Essay Islam Does NOT Advocate Terrorism

In the article “Is Terrorism Distinctively Wrong?”, Lionel K. McPherson criticizes the dominant view that terrorism is absolutely and unconditionally wrong. He argues terrorism is not distinctively wrong compared to conventional war. However, I claim that terrorism is necessarily wrong.

Islam extremists believe in "jihad" which is interpreted by traditional clerics and Muslim scholars, the word speaks of spiritual struggle against sin. This can include fighting an attacker, but when it does, it has specific rules that bar indiscriminate killing. The word can also refer to the believer's internal striving for self-improvement. But within the dictionary of Islamic extremists, it has connoted acts of exceptional violence against governments that are deemed as non-Muslim or inadequately Islamic. This has led to include the launching of deliberate attacks against innocent civilians, essentially, terrorism. From the perspective of totalitarian ideologues, societies that reject the call for total revolutionary transformation are

The latest hot topic when it comes to the Republican candidates for the presidential election is Muslims. From Donald Trump saying we have a “Muslim problem”, to Ben Carson saying Muslims are unfit for office, the attack on Muslims has been a big subject. In this New York Times editorial “The Republican Attack on Muslims”, the author talks about how recently the Republicans were not the nicest when it comes to the Muslim community. Recently, Donald Trump has hinted towards his dislike for Muslims. In a recent interview, the interviewer stated that “we have a problem in this country, it’s called Muslims”, and that our President (who is an American-born Christian) is also a Muslim. When the interviewer asked Mr. Trump when we would get rid of them, he said “We’re going to be looking into that.” Donald Trump has also stated that he thinks Muslims were behind the World Trade Center attacks, which is not true.

There is an ever changing understanding and use of the term Jihad that depends on the needs of the Muslims and the circumstances in the historical context (Heck, 2004). There are two categories in which Jihad may be interpreted. The first sense it is political and territorial and in the other interpretation it is religious. The term literally means struggle in the path of God, the writer explains. This has been interpreted to mean the struggle for the privilege of Islam over other religions. The religious text uses the term conflict in its discourses. What is often misunderstood is whether the terms refer to the conflict between good and evil or the conflict with objects

​As stated earlier, calling the internal Jihad the greater Jihad has drawn up some controversy amongst some scholars. It became known as the greater Jihad due to a quote that supposedly came straight from the Prophet Muhammad upon return from battle. He said “We are finished with the lesser jihad; now we are starting the greater jihad.” Following this he explained that he felt engaging in war and battling the enemy was a lesser struggle than that struggle and battle that occurs within oneself. According to some scholars, this came from an unreliable source. Because of that unreliability, some have given the struggle to protect and defend Islam a greater meaning while others have let that quote and the internal Jihad strongly influence

Nowadays, citizens often hear about the troubles Islamist radicals bring to countries, especially in the U.S. and Europe. It is known that people have several opinions on this particular religion, but the real question to be asked is whether Islam is really a religion of violence or peace. There are many Islamist groups- Isis and al-Quaida for example- that are responsible for acts of terrorism. For instance, the bombing of the twin towers in 2001 in New York, the London terrorist bombings that killed 52 innocent lives, the many bombings and attacks in Paris, etc. Personally, I think Islam is neither a religion of peace nor violence. Islam is not revolving around the idea of violence, but they don’t necessarily act in a tranquil manner. Moreover, Islam is not just a religion to its followers, it is more an ideology whereas its followers live for their religion; I think this is why some go to such extreme measures.

It seems now, with the 2016 presidential election coming to a close and one candidate suggesting religious tests to stop Muslims from entering the country, Islamophobia is at an all time high. What bothers me even more is a large portion of Americans are voting for him for that reason. As a 22 year old Muslim college student studying in America while travelling to Saudi Arabia during breaks between semesters, to visit my Pakistani parents, I have very conflicted emotions about the whole situation.

9/11 or the attack on the world trade center is often thought have relations with Islam. The mainstream media often portrays Muslims as all extremist and radicalizers. “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers.” (Quran 3:15) This is an excerpt from the Quran which can be found in numerous subway stations that are sponsored by the American Defense Initiative. Sponsoring and selectively choosing quotes creates the illusion that Islam is an inherently violent religion. Every Abrahamic religion has a book, often those books are taken out of context and used to support gruesome ideologies. “…Because God liked Abel 's animal sacrifice more than Cain 's vegetables, Cain kills his brother Abel in a fit of religious jealousy.”(Old Testament 4:8) The word Islam derives from the root (سلام) Salaam which translates to peace. Although Islam’s literal meaning translates to peace it is the most hated religion in the United States. Supposedly ruled by egomaniac pedophiles, Islam is thought to be a religion ruled by fear and extreme punishments stuck in its old times. Sadly, more often than not, people who believe these such things about participants in the Islamic culture commit hate crimes against the universal group. I hope to reoriented you from these objective ideas about Muslims and Islamophobia. (Boigon)

