The anger heightened again when the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, in their ungodly activity posted a video online recently showing an ISIS terrorist beheading an American journalist James Foley.
Muslims world-over have been condeming the act and are pained by the development. A few days ago, the Arab League condemned the terrorist group saying the ISIS had committed crimes and abuses against the Iraqi people.
Unfortunately, those who are ignorant of the religion blame Muslims and Islam for the zicked acts of the terrorist groups both in Nigerian and Iraq. They are ignorant because they refused to read about the religion.
For one thing, the Boko Haram just like the ISIS are not representing Muslims or Islam. Both massacre innocent Muslims and non-Muslims and their acts are at variance to the teachings of Islam.
Just as the Boko Haram has no support of any real Muslim; the ISIS has no legitimacy because has no approval from the people of Iraq and Syria. ISIS is a group of extremists and terrorists who use the religion to seize the power and wealth from the people.
Not many know that the sanctity of human life is one of the fundamentals of the tenets of Islam espoused by the Qur’an. The Glorious Qur’an says: “…take not life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom.” (Al-Qur’an 6:151).
Islam considers the life of every being as sacred and it does not matter which religion one belongs in upholding the sanctity of life as ordered by Allah. However, the sanctity of human life is accorded a special place.
The first and the foremost basic right of a human being is the right to live. The Glorious Qur’an further says: “…if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (Al-Qur’an 5:32)
Such is the value of a single human life. The Qur’an equates the taking of even one human life unjustly, with killing of all humanity.
Could it be possible that Islam, whose light ended the ‘dark ages’ in Europe, now propound the advent of an age of terror? Could a faith that has over 1.4 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 of people including their own brothers?
It is now time to look at the sources of Islam, and its history to determine whether Islam does indeed advocate violence. Islam, far from being a militant dogma, is a way of life that transcends race and colour and ethnicity.
This goes to show that the the religion has drawn a line between liberalism and extremism.
For whatever reason, whether for loneliness or any emotional problem, every act of extremism leading to the extermination of human soul is abominable by the religion and would not represent the act of the religion.
Besides, terrorist leaders such as Abu Nidal: leader of a terrorist organization opposed to the state of Israel; Osama bin Laden: leader of the Al Qaeda – was disowned by his own parents in Saudi Arabia.
They all have not shown real character and trait of devout Muslims despite their toga of commando and their various Islamic education. They of course represent the interest of a certain few who are not entirely Muslims or better still brainwashed few who chose to be deviants and enemies of society.
Also, Muhammad Atta, the architect of the 9/11 attacks, and “the Egyptian hijacker who was driving the first plane, was a near alcoholic and was drinking vodka before he boarded the aircraft.”
Alcohol would be strictly off limits for a highly devout Muslim. Farouk AbdulMutallab too according to investigation, despite his three-month Arabic course in Yemen, his devout life in that country as attested by his personality and despite his seclusion (itkaf) could still not respect the sanctity of life as espoused by the Holy Qu’ran stated above.
He could not understand that it is a grave sin to unjustly take someone’s life. He was so disoriented to fathom that his action negates Islamic precepts which confer on him the identity of a Muslim.
The point being made here is that all terrorists all over the world who are refered to as Muslims, are not simply conventional believers; rather, they are violent extremists who manipulate religious concepts for their own selfish purposes.
There is a whole lot of difference between being a Muslim and individual actions that run contrary to Islamic tenet. Even as judgement rests with Almighty Allah, it is however unfair that the religion of Islam is held responsible for the acts of a handful of deviants in the society.
Just as it cannot rub the nation off its dignity, it cannot in anyway stigmatized Islam. It only takes intelligence and not ignorance to discern where Islam stands.
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