According to a Reuters news story, “The European Union is reviewing the language it uses to describe terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam. “Certainly ‘Islamic terrorism’ is something we will not use”, an EU official is reported to have said, “we talk about ‘terrorists who abusively invoke Islam’.”
That’s a fair approach. Terrorists
you must be joking!
you try to show what is not corroborated by jusrisprudence, tradition, uses and habits!
YOu shold know that “according to the most authoritative traditions of Islam, Muhammad understood terror to be one of God’s distinctives favors upon him, making him superior to other prophets.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Apostle said, “I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with terror, and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand.” Abu Huraira added: Allah’s Apostle has left the world and now you, people, are bringing out those treasures. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220)
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I have been given superiority over the other prophets in six respects: I have been given words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning; I have been helped by terror (in the hearts of enemies): spoils have been made lawful to me: the earth has been made for me clean and a place of worship; I have been sent to all mankind and the line of prophets is closed with me. (Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1062, 1063, 1066, 1067)
The Qur’an declares:
Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers! (3:151)
Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): “I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instil terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them.” This because they contended against Allah and His Messenger: If any contend against Allah and His Messenger, Allah is strict in punishment. (8:12-13)
Let not the unbelievers think that they can get the better (of the godly): they will never frustrate (them). Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of Allah and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom Allah doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of Allah, shall be repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly. (8:59-60)
And Allah turned back the Unbelievers for (all) their fury: no advantage did they gain; and enough is Allah for the believers in their fight. And Allah is full of Strength, able to enforce His Will. And those of the People of the Book who aided them – Allah did take them down from their strongholds and cast terror into their hearts. (So that) some ye slew, and some ye made prisoners. And He made you heirs of their lands, their houses, and their goods, and of a land which ye had not frequented (before). And Allah has power over all things. (33:25-27)
It is He Who got out the Unbelievers among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering (of the forces). Little did ye think that they would get out: And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allah! But the (Wrath of) Allah came to them from quarters from which they little expected (it), and cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their dwellings by their own hands and the hands of the Believers, take warning, then, O ye with eyes (to see)! (59:2)
That is because they resisted Allah and His Messenger: And if any one resists Allah, verily, Allah is severe in punishment. (59:4)
Of a truth ye are stronger (than they) because of the terror in their hearts, (sent) by Allah. This is because they are men devoid of understanding. (59:13)
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Reading those verses it becomes clear that even though it is Allah who casts the terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, he does so by the action of the Muslims: … smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them … Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies … some ye slew, and some ye made prisoners … destroyed their dwellings by the hands of the Believers.
Allah commands deeds of terror by the believers against the unbelievers as the means of creating the emotion of terror in their hearts. The only reason needed for action is that “they resisted Allah and His Messenger”.
Such an approach to “conflict management” is nothing to be ashamed about according to Islamic understanding, but it is a basis for PRIDE. It is one reason for the superiority of Muhammad over all other prophets.”
The PC EU has no understanding of Islam, as lots of muslims neither have
Dear Echnaton,
I see you bring much evidence to undermine your final conclusion that Islam does justify the use of terror. If I understand you correctly, most passages imply only the casting of terror in the hearts.
I am not quite sure what your comment is intending to conclude. You are opposing Mr. Akyol and therefor you are battling his efforts in representing and explaining a more peaceful version of Islam (if I understand his intentions correctly).
Now I see 2 options for your reasoning: You are either
a) …a muslim who does not share the view of Mr. Akyol and simply has a different view of how to interprete the Islam
or
b) …not a muslim who is arguing for the cause of and putting the focus on the fundamentalist- and/or terrorist-based part of the islamic community (umma).
In case a) I would suggest that within the muslim society a dialogue is essential as in any society, and that most of all none of the participating parties are above the other. So if my train of thought is correct, what you write about Islam is not the essence of Islam, and what Mr. Akyol writes about Islam is also not the essence of Islam, no matter how many excerpts of the Koran or the Hadiths either of you can produce. The essence of Islam is Islam itself, and any human who claims the right to be the only true interpreter of Islam is putting himself on one step with a prophet who acts as a messenger of god’s will on earth and above all the other believers.