The vast majority of the 1.6 billion followers of Islam do not follow a strictly fundamentalist view of Jihad. Many view Jihad as depicting the travails of Muhammad which they use as an inspiration to "wage war" with their own inner conflicts. For ISIS, an essential prerequisite for Jihad, is the establishment of a caliphate (Islamic state). Any Muslim who deviates from the strict Qu'ranic ordinances is an apostate and is subject to capital punishment (2:217/4:89). Non-Muslims living in a Muslim ruled territory must accept the imposed rulership, and must pay a Jaziyah ( tax), otherwise face capital punishment (9:29). Muslim participation in Jihad is mandatory (2:216). To date, ISIS has demonstrated an enthusiastic adherence to these aforementioned verses, going as far as deeming all Muslims who don't accept their rulership as apostates, and declaring war on all surrounding countries. While conquering Iraq and Syria, ISIS has killed well over ten thousand Muslims who did not submit to their rule. Syria's population is roughly 10% Christian. Those unlucky enough to live in ISIS controlled areas have been coerced to pay the Jaziyah. As appalling and controversial as it may sound, ISIS's ideology is clearly derived from a literal interpretation of the nature and obligation of Jihad in the Qu'ran. ISIS's views in no way reflect the general population of religious Muslims. ( The Economist ) If in fact ISIS is religiously fueled, when did the fundamentalist interpretations of the Qu'ran come into existence? Historically, Muslims have, by and large, lived amongst non-Muslims in relative peace. According to historian Jacques Waardenburg, the most common conception of Medieval Muslims had towards non-Muslims was mostly tolerant. According to Waardenberg, "Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and Sabians would

The greater jihad is the personal struggle against temptation and the struggle to submit yourself to Allah. Most people would be surprised to find out that the jihad that gets more emphasis within Islam is the personal struggle as opposed to the outer struggle. The lesser jihad is the struggle against polytheism and the effort to convert others to Islam. The lesser jihad is the jihad that most people associate with

Islamic rule spread over major areas of Africa, the Middle East, South, Southeast and Central Asia, Spain, and Southern Italy. Many Christians saw Islam as a religion of the sword. They have been very violent throughout their history. Arabian armies engaged in attacking the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. The First Crusade was launched in order to stop the Arabian invaders.

Terrorism is used around the world to create fear and influence the public on political views (Siegel, 489). There are four views of terrorism including the psychological view, socialization view, ideological view, and the alienation view. A religious terrorist would most likely fit under the ideological view. In this view the terrorist feels the need to change a wrong opinion and believes that, because they are sacrificing themselves for something they believe so strongly in, it justifies the damage and harm done to innocent people (Siegel, 490). They use terror to create fear in anyone who opposes them and attract followers to their religion. In short, terrorism is widely used for political

However, Jihad’s age old association with violence was nearly unavoidable. Struggle can rather easily be translated into a call to conduct an external Jihad for the Islamic faith. For example, a verse in the Qu’ran states, “go forth, light armed and heavy armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah” (Church 111). This verse clearly pairs Jihad (“strive”) with external violence (“go forth, light armed and heavy armed”) (Church 111). Indeed, violent Jihad was an obvious necessity because the Muslim community had always been a religious and political faction. Many lost their lives to spread and defend the newfound faith in Arabia and eventually to locations far beyond. Jihad’s association with violence and religious duty made it an ideal expression for Muslims to justify “lesser Jihad,” or the notion of external conflict, centered on the idea of spreading the faith (Church 112).

Think of the word terrorism. What is the first thing that comes to mind? One might think of kidnapping, assassination, bombing, or even genocide and guerrilla warfare. Because it is such a broad and complex issue, an all-encompassing definition is hard to formulate. The United States Department of Defence defines terrorism as…

Millions of Americans and people around the globe consider the terrorist bombings all over the Earth to be the work of cowards who can only execute such murderous acts because of the knowledge that they won't live to face the repercussions. However, while the actions of these people can never truly be justified, they are within the general spectrum of Islamic teachings. If these men believed that their faith was under attack by America, they raised the "sword" to defend it. As the Quran once again states, "Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. But you may hate a thing although it is good for you and love a thing although it is bad for you. God knows, but you do not" (Van Voorst 312). Muslims are taught that any martyr who dies in defense of Islam has the rewards of life multiplied many times over waiting for him in Heaven. "Allah has given those who fight with their goods and their persons a higher rank than those who stay at home" (Sherif 166-168). However, the idea of martyrdom and a beautiful afterlife for martyrs is not exclusive to Islam, but present in many other religions, including Christianity. The teachings of Islam are not to blame for