Terrorist Activities or Jihad - Assignment Example

Order 749461 Report on Religious field Research Enter and Roll Number or College November 21 Introduction Since the birth of the human being he has been struggling to survive in this world. After having enough to eat, drink and sleep man looked around in the surroundings. Since that time man has been working to up-grade himself. Societies then started to follow a code conduct which was given by the “Chosen ones”. These chosen ones were the representatives of God who gave the code of conduct on “how to live a better life”. Islam is one of the religions of the world. Muslims (the observers of Islam) are present all around the world. Unfortunately, it is not a religion which has a god image in the entire world due to mistakes by a hand full of people. People say that Islam is a religion of “peace” but the Muslims are (unfortunately) not spreading the correct message and meaning. That’s why the report of my religion research is based on the religion “Islam”. “The Arabian environment in which Islam had its roots was in contact with Hellenistic civilization. This generated in Islam a certain affinity with classical culture. Soon there came a translational activity bringing Islam and Greece together in a consciously creative act. The heritage of classical antiquity was revived with the aid of scholarly research. The result was a new outlook on life, giving Islam an intellectual direction that, owing to insufficient original preparedness, it would not have taken on its own. Thus was born what we call “Islamic culture”.” Rosenthal (1965). The reason for choosing this religion is that this religion is the most threatened and the most popular for the doing the odds. The scholars of Islam say that those are just handful of people spreading a bad name of the religion; it is not as it is being portrayed. It is a religion of love, peace and harmony. People in the name of Islam, are shedding blood, killing the innocent, destroying the homes, places and calling themselves “most-powerful”. I attended a“virtual religious service”. Let us review and figure out the misconceptions and the problems and what this religion actually is. 2. Misconceptions 2.1 Terrorist Activities or Jihad: The most important aspect why this religion has a “negative impact” over other religions is the terrorist activities by individuals all around the world. The people who conduct such activities call themselves “Muslims” who are killing and shedding blood of others in the name of Islam (Jihad) but for the world it’s “Terrorism”. The most important part is “Can Terrorism be compared to Jihad (The Holy War)?” 2.2 Head and Face Covering: Why does a Muslim lady wears veil? It’s not that I have objection for this, it’s just that they cover all of their body and (a few) cover their faces as well. This gives an impression that they are being suppressed and not been taken care of properly. 2.3 Basic Human Rights: The Muslim women are not given full rights. By full rights I mean the liberty to adopt the rituals and customs of other people (the way others do). They are always obeying men, cannot go out alone, not with friends. 2.4 Unequal rights: The women are not equal to men. They are demotivated, discouraged, demoralized, suppressed ad incubated. 2.5 Extremism: Are the people especially Muslims (in the eyes of the media and every light) are showing extremism. Are all the Muslims the same? 3. Analysis and Discussion 3.1 Terrorist Activities: “Terrorism is usually defined as ideologically motivated indiscriminate violence that targets civilians, with the intention of inspiring terror in order to achieve political ends.” Although this definition ignores the reality of state terrorism, it is clear that terrorism has no place in the noble concept of Jihad. Even Jihad that involves physical conflict is the very antithesis of terrorism, as is clear from the following differences: “Jihad can be launched only by an established authority as a policy in order to deter aggression. Terrorism, on the other hand, is committed by individuals or groups that have no legitimacy to speak for the majority. When terrorism is committed by states, it usually depends on misleading the masses, Jihad is limited to combatants while terrorism involves indiscriminate killing of civilians, Jihad, when the need arises, is declared openly, while terrorism is committed secretly, Jihad is bound by strict rules of engagement while terrorism is not bound by any rules.” - Teach Islam (2010). 3.2 Head and Face Covering: Covering head (Hijab) is the basics of the religion Islam. A Muslim woman who practices hijab actually acts upon the orders given by the God. It shows the obedience towards God. “It also represents a step towards freedom, i.e. freedom from being judged by their looks rather than their intellect. A common misconception about hijab is that it is mandated only for women. Hijab is actually mandated for both men and women. The difference lies in how they are required to implement it. The Glorious Qur’an says: “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands..."  [Al-Quran 24:30-31] Both men and women are required to dress and conduct themselves in a manner that befits their dignity and is not the cause of temptation for others. Hair is considered part of a woman’s physical attractiveness. Therefore, covering of hair for the woman is considered essential to modesty of her attire, even in the Bible. This is the reason that nuns and orthodox Jewish women also cover their hair. It is the outer dress of Muslim women which includes the head covering that is usually referred to as hijab. Hijab is not merely a covering dress, but more importantly, it is behavior, manners, speech and appearance in public. The headscarf is an outer manifestation of an inner commitment to worshipping Allah – it symbolizes a commitment to piety. Self or inner morality is what gives meaning to the external scarf.” - Teach Islam (2010). It is generally said by the scholars that the whole body of the woman should be covered other than hands and face but some women cover them by their own choice. “The face veil however, is worn by some Muslim women, who either consider it a requirement, or wish to adhere to a higher level of modesty.” - Teach Islam (2010). 