Hope in the Face of Terror? (Updated post from 11/29/15)

"Could it be possible that Islam, whose light ended the Dark Ages in Europe, now propounds the advent of an age of terror? Could a faith that has over 1.2 billion followers the world over, and over 7 million in America, actually advocate the killing and maiming of innocent people? Could Islam, whose name itself stands for “peace” and “submission to God”, encourage its adherents to work for death and destruction?" 

-- What Does Islam Say About Terrorism?

One would pray for much hope in the face of worldwide terrorism, and we find it... if we look.  The problem stems from the fact that we have to look for it when it should be slapping us in the face, as soundly as the terrorism it would contradict.  Not many have heard the following story, of  February 2015.  Go to this link, Ring of Peace, and educate yourself:

"Hundreds of Norwegian Muslims have formed a human shield around a Synagogue in the country’s capital as a symbol of solidarity with the city’s Jewish community.

Over 1,000 Muslims chanted “No to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia” as they formed what they called a “ring of peace” around the Jewish place of worship."

I have had the "distasteful" pleasure of confronting two gentlemen of late, one I know quite well and the other a total stranger.  Both have an attitude toward Islam that "the only good Muslim is a dead one."  I would like to hand each of them a machete and a five-year-old Muslim child.  I will stand there with a pistol and wait for them to strike, at which time I will shoot them, per their beliefs, for becoming what they fear most.  Would they understand why they, also, would have to die?  When do we cross the line from civilized to being as bad, or worse, as what we fight against?

Iman Siddiqi was a second-year political science major at the University of California, Irvine.  This is an excerpt from an article he wrote for the campus newspaper New University.  You can read the entire article at this link, and I do hope you will:  A message of Hope in the Face of Terror.

"Islam emphasizes the importance of human life. The Qur’an equates killing a single person to killing all of mankind. Muslim jurists throughout the world consider the violation of public safety to be a violation of God’s right (Haq Allah), which is a severe crime under Islamic principles of justice.

In September 2014, Muslim scholars from around the world gathered to publish a detailed open letter to ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi and his followers condemning the actions of the militant group and refuting the group’s entire ideology, with extensive citations from the Qur’an, the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and Islamic history. The letter did not receive mainstream media coverage, but can be downloaded in several languages online."

We are but human animals.  You can educate us, ordain us, steep us in peaceful religious faiths and spiritual philosophies, and still, we find the capacity to destroy that which we build.  What other creature in this world has the capacity to feel lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and actually justify feeling them all at the same time?  We can, and it is not something to brag about.  

So how do we bring ourselves to justify hatred against our fellow man?  Muhammad Asad wrote Origins of Poisoning of the Western Mind Against Islam.  In his opening paragraph, he asks, "When it comes to Islam – Western equanimity is almost invariably disturbed by an emotional bias. Is it perhaps, I sometimes wonder, because the values of Islam are close enough to those of the West to constitute a potential challenge to many Western concepts of spiritual and social life?"  

Maybe.  But, I do think his short discussion on the origins of this poisoning of our minds against Islam has some merit.  I have included the link, above, for those wishing to read his page-long article.

So, why doesn't Islam confront the terrorists?  The laws set down in the Qur'an would seem to call for it, and yet they go unchecked which confuses the rest of us.  Of all the damage the terrorists wreak, none is more hurtful than to Islam itself.

Is there hope, for us, in the face of what we call "Islamic terror"?  Is there hope, for real Islam, peaceful Islam, to rise with us against the enemy at our gates?  Each of us needs to reacquaint ourselves with morality.  Each of us needs to look deep into the eyes of the face of innocence and ask if we are truly capable of some heinous, bloody, act of insane violence against a small defenseless child, or other defenseless people.  Does our God, does Allah, really excuse these acts of violence against the innocence and beauty in the world He created for us?  Sadly, if your answer is yes, we might meet in a future field of battle.  

We have met the enemy, and it is us.

“Not all Muslims become involved in acts of violence. Yet all might be held culpable. This is because that section of Muslims--in fact, the majority--who are not personally involved, neither disown those members of their community who are engaged in violence nor even condemn them. In such a case, according to the Islamic Shariah itself, if the involved Muslims are directly responsible, the uninvolved Muslims are also indirectly responsible.”

-- Wahiduddin Khan

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and, finally, a senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Western Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research.

Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony:  tolerantpastor@gmail.com