(The
writer is a freelance contributor)
Every now and then we come across the situations where this question is often
hurled at Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during any discussion on
religion or world affairs. If Islam is the religion of peace why most of the
Muslims are terrorists and fundamentalists?
It has been of the view in today’s world that ample of Muslim stereotypes have
perpetuated in every form of the media accompanied by gross misinformation about
Islam and Muslims.
In fact, such misinformation and false propaganda often leads to discrimination
and acts of violence against Muslims. A case in point is the anti-Muslim
campaign in the American media following the Oklahoma bomb blast, where the
press was quick to declare a ‘Middle Eastern conspiracy’ behind the attack. The
culprit was later identified as a soldier from the American Armed Forces.
Similarly in the present world any violent and ferocious attack taking place
anywhere on the globe is simply put after in the account of Muslims and Islam
without any post interrogation been needed. This deceptive mindset has concealed
the truth with even more might.
Let us first analyze this allegation of ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘terrorism. By
definition, a fundamentalist is a person who follows and adheres to the
fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. For a person to be a
good doctor, he should know, follow, and practice the fundamentals of medicine.
In other words, he should be a fundamentalist in the field of medicine. For a
person to be a good mathematician, he should know, follow and practice the
fundamentals of mathematics. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of
mathematics.
One cannot paint all fundamentalists with the same brush. One cannot categorize
all fundamentalists as either good or bad. Such a categorization of any
fundamentalist will depend upon the field or activity in which he is a
fundamentalist. A fundamentalist robber or thief causes harm to society and is
therefore undesirable. A fundamentalist doctor, on the other hand, benefits
society and earns much respect. I am a fundamentalist Muslim who, by the grace
of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practice the fundamentals of Islam. A
true Muslim does not shy away from being a fundamentalist. I am proud to be a
fundamentalist Muslim because; I know that the fundamentals of Islam are
beneficial to humanity and the whole world. There is not a single fundamental of
Islam that causes harm or is against the interests of the human race as a whole.
Many people harbor misconceptions about Islam and consider several teachings of
Islam to be unfair or improper. This is due to insufficient and incorrect
knowledge of Islam.
If one critically analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot
escape the fact that Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and
collective levels.
According to Webster’s dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ was a movement in American
Protestantism that arose in the earlier part of the 20th century. It was a
reaction to modernism, and stressed the infallibility of the Bible, not only in
matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record. It stressed
on belief in the Bible as the literal word of God. Thus fundamentalism was a
word initially used for a group of Christians who believed that the Bible was
the verbatim word of God without any errors and mistakes.
According to the Oxford dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ means ‘strict maintenance of
ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam’.
Today the moment a person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim who
is a terrorist.
Every Muslim should be a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who causes terror.
The moment a robber sees a policeman he is terrified. A policeman is a terrorist
for the robber. Similarly every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial
elements of society, such as thieves, dacoits and rapists. Whenever such an
anti-social element sees a Muslim, he should be terrified. It is true that the
word ‘terrorist’ is generally used for a person who causes terror among the
common people. But a true Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people
i.e. antisocial elements, and not to the common innocent people. In fact a
Muslim should be a source of peace for innocent people.
If we glare upon the situation in today Afghanistan, those who are fighting for
the liberation and freedom of their country have been labeled as terrorists by
the American media. In fact they are freedom fighters and the same individuals
have been lauded by Afghans for the same activities and hailed as ‘patriots.
Thus two different labels have been given to the same people for the same set of
actions. One is calling him a terrorist while the other is calling him a
patriot. Those who believed that America had a right to rule over Afghanistan
called these people terrorists, while those who were of the view that America
had no right to rule Afghanistan called them patriots and freedom fighters.
It is therefore important that before a person is judged, he is given a fair
hearing. Both sides of the argument should be heard, the situation should be
analyzed, and the reason and the intention of the person should be taken into
account, and then the person can be judged accordingly.
As far as Islam is concerned, the world ‘Islam’ is derived from the word
‘salaam’ which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach
its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world.
Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the
fundamentals of the Religion of Peace, Islam. He should be a terrorist only
towards the antisocial elements in order to promote peace and justice in the
society.