3.3 Basic Human Rights: Gender issues the world over, including the Muslim world need urgent attention. However, the issues faced by women in the Muslim world are of a vastly different nature as compared to issues faced by women in the West. Firstly it is important to differentiate between the status of women in Islam and the present status of women in the Muslim world. It is also important to appreciate the vast diversity of the Muslim world, with its varying levels of adherence to Islamic injunctions, with regard to the status of Muslim women. In a world-wide population of 1.5 billion Muslims, the status of women varies from culture to culture and often within the same culture. Thus the stereotypical image of the oppressed Muslim woman with limited or no access to education is just that, a stereotype based on gross misinformation. The bedrock of the Islamic civilization was learning and intellectual striving, and women scholars have been common from the earliest days of Islam. Limiting women’s access to higher education either openly or by tacit discrimination as happens in some countries is a violation of Islamic injunctions. It is true that in some places, parents tend to favor their sons over their daughters. This is in clear violation to the Prophetic tradition . Social evils such as “honor” killings, domestic violence and the abuse of women exist in Muslim as well as non-Muslim cultures.  They are completely anathema to the Islamic concept of adl (justice). To associate these evils with Islam is a grave injustice to the cause of women’s empowerment. To say that women in Muslim countries do not have the same rights as women in the West assumes that the general status of women in the West is worthy of emulation by Muslim women, something that even ardent Western feminists would disagree with strongly. Germaine Greer, the renowned feminist, writes in her book “The Whole Woman” in 1999 referring to her earlier bestseller written thirty years ago: “When The Female Eunuch was written our daughters were not cutting or starving themselves. On every side speechless women endure endless hardship, grief and pain, in a world system that creates billions of losers for every handful of winners”. (p. 3) It is therefore important to understand that the status of Muslim women need not be viewed through the prism of the aspirations of Western women. The aberrations in the present status of Muslim women are a result of not following the teachings of Islam, rather than conforming to them. Therefore, improving the status of women in the Muslim world requires more and not less adherence to Islamic injunctions. - Teach Islam (2010). 3.4 Unequal Distribution of Rights: In the Islamic worldview, justice denotes placing things in their rightful place.  It also means giving others equal treatment.  In Islam, justice is also a moral virtue and an attribute of human personality, as it is in the Western tradition.  Justice is close to equality in the sense that it creates a state of equilibrium in the distribution of rights and duties, but they are not identical.  Sometimes, justice is achieved through inequality, like in unequal distribution of wealth.  The Prophet of Islam declared: “There are seven categories of people whom God will shelter under His shade (protection) on the Day when there will be no shade (protection) except His.  [One is] the just leader.”(Saheeh Muslim) God spoke to His Messenger in this manner: “O My slaves, I have forbidden injustice for Myself and forbade it also for you.  So avoid being unjust to one another.” (Saheeh Muslim) Thus, justice represents moral rectitude and fairness, since it means things should be where they belong. Scanislam.com (2012). 3.5 Extremism: The extremism is not supported by Islam. It states that every individual should remain calm and loving with every other individual. Allah says:  “… Whosoever kills an innocent human being, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind…” Quran 5:32 The prevalence of media bias and ignorance regarding Islam can be countered by understanding Islam through its proper teachings. That means referring to the Qur’an (which Muslims believe to be the word of God) and the authentic sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Through the proper understanding of these teachings, one will discover Islam to be completely against any form of extremism. Iisna (2012). The illegal activities by the handful of Muslims are just them. Prominent Muslim scholars, organizations and movements, representing the vast majority of Muslims worldwide, have repeatedly condemned terrorism, and have spoken out for peace and justice. Following is a very brief list of such open condemnation of terrorism, including statements issued in the wake of the heinous attacks on September 11. “The terrorists acts, from the perspective of Islamic law, constitute the crime of hirabah (waging war against society)" Sept. 27, 2001 fatwa, signed by: Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Grand Islamic Scholar and Chairman of the Sunna and Sira Countil, Qatar), Judge Tariq al-Bishri, First Deputy President of the Council detat, Egypt. Dr. Muhammad s. al-Awa, Professor of Islamic Law and Sharia, Egypt. Dr. Haytham al-Khayyat, Islamic scholar, Syria Fahmi Houaydi, Islamic scholar, Syria. Shaykh Taha Jabir al-Alwani, Chairman, North America High Council. - Teach Islam (2010).4. Recommendations: The things I could recommend is that the people should (unanimously) declare the people who are involved in such activities “Non-Muslims”. They should be either jailed or exiled or shoot-at-sight. People should be made realized that the non-Muslims should be identified and straight away reported to the police to capture those who are a disgrace in the name of Islam. However, the verse that is mentioned shows a totally different part of the story. Muslim (54), Ahmed (2/391), Al-Tirmadi (2513) narrated from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said “You will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you about something, which if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salam amongst yourselves.” Abdul-Rahman (2007). 5. Conclusion: Islam has been the biggest misconception in my eyes. The misconceptions about the religion are removed quiet a lot. It seems that some of the people (who are mentally sick) are the ones wrecking the name of such a nice religion. It should be promoted in a positive way as it promotes peace, love and harmony to all. The perceptions are different and so does the people. It iss a religion of honesty, discipline and love. We should all accept it, love it and respect it the way we do with others. 6. References Amin.S. “Importance of Juma’ah”. Retrieved from: http://www.islameasy.org/beliefs.php (Accessed November 19 2012). Rosenthal.F., (1965), The Classical Heritage in Islam. University of California Press: USA. Abdul-Rahman.S. (2007), Islam: Questions and Answers - Manners, Part 1. British Library Cataloging in Publication data: UK. Teach Islam, (2010), Teach Islam: FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.teachislam.com/content/blogcategory/264/222/ (Accessed November 20, 2012). Iisna. (2012), Islam is not a Religion of Extremism: Retrieved from: http://www.iisna.com/articles/pamphlets/islam-is-not-a-religion-of-extremism/ (Accessed November 20, 2012) Scanislam.com (2012), Retrieved from: http://scanislam.com/articles/justice-in-islam/ (Accessed on November 19, 2012) Read More