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Religion refers to a
belief in a supernatural being or power requiring the
believer to obey and comply with a prescribed social and moral code.
Terrorists act in an intimidating and violent manner
justifying their action by association with a religious or
political cause. A crusade is a vigorous campaign or war to promote a
cause, including a war instigated by a religious hierarchy for alleged
religious ends. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines ’Jihad’ as “a holy
war undertaken by Muslims against unbelievers”. There is no evidence
that Muslims are waging a war against ‘unbelievers’ in any part of the
world. For Muslims, Jihad also means a fight within oneself – critical
self-analysis to promote the good and minimize the evil within us.
Therefore, the media’s
indiscriminate use of the word ‘Jihad’ to describe terrorist action is
erroneous and inflammatory. Terrorists do not distinguish between evil
and good in their obsession to intimidate and commit violent acts. They
do not target unbelievers exclusively as many Muslims are fatal victims
of their crime. They create fear, destruction and death in the name of
‘Jihad’ because they seek legitimacy and publicity to attract funding
from those who might think of them as martyrs. They operate
autocratically as small groups and publish their deeds on the internet.
The sooner the media portrays them as terrorists without any Islamic
legitimacy, the harder it will be for terrorists to sustain their
atrocities.
The media does not
refer to Basque or Irish terrorists as ‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’
terrorists. Yet, ‘Islamic terrorists’ has been a common media
description of any terrorist who is deemed to be a Muslim. This
portrayal plants fears in the minds of non-Muslims and alienates Muslims
from Christians, Jews, Sikhs and people of other faiths living in their
communities. It fosters prejudice based on suspicion and is beginning to
expose Muslims to verbal abuse. Social abuse, discrimination at work and
political exclusion are not readily accepted or tolerated by young
Muslims who are born in western countries as they seek a national
identity that can accommodate their faith and traditions. Racial and
religious intolerance fuel the fires of discontent and lead to a
breakdown of communal goodwill.
Islam is a world
religion like Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. Islam means both peace
and submission to God. It accepts the people of other faiths, and shares
the belief in only one God with those who follow the Torah and the
Bible. It preaches equality of all human beings and abhors violence. The
Koran, revealed to Prophet Mohamed in the 7th Century AD, has
many interpretations and this has led to the major division in Islam
represented by the Sunni majority and the Shiah minority. Whilst the
Pope is the divine leader of the Catholics, there is no divine hierarchy
for Muslims worldwide. The absence of a single voice of Islam has led to
much misunderstanding amongst people of other faiths, especially when
condemnation of terrorism is reported by the media.
Although social
traditions of Muslims worldwide are influenced by their religion, there
is a significant difference in lifestyle in Muslim countries depending
on ethnic origin, national politics and language. The Arabs in Lebanon
and Syria enjoy a different lifestyle from fellow Arabs in Saudi Arabia.
Muslims in Indonesia – the largest Muslim country in the world – have no
difficulty in electing a woman President whilst women in Saudi Arabia
have limited freedom and cannot even drive their own cars! Afghani women
continue to wear their veils (burkha) even though the Taliban regime was
replaced by President Karzai’s elected government in Kabul. The status
of women in Iran changed dramatically when the Shah was toppled by the
religious hierarchy.
Clearly, responsible
politicians and the media have a big part to play in influencing public
perception of Islam in western countries. Muslim religious and political
leaders must help in this too by actively participating in public debate
to express clearly the aspirations of those who profess Islam and who
wish to live in peace and harmony with people of all faiths wherever
they are. |
