Sira) becomes motivated by a selfless wanting for peace and equality, and not due to the so called Islamophobia like some Islamic apologists would have you believe. You cannot ignore the fact that there are tens of thousands of hostile religiously motivated incidents in this world today perpetrated every year by the followers of Islam; from beatings, abductions, rapes, torture, and killing of innocent non-Muslims to the desecration and destruction of churches, synagogues and temples. In Pakistan, a Christian or Hindu can be killed simply for drinking from the same cup as a Muslim.

Muhammad, following his "Farewell sermon", set a precedence to be followed by future generations, by instigating the Muslim Arab conquests of the seventh century. And since its inception, this militant force has claimed more lives than any other religious or political ideology known to man.

Here are the deaths due to Jihad over the last 1400 years:

People Group	No. of Deaths
Christians	60 Million
Hindus	80 Million
Buddhists	10 Million
Africans	120 Million
TOTAL	270 Million

In more recent times, we have seen in Sudan, 2 million Christians being killed by the hands of Muslims between 1998 and 2004. In Iraq, 1,960 Christians have been killed, 500,000 Christian homes have been confiscated, and 200,000 Christians have been forced to pay Jizyah, between 2003 and 2009. And in Iran, an estimated 4,000 homosexuals have been executed between 1979 and 2007. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

To claim that these crimes are committed by a fringe group of deranged Muslims who do not represent true Islam, is at best a flagrant misunderstanding of the Islamic scriptures, and at worst its wilful ignorance. In the case of the latter, the hands of those who do this are as bloody as the “extremists” themselves.

If we define a good Muslim as someone who follow the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah, then a “good” Muslim has no choice but to become a terrorists or extremist. Al Baqara (244), Al-Nisa’ (76, 77, 84, 89), Al-Anfal (12, 39), Al-Tawba (5, 14, 29, 88, 111, 123), Muhammad (4), etc. all call for the fight against non-Muslims until all religion is that of Allah, or fight in Allah’s cause (Jihad), or to kill them wherever you find them until they pay jizyah (a humiliating tax used against non-Muslim) submissively. These verses differ from those that can be found in other scriptures in that they are prescriptive, not descriptive. They do not simply recount ancient tales which may or may not be true. Devoid of any context, they are all active commands to today's followers. These verses are also augmented by many similar instructions in the Hadiths. In Sahih Bukhari 4:53:386 we find the following, “We are ordered to fight you until you submit to Islam or pay jizyah with submission”, or in Sahih Muslim 1:31, “I have been commanded to fight people until they say no God but Allah, and Mohammad his only messenger”.

The above verses that call for violence against non-Muslims have logically resulted in the formation of countless Islamic terrorists organisations and groups like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban , and has inspired millions of present-day Islamic fanatics who persecute and kill for their god. On September 23rd, 1978, Abdullah al-Mishadd, Head of the Fatwa Council of Al-Azhar University in Egypt (the chief centre of Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning in the world), ordered that an apostate who did not return to Islam should be killed. If we accept that any Muslim who espouses such views is an extremist, then this would almost certainly mean that the the majority of Muslims in this world are indeed extremists.

Most Islamic apologists do not quote the above verses, but rather they use the Meccan verses like Al-Baqara (256), Al-Kahf (29) and Al-Kafirun (6), which call for tolerance of other religions. The fact remains though, that these verses were “inspired” much earlier when the Muslims were weak and they were later abrogated by the above Medinan verses that explicitly call for violence, as many prominent Islamic scholars like Al- Suyuti and Al-Qurtubi have confirmed. This explains the declarations of many al-Qaeda leaders like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq who said “we are only obeying the Qur'anic verses that demand the practice of violence against non-Muslims”. He also stated on numerous occasions that the verses calling for tolerance have all been abrogated by the verses calling for violence. This attitude explains all those unprovoked attacks against non-Muslims all over the world, or even against Muslims of differing sects. It further explains the burning of churches, synagogues and temples in many countries around the world. Most non-Arabic speaking Muslims are not told the truth about violence; in truth, they are deceived in many instances when it comes to the translation of the Qur'an, especially when the Qur'an contradicts simple science, history and general logic. To further implement these verses; The Third Islamic Summit Conference of 1981 (in Saudi Arabia) decided to declare holy jihad (war in Allah’s way against non-Muslims) as the duty of every Muslim, man or woman. "Allah’s way" meaning becoming a Muslim and living according to the Qur'an and Sunnah. People who claim that Jihad means to fight against one’s lower desires, are not telling you the truth. In Qur'an 4:95 it says very clearly that those who practice jihad are those who sacrifice themselves and their wealth in the way of Allah.

Does this mean that all Muslims are terrorists or extremists? Of course not, as many people who profess Islam abhor violence, but with their adherence to the daily prayers and Ramadan notwithstanding, they are not considered good Muslims, because they are not practising all the obvious instructions of the Qur'an. In fact, the Qur'an and Muhammad, the prophet himself, refers to these Muslims as “munafiq” (hypocrites). Strangely these hypocrites do not support the removal of these verses that call for violence, because they would not dare to venture into changing the “words of Allah”. To heal, you must first admit that there is a problem. The inability of self-reflection among non-violent Muslims effectively kills any hope of change before it has even begun. What should be done? All Muslims that truly oppose violence have the immediate and urgent duty to demand all Islamic authorities, especially all future international Islamic conferences, to espouse firmly a resolution that abrogates all Qur'anic verses that call for violence and consider them as needed contingencies of the past and no longer valid for the present. Of course, this is a pipe dream and it would take a lot of courage to carry out, since the extremist have scripture and Muhammad's sunnah on their side to discredit the munafiq, and Islamic authorities have the means to fight and even demand the death of those who call for such changes.

See Also

• Terrorism - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Terrorism
• Persecution - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Persecution