Muslims By Birth, Not By Faith (Part I)

A Muslim scholar once said: “In the Muslim world I found Muslims, but no Islam.”

(WASHINGTON DC Sabbah Report) - “O! Mankind. Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most righteous. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware.” (Qur’an: 48:13)
“What thou hast done to thyself none else did,
Thou has caused pain to the spirit of the Prophet”
–Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistani Poet

God created man and woman as vicegerents, i.e. as his inheritors, representatives, successors, as a trustee and steward on earth so that they may live in a productive constructive life, never destructive. God subjected the heavens and earth to man’s will and needs and forbade all corruption against one another and against the beautiful orderly environment of earth.

”Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” (Qur’an: 2:30)

“And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: behold, in that there are Signs indeed for those who reflect.”
(Qur’an, 45:13)

God revealed scriptures to guide mankind to the “straight path” of peace, righteousness, and good works.

One must ask the Muslim militants this most important and basic of all questions.

What Revelation or Book and Prophet or Messenger do you follow to commit such crimes against Islam and humanity?

It most certainly is not the Holy Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad given that all your crimes against humanity directly violate and contradict God’s Book and His Prophet Muhammad.

Does killing God’s honored creation, man and woman, who carry the breath of God in them honor or serve God? In the Qur’an God calls to the “abode of peace”, is it then possible that Muslim militants hear this message as permission to kill, kidnap, and torture His creations, strike fear and terror in their hearts, destroy places of worship where His name is proclaimed, destroy historical libraries and museums, cause chaos, anarchy, destruction of the environment, and impose by force your wrong beliefs on others, or seek political power and governance to implement these evil deadly works upon anyone or any nation?

A Muslim scholar once said: “In the Muslim world I found Muslims, but no Islam.”

No truer words have been spoken to aptly describe the current status of life in the Muslim world.

Islam is absent in the tyranny, oppression, murder and torture of innocent Muslims by their own governments. It is absent in the ineptitude of so called Islamist governments whether in Tunis, Egypt, or Gaza. But most tragic of all it is absent in the beliefs and acts of Muslim militants who understand their path of death and destruction to be in the service of God.

If these militants strongly believe that their acts are righteous and serve God, then Muslims and the world have the right to demand the militants reveal their religious source(s) that justify their actions. But will they, it’s very doubtful.

Are these extremists and militants reading the same Qur’an revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century?

Qur’an

“Say (O Muhammad): ‘My Lord has forbidden shameful deeds, both open and hidden, and (every wrong act of) sinning and unjustified aggression, and associating anything with Allah for which He has sent down no authority, and attributing things to God of which you have no knowledge.”‘ (Qur’an: 7:33)

“And if they are told: “Do not make evil in the land,” they say: “But we are the reformers Oh, verily, it is they, they who are spreading corruption but they perceive it not?” (Qur’an: 2:11-12)

“And do not seek to cause mischief on earth. God does not love mischief makers.’ (Qur’an 28: 77)

Islam rejects all forms of extremism whether in war or in peace. God says in the Qur’an; “Thus have we made this (Muslim) community a moderate (justly balanced) nation.” (Qur’an: 2:143).

Prophet Muhammad rejected and warned about people becoming extremists in their beliefs and actions: “You should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection.”

Islam and Muslims are enduring the most widespread turmoil, chaos, and violence in their long history. It is coming from both western imperialism and from the militancy, extremism, and terrorism of a small minority of Muslims.

The greater threat and long term danger to the Muslim world is from within, from a complete mass ignorance of Islam and from these brainwashed militants who are blind to the truth of Islam, the very faith they allege to serve.

Supporting these militants in their mis-belief in Islam is the malignant mass explosion and production of Fatwas (legal opinions) that are issued by any bearded self proclaimed Imam who can barely read much less understand the complexity, rigorous educational requirement, experience, and tested authority of true Muftis. (Those qualified to issue Fatwas).

These false imams are committing the most heinous terrorism of all–“Intellectual Terrorism” against Islam while their brainwashed followers commit “Physical Terrorism” against the innocent, both Muslims and Non-Muslims.

These militants dishonor Islam and its Prophet by using Islamic slogans as names for their militant organizations.

Where in the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad’s teachings do they find any justification for their wanton murderous campaigns of suicide and car bombings, indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, kidnapping, torture, bombing mosques and churches and exiling Christians from their homes and land?

How do they justify the killing of health workers, Muslims and Non-Muslims, who simply want to vaccinate and protect Muslim children against Polio?

Where do they find any justification to attempt to assassinate a Pakistani teenage girl for simply wishing to attend school and who advocates for female education which is an Islamic obligation?

Where do they find justification to shoot and kill an Afghani woman and mother in public simply because her husband accused her of adultery? Where are the four witnesses as required by the Qur’an who actually witnessed the adulterous act?

If she is found guilty of adultery in a court of law given the four witnesses, then the Qur’an explicitly stipulates that her punishment AND the punishment of her male adulterer be 100 lashes each in public. This woman was murdered in cold blood and against God’s law.

