Recent terror
attacks could motivate a supposition that Islam may be the greatest perpetrator of
terror today.
Is Islam An Agent For
Terror?
Statistics do not lie. Consider a few
terror statistics in the recent years:
1
(1) As on
date, 18 terror attacks by Islamic terrorists eliminated 350+ and
900+ were injured.
(2) 1000+
dead and 2500+ injured via 47 terror attacks by Islamic terrorists in 2016.
(3) 100+
Islamist terror attacks in the year 2015 (3000+ dead and 3000+ were injured).
Global
Terrorism Index 2016 observes that “The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL), Boko Haram and the Taliban were responsible for 55 per cent of all the
deaths from terrorism in 2015.”2
These
statistics are adequate to conceive a case for further Islamist terror attacks
this year. Significantly, Islam could be the supreme perpetrator of terror in
today’s world.
The verses from the Quran do not lie. The
Quran seems to motivate terrorism. Consider a few relevant verses:3
Quran 2:
191: “And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever
they have expelled you, and fitnah is worse than killing. And do not fight them
at al-Masjid al- Haram until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then
kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.”
Quran 3:
85: “And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be
accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.”
Quran 5:33:
“Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and
strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or
crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that
they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and
for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment…”
Quran 8:
12: “…I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike
[them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.”
Quran 9:5:
“And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you
find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every
place of ambush…”
Quran 47:4:
“So when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until,
when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds, and
either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its
burdens. That [is the command]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken
vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of
you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah - never
will He waste their deeds.”
Muslims do not lie. The entailment of
the Quranic motivation for terrorism is the logical yet dastardly response by a
segment of Muslims who refuse to cooperate with the authorities even if they
were aware of an imminent terror attack, “TWO thirds of British Muslims would
not inform the police if they thought that somebody close to them had become
involved with terrorist sympathizers, according to a poll.”4
Are We An Agent For
Terror Or Peace?
These
evidences demonstrate that Islam could be construed as the greatest perpetrator
of terror today. But does this offer a non-Muslim a valid reason to accuse Islam
and the Muslims?
This
content would be consumed by those active in expressing their opinions in the social
media or to friends and family. Despite the evidence that indicts Islam as the greatest terror manufacturer of our day, how do we respond to this
predicament?
We could
either promote terrorism or peace. Our response could
either placate or intensify this situation. A Christian response should
rightfully help heal the menace of terrorism.
What are
the options ahead of us?
Accusing
Islam or ridiculing Muslims could be the most natural response. When we accuse
Islam or ridicule our Muslim brothers and sisters, we would definitely not
appease this situation. Instead, we may amplify the gap to intensify the
animosity between Muslims and non-Muslims. If we are to accuse and ridicule
Islam and Muslims, a Muslim could dig in his heels deep into his faith.
Accusing Islam cannot and will not help
soothe this situation. Islam cannot change; the Quran will be what it is.
The Quran cannot be rewritten to make it less violent or more peaceable.
Religious texts cannot be modified. This is the fact of the matter.
Accusing our fellow Muslims cannot heal the
menace of terrorism. Our accusations would probably entail a greater
non-cooperation between Muslims and the governing authorities, as is the case
in Britain. Alternatively, our accusations could foster an active or a passive intensification
of the jihadist movement within Islam or of its support.
Any form of
accusation is more likely to promote terrorism than not.
How then
can our responses to terror heal the menace of terrorism?
Instead of
posting accusatory posts on social media that are intended to accuse Islam and
its adherents, we could post prayers
or comforting posts that could heal the victims of terrorism.
Islam, by
its very nature, may motivate terrorism, but that there are millions of Muslims
who hate these deeds of terror. We could express
our love for these Muslim brothers and sisters through our responses.
Any well
meaning government would respond in a manner befitting the situation. Crackdown
on terrorism would gain intensity and stringent measures would be employed that
could increase the discomfort of ordinary citizens. We could bear with these efforts instead of complaining
about the increased discomfort that strives to eliminate terrorism.
Walk alongside
the governing authorities, irrespective of our political affiliations or
compulsions, to help heal the terror menace. Information to the authorities of any possible terror insinuations
or affiliations that may appear in our domain is the need of the hour. Pray that God gives us the wisdom and
discernment to identify a potential terror situation.
Please do not judge every Muslim as a terrorist. Let not the average Muslim
be a recipient of our latent anger and resentment against the Islamic
terrorists.
Let not our
Muslim friends arrive at a conclusion (based on our accusatory posts) that we
do not intend to be their good friend. Just as God loves everyone, let not our love for our Muslim friends
decrease, instead let it increase.
Last but
not the least, pray for the terrorists.
Pray that they may realize their foolishness, repent and change their ways.
Pray for the victims of terror. Pray
that they regain their normal life or at the very least adapt to their
situation with least resistance.
“Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5: 9, NIV).
“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3: 18,
NIV). May we be the peacemakers our world so desperately needs.
Endnotes:
1These statistics were gleaned from Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Islamist_terrorist_attacks
2http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Global-Terrorism-Index-2016.2.pdf
3these verses were obtained from https://quran.com/
4https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/659913/two-in-three-British-Muslims-would-NOT-give-police-terror-tip-offs
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