A rchive Date
[ 24-12-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Arab-Muslims ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/jackson.html
Defending Islam
Extremists are tiny minority of world's 1.2 billion Muslims
By PAUL JACKSON - Calgary Sun
December 24, 2002
You should never beat a woman, not even with a flower. - Muhammad
That gentle and almost poetic saying by the Prophet Muhammad has been circling in my mind for a long time. Muhammad called on all Muslims to show tolerance, compassion and respect for others of different faiths.
Yet when looking at the likes of al-Qaida, and other radical terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, today's Muslim world seems to have perverted Muha`mmad's Islam philosophy.
That is, of course, if we judge the entire Muslim world by today's Islamic terrorists, and perhaps we shouldn't do that.
In "Little understood" (Nov. 7), I wrote about a marvellous Sunday afternoon I spent with members of our city's Ismaili Muslim community and as to how their spiritual leader, the Aga Khan, had bitterly condemned the Sept. 11 attacks saying they were "repugnant" to the very ideals of Islam.
Now a truly remarkable document has come into my hands, given to me by a Lebanese Muslim friend. It is a copy of a scholarly assessment by King Abdullah II of Jordan, some of which was reprinted recently in the Washington Post.
King Abdullah explains the precepts espoused by Muhammad - and offers God's blessing - "Salaam Aleikum" (Peace be with you) to those of all faiths at this time of the year.
Then, like Aga Khan, he vigorously condemns the Islamic radical terrorist fringe, saying its adherents are nothing short of "criminals" and are a "disgrace" to all which true Muslims treasure.
While true Muslim leaders respect the religious beliefs of all mankind - including Christians and Jews - King Abdullah says this is not the voice the non-Muslim world generally hears.
"Instead they hear the hatred spewed out by groups mistakenly called Islamic fundamentalists. In fact, there is nothing fundamentally Islamic about these extremists.
They are religious totalitarians, in a long line of extremists of various faiths who seek power by intimidation, violence and thuggery."
The king says the extremists have even perverted the term "Jihad" - or Holy War - as meaning Muhammad urged them to brutalize non-Muslims.
In reality, "Jihad" called on an individual to fight constantly against his or her own shortcomings. As in Christianity, one should always seek the highest ideals and toil against one's temptation.
King Abdullah notes that in a speech by Muhammad's first successor, Abu Bakir, Muslim soldiers were commanded: "Do not betray, do not deceive, do not bludgeon and maim, do not kill a child, nor a woman, nor an old man. If you come across communities who have consecrated themselves to the Christian church, leave them in peace."
King Muhammad contends when Islamic terrorists target innocents they provide direct evidence of their real agenda: Power politics, not religion.
He explains that long before these terrorists were attacking the West, they were attacking fellow Muslims in their own countries.
"Their goal was to silence opposition and obliterate the Islam of peace and dialogue".
His own grandfather, Abdullah I, was assassinated by Islamic extremists, and his father, King Hussein - who achieved almost legendary status throughout - was hit by a bullet in that attack when he was just 15.
The king cautions the West to remember that among the world's 1.2 billion Muslims, extremists are a tiny minority.
"For decades many Muslims thought because they had nothing to do with this criminal fringe, they could ignore it. Sept 11, 2001, changed that kind of thinking. The idea anyone would exploit our religion to sanction the killing of innocents outraged Muslims everywhere."
He urges Muslims to speak out "boldly" in defence of dynamic, moderate Islam - an Islam that upholds the sanctity of human life, reaches out to the oppressed, respects men and women alike, and insists on the fellowship of mankind.
"This is the real Islam of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Islam the terrorists seek to destroy."
King Adullah's words are weighty stuff, but not only do they offer another perspective of Islam many of us have not seen, but they offer some light and some hope. If those of us in the West can join with true Muslims - the Muslims of which King Abdullah talks - we may be able to beat terrorism together - and much sooner than if we attempted it alone.
Jackson, associate editor of the Sun, can be reached at paul.jackson@calgarysun.com. Letters to the editor should be sent to callet@sunpub.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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