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Islam, The Myth and the Real
Imam Yahya Hendi
Georgetown University
Islam, the religion of close to 1.2 billlion Mulsims
worldwide, including 190 million Arab Muslims and 8
million American Muslims; has been the most discussed
religion in the public arena since the tragedy of
September 11th. What Islam is and is not will be the
theme of this article.
Nearly four thousand years ago, Abraham lived with his
wife Sarah in the Holy Land. They had not been blessed
with any children. In the hopes of Abraham fathering a
child, and keeping with tradition, Sarah suggested that
Abraham should marry Hagar, their slave girl. He did and
it was not long after that Hagar had a little boy named
Ishmael. Years later God promised Abraham another son,
but this time the mother of the child would be his first
wife, Sarah. This second son was called Isaac. God told
Abraham that from his two sons many nations and many
prophets would be sent to guide humanity to the worship
of The One Almighty God. Abraham was then directed by
God to take Hagar and Ishmael away from Palestine to a
new land.
These events were an important part of God’s plan, for
the descendants of Ishmael would form a nation from
which would come a great prophet, who would guide the
people in the way of God. This prophet was to be
Muhammad, which Muslims believe to be the last of God’s
messengers to humanity. From the descendants of Sara’s
child, Isaac, would come Moses and Jesus.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each has a special
claim on Abraham. Jews believe he was the original
covenant maker with God, so Abraham was a Jew before the
Torah. St. Paul, in Christian tradition, saw Abraham’s
unconditional faith in God as a model of Christian
justification by grace, and so Abraham was a Christian
before the Gospel. For Muslims, Abraham’s willingness to
sacrifice his son is the prototype of submission
(Islam), and so he was a Muslim before the Qur’an. The
Qur’an argues that “Abraham was neither a Jew nor a
Christian; but he was true in faith and bowed his will
to God’s, and he joined no gods with God.” 3:67. Such
unconditional submission is called “Islam”.
The word Islam is derived from the Arabic root SLM which
means, among other things, peace, purity, submission and
obedience. In the religious sense the word Islam means
submission to the Will of God and obedience to His law.
The connection between the original and the religious
meanings of the word is strong and obvious. Only through
submission to the will of God and by obedience to His
Divine law can one achieve true peace and enjoy lasting
purity. Submission is given only to Allah and not to
Muhammad.
Muslims believe that Muhammad is neither the founder of
Islam nor is he Divine. He is God’s servant and
messenger. Therefore, Islam is the name of the religion
and not Muhammadenism. Mohammadaneism implies that
Muslims regard Muhammad in the same way Christians see
Jesus Christ. Muslims believe that He was a living proof
of what man can be and of what he can accomplish in the
realm of excellence and virtue. The original founder was
God Himself, the Origin of all revelations to all the
prophets. Thus, Islam should not be called after him.
Muhammad was commissioned by God to teach the Qur’an,
the Muslim Holy Scripture, and lead an exemplary life.
Muhammad called on his followers, Muslims, to worship
the God of his brothers- Abraham, Moses, and Jesus
Christ. Allah is just the Arabic word for God. God is
the Creator of all things, the Mighty, the Wise to Whom
belongs everything in the heavens and on the earth. The
transcendent One God is at the root of the Islamic faith
and the belief of Muslims. The Qur’an declares that God
begets not, nor was He begotten. There is none co-equal
comparable unto Him. It is to this God Muslims worship
and pray.
Muslims are required to offer daily prayers as a sign of
gratitude, give charity to show sympathy with the needy,
fast the month of Ramadan to learn perseverance and to
remember the needs of the poor, and to make pilgrimage
to Mecca as a reminder of the shared tradition Muslims
have with Abraham. Jihad is the noblest of all religious
practices
The word jihad has been frequently used by the western
press to mean “holy war” The term “holy war” does not
have a counterpart in the Islamic glossary, and jihad is
certainly not its translation. Jihad means: “striving,
struggle or exertion.” In its primary sense it is an
inner struggle, within the self, to rid it from debased
actions or inclinations and to exercise constantly
perseverance in achieving a high moral standard. Since
Islam is not confined to the realm of the individual but
extends to the welfare of the society and humanity in
general, a Muslim cannot strive to improve himself or
herself in isolation from what happens in his or her
community or in the world at large, hence the Qur’an
reminds its readers of the task of “enjoining good and
forbidding evil.” The means to change vary, and in our
modern world encompass all legal, diplomatic,
arbitrative, economic and political instruments.
However, Islam does not exclude the use of force by
which to curb evil, if there is no viable alternative.
Force becomes permitted and has to be carried out by the
Khalifah, leader, of all Muslims to stop aggression and
ensure security. Jihad is not a declaration of war
against other religions and certainly not against Jews
or Christians as some would like it to look. Permissible
fighting in Islam is equal to the Christian concept of
the “Just War”.
Islam teaches peaceful co-existence with Jews and
Christians. Jews and Christians are considered fellow
inheritors of the Abrahamic tradition. The Qur’an
teaches it’s followers:
“say: We believe in God, and the revelation given to us,
and the revelation given to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac,
Jacob and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus,
and that given to all prophets from their Lord: We make
no distinction between one and another of them, and to
him we are submitters. 2:136.
Islam teaches that: “there is no compulsion in
religion.” 2:256. Islam teaches that “Christians and
Jews have our rights and owe our duties.” Prophet
Muhammad used to repeat to his followers that “whoever
hurts a Christian or a Jew, it will be as though he hurt
me personally.” Our differences are a fact we can debate
and talk about but not a reason for waging wars and
hatred. Only God will judge between us as the Qur’an
declares.
The Qur’an enhances religious diversity and pluralism.
God Himself declares in the Qur’an:
“O mankind! I have created you from a single pair of a
male and a female and made you into nations and tribes
that ye may come to know one another.” 49:11
As Muhammad recognized that wars are inescapable
realities, his constant reminder to Muslims within the
battlefield was: “If you come across a temple or a
church do not destroy them. If you see a rabbi or a
worshipper to do not kill them. If you come close to
aged civilians, women or children do not harm them. If
you come across a plant or tree don’t bring it down.”
Those are the ethics Muslims ought to follow even in the
midst of the war. If God honors His creation, we must do
the same also. The Qur’an teaches that we must honor all
people Muslims and non Muslims and men and women,
Over 1400 years ago and in the midst of darkness that
engulfed the world, the divine revelation echoed in the
wide desert of Arabia with a fresh, noble and universal
message to humanity:
“O mankind, keep your duties to your Lord who created
you from a single soul and from it created its mate and
from them twain has spread a multitude of men and
women.” Q 4:1.
Stressing this concept, the Qur’an states:
“He God it is who did create you from a single soul and
therefrom did create his mate, that he might dwell with
her in love” Q 2: 189. Q 4:1.
The Qur’an provides clear-cut evidence that women are
compatible with men in the sight of God in terms of
their rights and responsibilities. The Qur’an does not
hold women responsible for the mistake committed by the
first Adam or even Eve. Each is responsible for his or
her own deeds. As the woman’s right to decide about her
marriage is recognized, so also her right to seek an end
for an unsuccessful marriage is recognized.
Women are equal to men in the pursuit of education and
knowledge. When Islam enjoins the seeking of knowledge
upon Muslims, it makes no distinction between man and
woman. Almost fourteen centuries ago, Muhammad declared
that pursuit of knowledge in incumbent on every Muslim,
male or female.
All members of the Muslim community are held up to those
and many other standards. None is above the law. If one
desires to achieve peace in the society, then they must
find that peace within themselves first. The first step
to such peace is the unconditional willingness to find
that peace with the Creator and then with the created.
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