Are
the terrorists groups ISIS and ISIL Islamic? Some say they cannot be.
They say Islam is a 'peaceful religion.' As I seek, from conviction,
to answer this question, please note that I am not comparing
religions, nor am I attempting to share any other belief systems. My
approach in this post is to simply look at the root of the Islamic
belief system and compare that belief system to the behavior and
practices of these particular terrorist groups.
It
really is simple. They are FOLLOWING their scripture. Read the
Qur'an and Haddith yourselves. You will find the reason why these
terrorists (ISIS and ISIL) keep coming out of Islam..and they will
not stop...because that is what Islam is. Please continue to read.
Take
for example, “Slavery is a part of Islam,” says Saudi Sheik Saleh
Al-Fawzan, according to the independent Saudi Information Agency,
“Slavery is part of jihad, and jihad will remain as long as
there is Islam.” As
for the modernist interpretation that Islam totally abolished
slavery, he dismissed its exponents saying, “They are ignorant, not
scholars. ... Whoever says such things is an infidel.” (Jihad is
defined as the war or struggle against unbelievers, according to
Islam).
This
Sheikh has authored textbooks used in madrassas (seminars that teach
Islamic practices) and in our Democracies. He is not shy about
expressing Islamic hegemony (Patriarchal Muslim Culture); it's only
in our unconquered countries that Muslims lie about Islam. Lies?
Why would anyone bring up lying?
Are
Muslims, who are engaged in Islam, taught to 'lie'? Yes!
It is critical that we understand this component in their religious
belief. It is called taqiyya
and kitman.
These circumstances are typically those that advance the cause of
Islam - in some cases by gaining the trust of non-believers in order
to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them. Here it is, straight
from the Qur'an, which they believe is the 'direct word of Allah':
Qur'an
(16:106) establishes that there are circumstances that can “compel”
a Muslim to tell a lie. Qur'an (3:28), this verse tells Muslims not
to take those outside the faith (of Islam) as friends, 'unless it is
to “guard themselves.” Or, Qur'an (40:28), a man is introduced as
a believer, but one who must “hide his faith” among those who are
not believers. Here are other verses in support of those I just
shared from the Qur'an (9:3), (2:225), (66:2), (3:54), (8:30),
(10:21).
All
of these support lying to any of you. Therefore, you have to ask
yourselves, “are those who I have befriended, lied to me?” And,
the answer is, if they are a true follower of Islam, they probably
have to, either to protect themselves and/or to win you over. It is
in their holy scriptures.
Taken
collectively these verses are interpreted to mean that there are
circumstances when a Muslim may be "compelled" to deceive
others for a greater purpose. (Don't bother asking a
Muslim if they have lied to you. If they feel threatened, they have
the right to, simply, lie and say they hadn't lied. Make sense? That
is difficult for me to comprehend).
How
about the Hadith:
Bukhari
(49:857)"He
who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or
saying good things, is not a liar." Lying
is permitted when the end justifies the means.
Bukhari
(84:64-65) Speaking from a position of power at the time, Ali
confirms that lying is permissible in order to deceive an "enemy."
Bukhari
(32:6303) "...he
did not hear that exemption was granted in anything what the people
speak as lie but in three cases: in battle, for bringing
reconciliation amongst persons and the narration of the words of the
husband to his wife, and the narration of the words of a wife to her
husband (in a twisted form in order to bring reconciliation between
them)."
Reliance
of the Traveler (p. 746 - 8.2)
- "Speaking
is a means to achieve objectives. If a praiseworthy aim is attainable
through both telling the truth and lying, it is unlawful to
accomplish through lying because there is no need for it. When
it is possible to achieve such an aim by lying but not by telling the
truth, it is permissible to lie if attaining the goal is permissible
(i.e. when the purpose of lying is to circumvent someone who is
preventing one from doing something permissible), and obligatory to
lie if the goal is obligatory... it is religiously precautionary in
all cases to employ words that give a misleading impression...
Now,
I'll be the first to admit, that I do not want to assume a friend of
mine, who is Muslim, is living a lie before me. However, if a Muslim
is truly following their religion, and that religion is Islam, and
they ever feel they need to protect themselves, or 'win me over',
they are permitted to lie to me. Islam is a religion that lacks
honesty, integrity and trust.
How
does this address the issue of Terrorism, in which ISIS (Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria) and ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and of the
Lavent) are engaged in, have been recruiting for and are threatening
several countries around the world? This group that has been stealing
women and children, torturing and killing those who are not Muslim?
You say they are 'not' Islamic?
Let's
take a look at more of the Qur'an. We should, right? The Qur'an is
the foundation of their religion, the religion of Islam. Let's see if
the behaviors of ISIS and ISIL measure up to the standard of Islam:
Qur'an
(3:32) “Say: Obey Allah and the Apostle; but if they turn back then
surely Allah does not love the unbelievers.” ISIS/ISIL does not
show much love to any of the unbelievers.
Qur'an
(48:29) “...and those who are with him are severe against
unbelievers and merciful among themselves.” Why are these groups,
ISIS/ISIL, reacting so severely towards non-muslims? Well, we just
read two verses explaining why.
Qur'an
(4:24) “Also (forbidden are) women already married, except
those (captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess.” There's
some historical context to consider here, yet, briefly stated, if a
woman is married, you cannot rape her, but if you take a married
woman as your slave, or captive, you possess her and can rape her all
you want. Are you aware of these groups kidnapping and rapping women?
