This is the paper, I wrote and circulated among students and faculty at my high school in U.S to clarify the image of Islam. Most of the issues are not discussed here but that's because either the students already have enough knowledge of it or I didn't have enough points to say anything about the subject. I prefered not to write about issues I am not certain.
In my paper I would try to convince my audience that Islam is not violent and that there is a particular group which is ruining the image of Islam for the sake of their "extremist thoughts" which are not just abolished by the Allah and his prophet but by the holy book Koran. To prove myself and to define my religion and faith I would give examples from my personal experience, media interviews, Hadith (Prophets saying), and last but not the least the holy book of all the Muslims Koran.
People have tagged all the Muslims as terrorists just because of a particular group, Al-Qaeda. This is the biggest misconception in Islam, no doubt resulting from the constant stereotyping and bashing the media gives Islam. When a gunman attacks a mosque in the name of Judaism, a Catholic IRA guerrilla sets off a bomb in an urban area, or Serbian Orthodox militiamen rape and kill innocent Muslim civilians, these acts are not used to stereotype an entire faith. Why? That’s because extremists exist in every religion. How can we ignore the Renaissance and the Roman Empire when Catholic Church and some extremist popes became so harsh on people? There were casualties, rapes, fights, disputes between the public and churches and last but not the lease diseases like plague spread because of the obscure and off base teachings by the church. Never are these acts attributed to the religion of the perpetrators. Yet how many times have we heard the words 'Islamic, Muslim fundamentalist. etc.' linked with violence
Now, if you look around and see Muslims and observe their faith then you will find how hospitable and kind they are. Politics in the Muslim countries and of course the international media shows a negative image of Islam but one should remember to go to the source of Islam and separate what the true religion of Islam says from what is portrayed in the media. Islam literally means 'submission to God' and is derived from a root word meaning 'peace'.
Islam may seem exotic or even extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because religion doesn't dominate everyday life in the West, whereas Islam is considered a 'way of life' for Muslims and they make no division between secular and sacred in their lives. Like Christianity, Islam permits fighting in self-defense, in defense of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It lays down strict rules of combat which include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock. Now the question here is, if a religion doesn’t allow destroying tress and livestock could it permit the killing of innocent lives?
The Koran says, “Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not Transgress limits. God does not love transgressors." (Koran 2:190). Another verse from the Koran says, "If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that hears and knows all things." (Koran 8:61) War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The term 'jihad' literally means 'struggle'. Jihad' is the inner struggle of the soul which everyone wages against egotistic desires for the sake of attaining inner peace. It is also the struggle for food; job or just the struggle for any good cause. The last prophet of Islam Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Even if you are trying to quit any of your bad habits that’s also ‘Jihad’ or if you remove a stone from the path because you don’t want anybody to trip over it and get hurt that also comes under Jihad”.
Many social studies textbooks for students show the image of an Arab horseman carrying a sword in one hand and the Quran in the other conquering and forcibly converting. This, though, is not a correct portrayal of history. Islam has always given respect and freedom of religion to all faiths. Freedom of religion is laid down in the Quran itself: "There is no compulsion (or coercion) in the religion (Islam). The right direction is distinctly clear from error".
Also there are some people who say that Muslims don’t interact with other nations. That’s the sickest stereotype. Over 70 countries are Islamic and they all trade with other non-Muslim countries. Also, whenever any country is in an hour of need we try to provide all the help we could to support them. Pakistan provided a huge amount of for the Tsunami destruction and victims in Indonesia and Malaysia, and Pakistan is a Muslim country. Here is what the Koran says about racism, "O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God's sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All- Aware.” (49:13). Racism is not a part of Islam, the Koran speaks only of human equality and how all people are equal in the sight of God. The last prophet of Islam in his last sermon in the world said that, “Nobody is superior or inferior over the class, color, creed, language or gender”.
I tried my best to convince you that my religion “Islam” doesn’t support racism, violence, wars and isolation from the world. I hope I was able to clear your misconceptions. I never degrade any religion and I expect others also to not judge my religion over the little knowledge they have about it and that too from media, which loves to make hypes over nothing.
Thank you so much for reading :)
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