Terrorists do not belong to any religion
Muslim scholar Dr Recep Dogan condemns the siege in Martin Place, Sydney, that ended in tragedy. He hopes that Australians of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds will be able to come together and engage in a dialogue of love and mutual understanding.
I condemn the gunman and his evil act, and give my condolences to the families who lost their beloved ones in the tragic incident in Sydney. I emphasize that Islam never allows any terrorist activity or violence. Therefore, a terrorist cannot be a Muslim nor a Muslim a terrorist. Indeed, terrorists do not belong to any religion, for the essence of belief is love and peace.
Using Islamic symbols in terrorist activities is a great insult to all Muslims and a tremendous injustice to the religion itself. Once again, a terrorist has blackened the bright face of Islam with his evil act and violence. Muslims are part of the Australian community and they are together with the Australian people against all kinds of violent activities.
One of the greatest legacies the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has left Muslims and the world is his respect for people of other religions, cultures and ethnicities and an appreciation of the dignity of all living beings irrespective of their gender, race or social status. Islam aims to promote peace, mutual respect, interfaith dialogue, universal values and human rights.
Unfortunately Islam is portrayed by some as equal with terrorism. This is a great historical mistake. If one were to seek the true meaning of Islam through its own sources, history and true representatives, it would be evident that it contains no such harshness, cruelty or fanaticism. In truth, no divine religion has ever supported terrorism or any type of violence; rather they are strict against disorder, treachery, conflict and oppression.
Islam takes justice and world peace as a basis. God says in the Qur’an; “Let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.” Greeting and wishing safety and security upon others is considered one of the most beneficial acts in Islam. Peace is in fact of utmost importance to Islam. In that respect, if an environment of peace cannot be established in this world, it would be impossible for the human race to perform acts of good service to humanity for the sake of God.
Prophet Muhammad always protected the rights and freedom of people in Medina regardless of their race, religion and position in society. He honored those beliefs and treated them with sincere courtesy and respect. When a delegation of Christians from Najran came to negotiate a pact with the Prophet, he courteously allowed them to pray in the mosque which lasted the whole day.
Prophet Muhammad showed good neighborliness in his personal relations with the People of the Book and introduced exemplary conduct, compassion and generosity in his relationship with the people from other traditions. He always sought the possibility of good relationships with different faith groups on the basis of religious freedom, human rights and mutual respect. He never discriminated amongst people on the basis of their religious backgrounds. However, there are some fundamentalist groups who do not understand the Prophet Muhammad well enough and have biases against other faith groups, which have resulted in continuous animosity and attacks against Muslims by particular individuals.
Undoubtedly what the world needs today are religious leaders who are able to fulfill the hope and aspirations of individuals, groups of followers and communities, whilst respecting the followers of other faiths and people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Finally, I would like to share my appreciation in regards to the community support given by the wonderful Australians who started the #Illridewithyou hashtag on twitter in support for the Muslim community. No words can express this wonderful gesture and I hope this becomes a turning point for all Australians of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds to come together and engage in dialogue of love and mutual understanding.
Dr Recep Dogan is a prominent Muslim scholar, author and respected community activist. He is a lecturer in traditional Islamic studies at the CSU Centre for Islamic Studies and Culture, as well as Muslim Chaplain of CSU.
abiriley
April 25, 2017 at 4:32 am
A common misconception in popular western media and among western societies more generally is the notion that terrorists belong to the Islamic faith. This is due to the rise of terrorist group ISIS who claim to be carrying out the work of Allah, the Muslim god. The amplified mass media coverage of ISIS and their consistent condemnation and threats toward western societies has resulted in an extreme unjustified hatred towards Muslims. In the Aftermath of the 2014 Sydney siege which saw gunman Man Haron Monis hold 18 people hostage in the popular Lindt chocolate café on Martin Place, Muslim groups issued a joint statement condemning the incident. In accordance with this, Muslim scholar Dr Recep Dogan’s publication titled ‘terrorists do not belong to any religion’ highlights popular biases and appeals to the Australian public to abandon current public belief regarding the established relationship between terrorism and the Islamic faith. Throughout his article, Dr.Dogan appeals to elements of the Islamic faith which contradict the actions of extremists;
‘Islam takes justice and world peace as a basis. God says in the Qur’an; “Let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.” Greeting and wishing safety and security upon others is considered one of the most beneficial acts in Islam. Peace is in fact of utmost importance to Islam’.
In appealing to the religious prophecies of the faith, Dr.Dogan is able to create legitimacy for his cause. Through highlighting the peaceful nature of the religion, this significantly appeals popular biases and forces the audience to consider the legitimacy of the link between terrorism and Islam which has been created through propaganda. Finally, Dr.Dogan concludes on a token of appreciation to the twitter hashtag #Illridewithyou which circulated social media’s in the aftermath of the siege to show support for the Muslim community. This is the first instance in which we have seen western world come to the defence of the Islamic faith and suggest that religion is but a minor element in a web of prospective motives. The use of Islamic symbols, such as the flag used in the Sydney siege, does not directly implicate all Muslims as complicit in the act of terrorism. And most of society, excluding biased media’s of course, appear to be coming to a mutual understanding of this fact.
Jasminerawat
April 25, 2017 at 7:35 am
The media has a very important role in terms of conveying the situations and news to the people. It has been observed that the media is not always honest in carrying out its task and that there are manipulations in reports about terrorism and terrorist activities. There have been claims that the media even supports the terrorism. This has been backed with the thoughts that constantly covering news and activities pertaining to terrorist activities have made the terrorist groups enjoy the free coverage of their activities. The terrorists are using the media to convey threats and messages to the public. This has to be understood and analysed. It is required that the media reviews their policies and stops providing so much coverage to the terrorists. Without media coverage, the hype and the enormous effects of the terrorist activities can be cut down. Moreover, the fear of terrorism among the people is also increasing due to the constant reports and protocols provided by the media to the terrorist groups. The language used by the media has also been questioned and it is important to note that most of the time the media seems to be conveying messages on the behalf of the terrorists (The Media Must Stop Encouraging Terrorists 2017).
References
The Media Must Stop Encouraging Terrorists. (2017). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-rudoy/the-media-must-stop-encou_b_11043326.html