(I think we know the answer to that question)
Qur'an
(5:33) “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and his
apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that
they should be murdered or crucified or their hand and feet should be
cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this should
be as a disgrace for them...” Notice how vague the reason for such
punishment, “strive to make mischief.” This gives Muslims, ISIS,
ISIL broad justifiable means for such malicious behavior! Directly
from the Qur'an!
Some
argue that it is not only the Christian and Jew they are torturing or
killing, but they have killed Muslims as well. Therefore, some
conclude that ISIS and ISIL cannot be Islamic. Not true! The reason
they kill Muslims as well is in the Qur'an (9:73) “O Prophet!
Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be
unyielding to them and their abode is hell, and evil is the
destination.” “Strive hard” comes from the Arabic form of the
word, Jihad. This is where we hear, “the wage of Jihad.”
Remember, if a Muslim turns away from the core of Islam it can be a
form of apostasy. And the penalty for apostasy is death. Therefore,
the killing of Muslims by Muslims. And, this does not discredit ISIS
or ISIL from being Isalmic as they are only doing what Allah commands
according to the Qur'an.
Qur'an
(9:111) “...they fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain.”
Some may regard the peacefulness of some of our neighbors, but that
does not discredit the birth of such groups as ISIS and ISIL, which
are birthed from Islam. They will fight and kill, until they
themselves are killed. That is Islam, “so they slay and are slain.”
In
conclusion, the most alarming verse of all comes from the Qur'an
(2:106) “Whatever communications we abrogate
or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or like it. Do
you not know that Allah has power over all things.”
As
it has been said, “the people of the west have been trying to
condemn the Islamic State by quoting the peaceful verses of the
Qur'an, and saying, “How can you call yourselves Muslims when the
Qur'an says there is no compulsion in religion.” It is very
important to understand hat the peaceful verses were before Allah
commanded his followers to slay idolators, to subjugate Jews and
Christians and to fight, or kill, hypocrites. So the most important
verse you need to know if you want to understand the Islamic State,
is, (2:106), which lays out before you the doctrine of abrogation.
This simply means that the earlier verses get abrogated, or
cancelled, by later verses. Therefore, versions of Islam that oppose
this violent kind of behavior committed by the Islamic State, are now
obsolete. Did you hear that? That verse nullifies anything else in
its own religion!
My
conclusion, is, as much as many disagree.....ISIS and ISIL, and other
such Terrorists groups of Its kind, are Islamic. They can lie and
justify just about any of their actions according to the Qur'an. That
is dangerous!
Hate, contradictions, and lies, = peace?
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine, an Atheist, shared another well written blog by leading Atheist, Sam Harris. I do not support, nor agree, with his atheistic world-view, however, his writing supports, ironically, much of what I attempted to share in my post. Some, of which, is scary close! Here's his link: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/sleepwalking-toward-armageddon
ReplyDeleteKoran, just like the bible, is open for interpretation. Compare with the famous "kill your neighbor if he works on Sunday" misinterpretation of the bible. Koran was written in old Arabic which even Arabs don't understand. There is one "standard" version (Uthman's Codex) and many translations and interpretations. True Muslims emphasize that you actually have to study the Koran to understand it, as opposed to just reading and quoting verses. For instance, there is actually a verse that says to "kill the infidel". However, most Muslims interpret it as "kill the infidel in yourself" rather than an actual call for violence.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, almost nobody actually studies the Koran. And by nobody I mean not even most of Muslims themselves.
If you would visit a random Arab country, chances are you will see a patriarchal society with women clearly having less freedom and maybe even covering their faces. However, again, this stems from tradition not so much religion, even if some will try to abuse Islam to justify their way of life. The women who happily and willingly cover their hair and faces do not really understand their religion. For instance, in Yemen about 80% of the population is illiterate. The same 80% are "true believers". Obviously none of them read or let alone studied the Koran. The same goes for most radical Muslims.
In summary, Mr. Belt, though you seem to have made an attempt to understand Islam and the current conflict, you gave up half way and made an oversimplified conclusion. Muslims = Islam = ISIS is a very narrow sited equation. Perhaps you have heard about the genocide in Rwanda or the bloody diamond Wars in Sierra Leone. Much more people have died in each of these conflicts than currently killed by ISIS. What do these places all have in common? Poverty, misery and most of all un-education, not Islam. Coupled with weapons supplied, you get crazies running around and killing people. Terrorism in Arab countries have in addition other uniting factors. Israelis slaughtering Palestinians since the mid of the 20th century gave rise to many radicals. US trained and supplied thousands of radical Muslims in the Afghan war against the Soviets. After they won the war they of course did not just disappear but instead came back to bite in the ass the same people who trained and sponsored them. NATO was so hell bent on getting rid of Asad that they supplied Syria's rebels with weapons, including ISIS. Again, now they pay the price. Or actually Syrians and Irakies pay the price. A big fraction of these radicals also comes from Chechnya and were created by the conflict with Russia. They of course were also supported and supplied by different 3rd parties.
There are other factors that explain what is happening currently in the middle East. I do not know or understand them all. However, one thing I am sure about - the presence of Islam would not change much. If not the Koran, the radicals would find a different set of beliefs to support their sick way of life. Back when Europe was on a comparable level of development, they had inquisitions and Christians tortured people in the most brutal ways in the name of God. If the Middle East would enjoy decades of stability, it would most likely prosper and terrorism would become very unpopular. However, I highly doubt that will happen, especially given the amount of natural resources the region has.
P.S. I am not Muslim and I am not trying to defend the Koran. I was born Christian Orthodox but I am not a believer. I think the idea of living your life according to a single book is generally ridiculous and spiritually unnecessary. But then again I had the luxury of good education and understand that some people need religion to give meaning to life. However, that is a different topic.