The truth is that this article is neither in defense of Islam and those who belong to it, nor it is a push for the accusation of terrorism that is usually tagged to Muslims. Rather, it is an attempt to shed light on terrorist practices with religious and ideological motives, but not characterized by terrorism.
Who are the victims of terrorism?
Before we start talking about terrorism that Muslim community is accused of, let's see who are the victims of terrorism?
In a study prepared by the French Foundation for Political Creativity on the terrorist operations that were carried out from 1979 until the end of August 2019, the results were that 91.2% of the victims of terrorism were Muslims, and that 89.1 of the terrorist operations were carried out in Islamic countries, so are Muslims really terrorists?[1]
According to an American study, the US media reports the news frequently as and when the perpetrators are Muslims, even though the crimes of the right-wing extremists are mostly unchallenged.[2]
Naim Uddin Forhad
Repetition leads to acknowledgment
Ali Izetbegovic, the former president of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the Muslim thinkers, says: “The psychology of the masses has proven, as experience has confirmed, that it is possible to influence people through urgent repetition to convince them of myths that have nothing to do with reality.”
The constant promotion of something and its frequent repetition is one of the well-known traditional reasons for changing public opinion and it is called the method of repetition and persecution, and it is the method for which Goebbels' Nazi propaganda was famous, as the Nazi message was spread through the arts, music, theater, films, books, radio, educational materials and the press, and as a result of the method of repetition and persecution Many people are actually convinced that Islam is a religion of terrorism!
The individual does not represent the group
I will not deny that some individuals and groups are followers of Islam , that is the reason behind accusing Muslims us for of terrorism . I will not justify their actions for them, as they are far from the morals and principles of Islam, and Muslims are often the ones most affected by their actions, as most of their terrorist operations take place in Islamic countries under the pretext of opposing the betrayal of the ruling regimes. These groups and individuals are rejected by the general Muslims, but nevertheless, it is done exploiting the existence of these deviant groups and erroneous individual behaviors to hold Islam to accountable, for approach and ideas.
The strongest writes the facts even if they are false
As you know, the weak will be incapable of rejecting what the strong say's, and if the weak think about objecting it, then he/she will be subject to punishment. The popular punishment is the military invasion and the lowest is the financial sanctions on the weak countries . It is well known to all that the Islamic countries today are mostly weak and poor countries that import everything and thus they will not be able to say no to the accusations that arise.
Thus, holding Islam accountable for some wrong practices of Muslim states and kingdoms in different eras is an easy matter, and they consider it a religious behavior and not a human behavior, which is what many have done before. When an Abbasid caliph or an Ottoman Sultan makes a killer mistakes, they say that he is a Muslim terrorist, but we have not heard anyone say about Napoleon, with all his brutality, that he is a Christian terrorist.
John Lambrechts
"Judaism is not criminalized in light of the crimes committed by the Zionists against the Palestinians who own the land, Buddhism is not criminalized when Muslims are slaughtered in Burma (Myanmar) and Kashmir, and Christianity is not criminalized when blood is shed in mosques in Europe".So, history is written by the strongest and present party, regardless of the facts.[4]
Terrorist behaviors not characterized by terrorism
ISIS and al-Qaeda bombings are terrorism, the attack on tourists by some extremists is terrorism, the crime of Charlie Epedo, the terror of hostage-taking is terrorism, yes i know that and i admit it, but in return what about the following facts? :
- George Bush described the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan as the Crusade, . Rather, he walked forward to kill many Iraqis and Afghans without guilt, is this not terrorism?
- The Russian Orthodox Church described Russia’s military entry into Syrian lands as a holy war, and it was not accused of terrorism. Today it is killing Syrian civilians and destroying their homes. Is this not terrorism?
3. The Norwegian "SIAN" party burned the Quran in the square, and the party leader stated in another demonstration that there is no place for Islam in Norway, is this not terrorism?
4. What about the recent New Zealand massacre? Everyone knows about it, right?
5. "Burn your neighborhood mosque", is a phrase printed by Swedish racists on their shirts, is this not terror too?
6. The US police arrested four American extremists who were planning to launch a bomb and weapons attack against the Islamberg compound in January 2019, Is not this terrorism?
7. What about a German extremist driving his car on Christmas Eve over a crowd of Muslims at north of the Rhine at the end of December 2018. What about the issuance of leaflets in Britain calling for the Day of "Punishing Muslims" in April 2018 and the occurrence of separate incidents against Muslims as a result.
8. What about the killing and wounding of nine people in an extremist attack by a truck that targeted worshipers as they left Tarawih prayers in a mosque in Fesenbury Park, north London in June 2017. And about the exposure of the Islamic Center in Tucson, USA, to unknown assailants who carried out sabotage operations at the mosque and tore up the Qur’ans in March 2017.
9. An Islamic complex that includes a mosque, an Islamic center, residential apartments and shops was torched in the German city of Melhausen in February 2018, and a few days later the Koca Senan mosque in Berlin was set on fire, and i did not hear anyone calling this terrorism?
10. In September 2017, a young man named Paul Moore ran over a veiled Somali woman twice in Nottingham and repeated the same work moments later with a 12-year-old Somali veiled girl.
11. At a metro station in Portland, USA, in May 2017, two men tried to stop a person who insulted a Muslim woman only for being a Muslim, killing the two men and wounding a third.
12. In January 2017, a Canadian extremist targeted 40 people inside the Islamic Cultural Center in Quebec Province, killing six and wounding eight.
13. In January 2017, Al-Siddiq Primary School in Amsterdam, where Muslim students were studying, was shot at.
14. December 2015, 300 religious extremists from the far-right attacked a mosque in Corsica, southern France, and destroyed it and burned quran They were not described as terror.
15. Twenty-nine were killed and twenty-seven injured by a German extremist at a restaurant in Munich, Germany, in July 2016.
A right-wing group calling itself the "Identity Protectors" attacked the Al-Fateh Mosque in the southwestern Netherlands in December 2015.
The above mentioned acts were not called terrorism , even though they are terrorism in particular. Is it fair to say about the Christian religion that it is a religion of terror just because these things happened? Why do i, as a Muslim, have to bear for others wrong doings and get bad treatment on the basis of the behavior of bad guys?
The End
In Qur’an there are many verses that encourage tolerance, freedom, respect for other opinions, and the prohibition of killing without a convincing reason, and Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, knows that he is a prophet of mercy.
Before you tag Muslims and Islam with terrorism, you have to search and read about terrorism and looking for Islam more in this regard. Generalization is unjust, and if you want to reach the truth, you must search for it.
Editors Pick:
Anas Alomar
Sources:
[1]alarabiya ,(Nov 13 2019) " A French study: 90% of terrorist victims are Muslims" , retrieved(Oct 21 2020) https://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/2019/11/13/دراسة-فرنسية-90-من-ضحايا-الارهاب-مسلمون
[2]Jaafar Abdul Karim (20.03.2019) ,"As if terrorism against Muslims does not concern us!" ,retrieved(Oct 21 2020) https://www.dw.com/ar/جعفر-شو-في-وكأن-الإرهاب-ضد-المسلمين-لا-يعنينا/a-47991393
[3]glenrose2008 (12 years ago) , "Bush Talks about Crusade on Sep 16-2001",retrieved(Oct 21 2020)
[4]Ihsan Al-Faqih (Dec 1 2019) , "What Islamic terrorism are they talking about?",retrieved(Oct 21 2020)
