Zaman, Turkey
Sept 13 2005
Real Reason Behind Terror Disregarded
Question: Can terrorism be considered a way of struggle for freedom?
What is the Islamic alternative to terrorism and struggle?
As I said in an interview with Nuriye Akman for Daily Zaman, today,
at best we can say is that Islam is not known at all. Muslims should
say, “In true Islam, terror does not exist.” No person should kill
another human being. No one can touch an innocent person, even in
time of war. No one can give a fatwa (a legal pronouncement)
commending this matter. No one should be a suicide bomber. No one can
rush into crowds with bombs tied to his or her body. Regardless of
the religion of these crowds, this is not religiously permissible.
Even in the event of war – during which it is difficult to maintain
balances – this is not permitted in Islam. Islam states; “Do not
touch children or people who worship in churches.” This has not only
been said once, but has been repeated over and over throughout
history. What Our Master Prophet Muhammad said, what Abu Bakr said,
and what ‘Umar said is the same as what, at later dates, Salahaddin
Ayyûbi, Alparslan, and Kilicarslan also said. Later on, Sultan Mehmet
II, the Conqueror, also said the same. Thus, the city of
Constantinople, in which a disorderly hullabaloo reigned, became
Istanbul. In this city the Greeks did not harm the Armenians, nor did
the Armenians harm the Greeks. Nor did the Muslims harm any other
people. A short time after the conquest of Constantinople, the people
of the city voluntarily hung a huge portrait of the Conqueror on the
wall in the place of that of the Patriarch. It is amazing that such
behavior was displayed at that time. Then, history relates that the
Sultan summoned the Patriarch and gave him the key to the city. Even
today, Islam is not understood properly. Islam has always respected
different ideas and this must be understood for it to be appreciated
properly.
I regret to say that in the countries Muslims live, some religious
leaders and immature Muslims have no other weapon on hand than their
fundamentalist interpretation of Islam; they use this to engage
people in struggles that serve their own purposes. In fact, Islam is
a true faith, and it should be lived truly. On the way to attaining
faith one can never use untrue methods. In Islam, just as a goal must
be legitimate, so must be all the means employed to reach that goal.
>>From this perspective, one cannot achieve Heaven by murdering another
person. A Muslim cannot say, “I will kill a person and then go to
Heaven.” God’s approval cannot be won by killing people. One of the
most important goals for a Muslim is to win the pleasure of God,
another is making the name of Almighty God known to the universe.
Dissatisfied youth has lost its spirituality. Some people take
advantage of such people, giving them a couple of dollars, or turning
them into robots. They have drugged them. This has become a topic on
the agenda these days that can be read about in the popular press.
These young people were abused to an extent that they could be
manipulated. They have been used as murderers on the pretext of some
crazy ideals or goals and they have been made to kill people. Some
evil-minded people have wanted to achieve certain goals by exploiting
these young people. Yes, killing a human is a truly awful thing. The
Qur’an says that killing one person is the same as killing all
people. Ibn ‘Abbas said that a murderer will stay in Hell for
eternity. This is the same punishment that is assigned to deniers of
God. This means that a murderer is subjected to the same punishment
as a disbeliever. If this is a fundamental principle of religion,
then it should be taught in education.
An individual who accepts Islam from the heart will never knowingly
take part in terrorism. The acts of terrorism associated with Islam
may have been perpetrated by some Muslims who had not internalized
the depth of Islam. Terrorism, as the name itself indicates, is a
complicated issue. Analyzing terrorism is not something that is easy
to do. Despite this, because it is so ugly in its nature and because
many Muslims are charged with it, terrorism must be addressed with a
great deal of consideration. Administrators and intelligence agents
have to try to find the originators and the motivating factors of
terrorist activities. This will help develop international strategies
to stop it. Otherwise, as a result of false analysis and some
possible intelligentsia’s services, the issue may be so complicated
that some civilizations, nations and civic organizations will be
always under threat. After September 11th, the issue has developed in
this direction. The fear of terrorism has become paranoia in our
society. At an increasing tempo, general feelings and fears of
society were exploited. Terrorist organizations were used by some as
instruments of terror to reach their goals through terrorist
activities against innocent society. To my understanding, true
Muslims will never involve themselves in such vulgar and cheap
activities, even if they are behind in science and technology. The
real factors behind terrorism are worldly advantages and
self-interests. These factors have been the main reasons behind “the
great games” on earth. While the main reasons are ignored, all
fingers pointed to Islam. On the other hand, there are many
conflicting interests in the Islamic regions, as well as many
competing and clashing groups. Problems such as anti-democratic
practices and human rights violations have resulted in the foundation
of various disaffected and disenfranchised groups. Being ignorant and
inexperienced, many of these groups can easily be manipulated and
used by some. Some, manipulating these groups, have worked to reach
their goals step by step. Moreover, there are multi-national covert
or open organizations who have based all of their efforts on
destruction and the creation of fear in society. To extend the
borders of their activities, they agitate the unhappy segments of
society by stirring up trouble and fomenting violence. Even though,
through painstaking and intelligent effort, the superficial reasons
for terrorism may be eliminated, without the above-mentioned
considerations, it would be impossible to end terrorism once and for
all. This cursed behavior will emerge under another name.
–Boundary_(ID_45yV245c7vhy9MSsLvkYeA)–