In case b) you might be a scientist, intellectual or just a person who spends time thinking about Islam and world politics. Your knowledge of the Koran might be that of a scientist or intellectual, but all the time you do not realize that your discussion opponent, Mr. Akyol is living proof that there must be a sort of Islam that does not encourage terror. Whatever your sources make you believe, your comment suggests that either Mr. Akyol is not a “real” muslim because he poorly interpretes the Koran as you are proving with your excerpts, or that all muslims are terrorists (based on your interpretations of the Koran). We have heard these criticisms so many times now. What do you intend to do about all the muslims? Change their belief to what you think is better than their religion? Sounds like a tough task you set yourself.
In both cases I mentioned now, I would like to stress that I support Mr. Akyols efforts for a peaceful Islam, which is why I take a position against this comment you posted. Of whichever group you are, your comment for sure doesn’t make things better on this world in my opinion, but I am very certain that you have your own dreams and thoughts how this world could become a better place. But you haven’t really mentioned those, have you?
I would be happy to read how you think the world could improve, if you are so sure that Mr. Akyol must be joking. There must be alternatives that you have in your mind.
In the end I would like to say that I am happy that you recited passages from the Koran, as this is enriching in these days, where very many people make statements about the Koran without ever having turned a page in that book. You are contributing to keep the discussion at a level of knowledge. I apologize if my lack of knowledge of the Koran has lead me to wrong conclusions and judgements concerning your comment or person.
Florian
FLORIAN
What a perfect resoning!
I have been a strong supporter of dialogue and democracy in all societies, and am an admiror of Mr. Akyol’s reason-based approach to debates. Voices like his seem to be exactly those that are often missing in both political circles and the mainstream media. How to improve their access?
(NOTE: the following will sound horribly like advertising, which I can only defend by saying that the organisation is free to all, I believe wholeheartedly in its goals, and I am not in their pay)…
Europe United is the first fully internally democratic pan-European political party, whose politics is determined by its membership through debate and voting. We offer membership to all European countries (including Turkey) to have their voice heard on the future of our continent. However, we are, as yet, small, and thus vulnerable to distortion of agenda by special interest groups. A group called http://www.noturkey.eu is actively campaigning for membership to join our party to express their desire to exclude Turkey from the Union. It is important that pro-Turkish voices should be heard. The party is free for all to join at http://www.europeunited.org .
Dear Kerry Goulde,
before I answer to your post I would like to stress that I hope I haven’t misused anybody’s words when I cited from Mr. Akyol and United Europe. If I am victim to a poor understanding of their opinions, I apologize for it. And I would be happy to be notified/corrected by the concerned writers.
Having found your link to Europe United I browsed a little bit and came upon the topic of the cartoon clash. Europe United states the following:
Europe United demands that the EU unite in solidarity with Denmark in facing the challenges that have arisen from the “Cartoons affair”. Danish and EU embassies have been burned, lives have been threatened and Denmark faces a significantly increased risk of a terrorist atrocity occuring on its soil.
In the name of European solidarity Europe United demands:
1. All EU member state governments should express their solidarity and unconditional support for the Danish Government in whatever it chooses to do. The EU Commission should do the same.
[...]
… This information I found at http://www.europeunited.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=45
Now I wonder, since you are appraising Mr. Akyols work, is Europe United representing your personal attitude in the cartoon affair? If Denmark would continue publishing all sorts of condescending articles about Islam, would you unconditionally support that? If so, I would like to cite from an article Mr. Akyol wrote on the cartoon topic:
Thus, if what we see is a clash of civilizations, the responsibility lies in the hands of the extremists on both sides: those who insist, “Yes, we have a right to ridicule God” and those who threaten, “We are going to kill you for it.” The rest could get along.
