And if anyone of the Mushrikûn (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh) seeks your protection then grant him protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allâh (the Qur'ân), and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not.”
- Al Quran, Surah Taubah, Verses # 5 and 6
The first verse is perhaps the most cynical and reviled of all the verses in Al Quran. Some go to the extent of citing these as the ground to preserve that Islam breeds terrorism. I try to analyze - not by emotions but by the virtue of logic – how true the concoction really is.
To start with, let us try to understand the perspective behind the verses. These verses were revealed when the nonbelievers of Mecca abandoned the truce agreement between them and the Muslims. So, the first verse talks about obliterating the nonbelievers not because they are nonbelievers but because they have invalidated the peace treaty, have failed to comply with the commitment that they had made with the Muslims. Doesn’t logic and today’s upright professionalism tell us to be committed to what we commit?? How does one look upon a person who defies a commitment? What if the breach of commitment leads to undue and unwanted loss of human lives? Well, ask the President of the US, and he has the answer: the annexation of Iraq and the proposed embargo on Iran. Reason? Breach of agreement by the two countries with respect to nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction. It is a different story whether the breach of agreement in this case was, or should, ever be authenticated. And obviously, it’s not at all logical or reasonable to deliberate that the US is the first, and the only country to have used nuclear weapons till date!! Oops! I thought of saying - Look, who is talking....
Allah says, however, that even if they (nonbelievers) have committed a breach of contract, spare them if they repent. And not only spare them – the next verse talks about escorting them to a secure place. Islam convenes surrendering before the Most Merciful and Forgiving Allah; and He is Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful in spite of the wrong doings… Saddam Hussain will perhaps never be pardoned - beyond logic and doubts – even if he repents, but Islam does have the room for forgetting and forgiving. The irony is that Islam is considered the groundbreaker for terrorism and intolerance. Is President Bush listening?
Some introspection into the annals of history to ponder further:
The first Jihad was launched against the nonbelievers when the nonbelievers had attacked the newly converted handful of Muslims; and the existence of the Muslims was at stake. To elaborate, it was in defense, not offence. Should self-defense be defined as a form of terrorism?
- The greatest of all the Islamic battles or Jihad, known as Fateh Mecca, ended in the glorious victory of the Muslims; and not a single drop of blood was shed in this battle.
The two world wars combined have resulted in the torturing and murdering of thousands of human beings; a figure many time greater than the lives lost in all the Islamic Jihads taken together.
- Most of the prisoners of war in Islamic Jihad were set free with minimal or no harm being done to them, but today what is reckoned as a “civilized and justified war against terrorism,” has genteel and chivalrous offshoots such as Abu Gharib!!
If you still believe 9-11 and the likes as offshoots of Islam or Jihad, think again.
“A disempowered people is reminded of its own weaknesses. In the West a common response is to sink into the routines that dominate everyday life. Elsewhere in the world people become flustered, feel more and more helpless and nervous. Anger, frustration and despair multiply. They can no longer rely on the state for help. The laws favor the rich. So the more desperate among them, in search for a more meaningful existence, or simply to break the monotony, begin to live by their own laws." - Tariq Ali (Clash of Fundamentalism)
Stop desecrating Islam, else we might have more offshoots of the “war against terrorism,” living by their own laws.
