Greetings,
format_quote Originally Posted by
al_imaan_786
Unfortunately more and more often, Islam has been associated with terrorism and violence due to the actions of a few extreme individuals who’ve taken it upon themselves to do the most heinous crimes in the name of Islam.
Tragic events such as the attack on the twin towers in New York, the bombings of Bali, Madrid and London are assumed to be justified by Islam in the minds of some people. This idea has been fueled further by many media channels which defame Islam by portraying these bombers as ‘Islamists’ or ‘Jihadists’, as though they were sanctioned by Islam, or had any legitimate spokemenship on behalf of Muslims. The actions of a few fanatical individuals who happen to have Muslim names or ascribe themselves to the Muslim faith should not be a yardstick by which Islam is judged. For the same reason, that one would not do justice to Christianity if it where perceived as sanctioning the genocide of the Native Americans, the atrocities of world war II or the bombings of the IRA.
I think it's generally understood that terrorist action is not sanctioned by authoritative Islamic teachings, but it's easy to see why people might be under the impression that it is.
The attacks carried out in New York, Bali, Madrid and London were committed by people who claimed that they were doing the work of Allah, and who appeared genuinely to believe that their work was furthering the cause of Islam.
Those Christians who committed terrible acts of destruction in WW2 and Northern Ireland did not claim that they were working from a religious motivation, nor did they claim that they were performing a Christian duty. The Crusades, on the other hand, are a good example of Christians behaving in a savage way in the name of their religion.
Peace