Question:19
Why are most of the
Muslims fundamentalists and terrorists?
Answer:
This question is often
hurled at Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during any
discussion on religion
or world affairs. Muslim stereotypes are perpetuated in every
form of the media
accompanied by gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims.
In fact, such
misinformation and false propaganda often leads to discrimination and
acts of violence against
Muslims. A case in point is the anti-Muslim campaign in the
American media following
the Oklahoma bomb blast, where the press was quick to
declare a ‘Middle
Eastern conspiracy’ behind the attack. The culprit was later
identified as a soldier
from the American Armed Forces.
Let us analyze this
allegation of ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘terrorism’:
1.
Definition of the word ‘fundamentalist’
A fundamentalist is a
person who follows and adheres to the fundamentals of
the doctrine or theory
he is following. For a person to be a good doctor, he
should know, follow, and
practise the fundamentals of medicine. In other words,
he should be a
fundamentalist in the field of medicine. For a person to be a
good mathematician, he
should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of
mathematics. He should
be a fundamentalist in the field of mathematics. For a
person to be a good
scientist, he should know, follow and practise the
fundamentals of science.
He should be a fundamentalist in the field of science.
2. Not
all ‘fundamentalists’ are the same
One cannot paint all
fundamentalists with the same brush. One cannot
categorize all
fundamentalists as either good or bad. Such a categorization of
any fundamentalist will
depend upon the field or activity in which he is a
fundamentalist. A
fundamentalist robber or thief causes harm to society and is
therefore undesirable. A
fundamentalist doctor, on the other hand, benefits
society and earns much
respect.
3. I am
proud to be a Muslim funda-mentalist
I am a fundamentalist
Muslim who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and
strives to practise the
fundamentals of Islam. A true Muslim does not shy away
from being a
fundamentalist. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim
because, I know that the
fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and
the whole world. There
is not a single fundamental of Islam that causes harm or
is against the interests
of the human race as a whole. Many people harbour
misconceptions about
Islam and consider several teachings of Islam to be
unfair or improper. This
is due to insufficient and incorrect knowledge of Islam.
If one critically
analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot
escape the fact that
Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and collective
levels.
4.
Dictionary meaning of the word ‘fundamentalist’
According to Webster’s
dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ was a movement in
American Protestanism
that arose in the earlier part of the 20th century. It was
a reaction to modernism,
and stressed the infallibility of the Bible, not only in
matters of faith and
morals but also as a literal historical record. It stressed on
belief in the Bible as
the literal word of God. Thus fundamentalism was a word
initially used for a
group of Christians who believed that the Bible was the
verbatim word of God
without any errors and mistakes.
According to the Oxford
dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ means ‘strict maintenance
of ancient or
fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam’.
Today the moment a
person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim
who is a terrorist.
5.
Every Muslim should be a terrorist
Every Muslim should be a
terrorist. A terrorist is a person who causes terror.
The moment a robber sees
a policeman he is terrified. A policeman is a terrorist
for the robber.
Similarly every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial
elements of society,
such as thieves, dacoits and rapists. Whenever such an
anti-social element sees
a Muslim, he should be terrified. It is true that the word
‘terrorist’ is generally
used for a person who causes terror among the common
people. But a true
Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people i.e. antisocial
elements, and not to the
common innocent people. In fact a Muslim
should be a source of
peace for innocent people.
6.
Different labels given to the same individual for the same action,
i.e.
‘terrorist’ and ‘patriot’
Before India achieved
independence from British rule, some freedom fighters of
India who did not
subscribe to non-violence were labeled as terrorists by the
British government. The
same individuals have been lauded by Indians for the
same activities and
hailed as ‘patriots’. Thus two different labels have been
given to the same people
for the same set of actions. One is calling him a
terrorist while the
other is calling him a patriot. Those who believed that Britain
had a right to rule over
India called these people terrorists, while those who
were of the view that
Britain had no right to rule India called them patriots and
freedom fighters.
It is therefore
important that before a person is judged, he is given a fair hearing.
Both sides of the
argument should be heard, the situation should be analyzed,
and the reason and the
intention of the person should be taken into account,
and then the person can
be judged accordingly.
7.
Islam means peace
Islam is derived from
the word ‘salaam’ which means peace. It is a religion of
peace whose fundamentals
teach its followers to maintain and promote peace
throughout the world.
Thus every Muslim should
be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the
fundamentals of the
Religion of Peace: Islam. He should be a terrorist only towards
the antisocial elements
in order to promote peace and justice in the society.