O! Muslim militant, what are you doing to your faith, to your brothers and sisters, to the world’s perception of our beautiful faith, Islam?

Your brutal acts have done more to discredit Islam in the eyes of the world than any damage committed by any foreign power for over 1,400 years.

Your acts have halted people from learning and perhaps accepting Islam, (especially women) denying them the right and opportunity to hear the saving Message of the Qur’an.

The message of peace, love, mercy, compassion, brotherhood of all mankind, kindness, gentleness, tenderness, generosity, to oppose oppression anywhere, to protect the weak and the sick from harm, to deal kindly, gently, and with respect toward adherents of all faiths, or of no faith, especially towards “People of the Book” (Jews and Christians), all who live in Muslim lands.

Islam guarantees people of all faiths who reside in Muslim lands their freedom of religion and protection of their houses of worship where God’s name is proclaimed. It guarantees the equality of all Muslim men and women in religious and legal rights, and God commands honoring and being dutiful to one’s parents.

All of the above humane beliefs and actions are continuously mentioned in the Qur’an and in Prophet Muhammad’s teachings.

Have you not read or understood that in the Qur’an God in many verses said he sent the Qur’an to:

“People who think, who reason, who understand, who contemplate the Qur’an.”

“God had not created anything better than Reason or anything more perfect, or more beautiful than Reason the benefits which God gives are on its account and understanding is by it, and God’s wrath is caused by disregard of it.”

Where in your beliefs and actions can one find rational, logical, Intellectually based knowledge or actions, or the foundational basis of Islam which is moral behavior?

In today’s Muslim world one is hard pressed to find true Islam, find an educated populace where science, rigorous intellectual analysis, rational thinking, hard work, mass industrial production, respect for the rule of law in conjunction with what Islam demands; freedom, liberty, and a democratic government.

Tragically in the west, mainly due to the political motivations of Jewish and Christian Zionists (to benefit Israel), the irrational idea that actions by Muslims whether by individuals or groups are based on and arise out of the true tenets of Islam.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Islam is free and innocent of such militant extremism and terrorism.

Such extremists and terrorists are found in every belief and faith throughout history. Even today terrorism exists in Israel and throughout the western world.

But only terrorism committed by Muslims is directly attributed to their faith, Islam.

By the corollary then Muslims should attribute the Crusades, Inquisition, mass murder, slavery, ethnic cleansing, oppression of women and minorities, whole scale genocides and holocausts, illegal occupation and mass theft of resources of foreign lands, committed by Christians are based and arise out of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Are Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinians attributable to the Torah and Babylonian Talmud? Well, in this case, yes, they do.

Are the ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and burning of thousands of homes of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) by Buddhist monks nonetheless, arise out of Buddha’s teaching?

Moral behavior, manners, and a good character are of paramount importance in Islam as revealed in the Qur’an in many verses and in the Prophet’s teaching who said:

The Qur’an even deals with and requires Muslims to return a greeting with a similar or better greeting and that they should seek permission to enter a home, and if not given to walk away.

“O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them.” (Qur’an 24:27)

“Charity is prescribed for each descendant of Adam every day the sun rises.”He was then asked: “From what do we give charity every day?” The Prophet answered: “The doors of goodness are many…enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road, listening to the deaf, leading the blind, guiding one to the object of his need, hurrying with the strength of one’s legs to one in sorrow who is asking for help, and supporting the feeble with the strength of one’s arms–all of these are charity prescribed for you.” He added: “Your smile for your brother is charity.”

Much of the upheaval in the Muslim world can be attributed to a growing restless young population. According to the Pew Forum on Religion, 60% of the total Muslim population of 1.7 Billion is <30.

Muslims can and must address much of the roots of terrorism if only they can overcome their disunity and mistrust of one another and cooperate to spend the enormous wealth God bestowed on them on real political reform concentrating on educational, health, social, and economic development.

Over half of all refugees in the world are Muslims yet one wonders why are they suffering needlessly when there is such an abundance of individual and governmental wealth in several Muslim nations.

All wealth belongs to God and man is only entrusted with it. A Muslim’s responsibility is to ensure that no Muslim goes hungry, thirsty, go without health care or shelter.

Qur’an

“Have you seen him who proclaims allegiance to the Divine System, but denies it in action? It is the one who mistreats the orphan. And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.” (Qur’an: 107:1 – 3).

Prophet Muhammad’s teaching:

“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”

“He is not a perfect Muslim who eats his fill and lets his neighbor go hungry.”

In Parts II and III of this essay I shall address specific crimes committed by Muslim militants and refute each with Qur’anic verses and Prophet Muhammad’s teachings.

Mohamed Khodr is an American Muslim born in the Middle East. He is political activist who frequently writes on the plight of Palestinians living under the brutal occupation of Israel, U.S. Foreign Policy, Islam, and Arab politics.