If I do understand the statements of Mr. Akyol and Europe United correctly, I see conflicting attitudes. Mr. Akyol describes the initiators of mockery of Islam as extremists.
Please don’t get me wrong, I would also vote for a peaceful and united europe. But the organization you are appraising so much seems to prefer unconditional support for countries who officially mock a religion and hurt the feelings of muslims. If you haven’t noticed yet, there are many muslims living in europe today, and they have been living around europe for centuries. Do you really think that a party who ignores the feelings of the entire muslim community will be able to unite europe?
I am familiar with the secular approach of europeans. I also am familiar with the freedom of speech. But what I think has been forgotten about is basic knowledge of communication:
If you have a disagreement with another person, you should NEVER ridicule them or mock them. If you insist, wait until the heat of the argument has ceased. The results are either great disappointment and resignation on the other’s behalf or anger. There IS a conflict between the muslim and the “western” world. We will never find a common basis if we do not learn the essentials of respect.
I am convinced that free speech is important in Europe and throughout the world, but I could never justify mocking my brother or my wife when she is having troubles with me. It will only hurt their feelings. It will always make the conflict worse. A United Europe will stand no chance unless its people, from Denmark to Spain to Poland to wherever do learn about respect and conflict management.
So please consider just how much you are a supporter of dialogue and democracy when you promote organizations such as United Europe. As their dialogue seems to exclude muslims.
@Florian:
You state that Europe United (yes, I must say that I am a member of Europe United) “seems to prefer unconditional support for countries who officially mock a religion and hurt the feelings of muslims”.
The point here is: Not the danish country and not even the danish “people” published these cartoons but some danish newspapers did. So not the country mocked the religion but in fact the editors and maybe the painters did. Only later were the danish people made responsible for this fault they had nothing to do with (except that they had by chance the same nationality as the editor).
And you really have to differentiate here between the question if it is morally right to mock someone (it isn’t in my opinion and this mocking in fact is not very democratic behaviour) and the absurd demands to the government some people had after this. The government in fact has nothing to do with this as it must not and can not constrict freedom of speech.
Dear Bengt,
first of all I would like to continue this discussion in the section that deals with the cartoon issue. The link would be: http://www.thewhitepath.com/archives/2006/02/clash_of_civilizations_over_euro_cartoons.php
The whole debate about Islam in relation with terrorism is baseless and political. Those who hate Islam and Muslims want to demonize Muslims and Islam so they may be able to hide their own acts of terrorism against Muslims, the method used by Nazis against innocent Jews in WWII. If we look at the past 70-80 years of World history, the greatest acts of terror and massacers and ethnic cleansing in the name of relgion have been committed by Christians (WWII against innocent Jews and other minorities), or by Jews in Israel against Palestinians by lavishing state terrorism on Muslims and Christian Palestinians, by Russians against Chechens, and by Hindus against helpless Muslims of Indian held Kashmir for demanding the basic human right of self determination (over 60,000 civilians have been killed by the occupying army from 1991 to 2001), and by Hindus in Gujrat (India) where over 4,000 Muslim men, women, children have been burned alive, or by Serbs who raped over 50,000 Muslim women, many of them were 8-10 year old girls who were gang raped by Serbian army in front of their dying parents. Could there be any greater terorism than that and all in the name of Christianity. What about the IRA in northern Ireland targeting Protestant children schools for bombing? Could there be any bigger terrorism than that. In the 1,400 years history of Muslim rule in Holy Land, Middle East, Northern Africa, Europe or India, is there one single example of such terrorism by Muslims on the minorities? You will find none. Ask the Shepardic Jews and they still remember that their best period in history was under Muslims of Spain. Those who talk of terrorism in Islam should realize that the religion of Islam, which means “Peace”, gives clear instruction to Muslims “La Ikraha fi Din” – there is no compulsion in relgion – every one has the right to practice his own beliefs.
Those who quote half scentences (without context) by twisting the Words of Qur’an to prove there is cruelty in Islam, should know that one can get hundreds of quotes from Bible. One such which I remember now is,
“When after a fight