Islam Perception & Reality

By Waleed Ahmad

Perception and reality are not always the same. Often our perception of reality
can be manipulated to give a more positive or alternatively a negative
understanding of a given subject.
It is essentially in this latter group that we find Islam in. It is portrayed not in a
positive light, but in a negative one. Its reality is being continually manipulated
to create an ugly perception of Islam.
Consequently Islam these days is characterised by war, terrorism, gratuitous
violence, intolerance and ignorance.
All I can say at this stage is that this is a distorted image of Islam. In reality,
these activities have nothing to do with Islam and the vast majority of Muslims
would not subscribe to this presentation as being reflective of the true teachings
of their faith. The perception being promoted is false the reality is quite
different.
The first clue as to why such violent representations are not ones of real Islam
can be found in the meaning of the word Islam itself it means peace. Its name
indicates the goal it tries to achieve for a believer, that of peace. Not any odd
peace but peace at all levels. Inner peace through prayer and meditation, family
peace through providing guidance on how to behave with near relations, social
peace through its teachings on the rights of the neighbour and responsibilities in
the community, national peace by emphasising on loyalty to the country one
lives in and international peace.
So peace is at the heart of Islams teaching, its goal if you like, its primary
objective. And we are constantly reminded of this every day. When we meet we
are instructed to use the greeting of peace Peace be upon you, we say. When
we complete our daily prayers we have to pray 5 times a day we turn to the
right and extend peace to everywhere on our right and then we turn to our left
and repeat the same, wishing peace everywhere on our left. So peace lies at the
heart of a Muslims life and he/she is reminded of it and its promotion both
internally and externally repeatedly.
One of the perceptions promoted about Islam that I mentioned earlier is that it
supports indiscriminate killing through terrorism, suicide bombings and the like.
This is a perception, a false perception. The reality is different.

Life, in Islam is considered sacred and the taking of it indiscriminately as is

done in terrorist acts cannot be supported by its teachings.
Chapter 6 verse 152 of the Holy Quran reads,
and do not kill a soul that God has made sacrosanct..
And in Verse 33 of chapter 5 we find,
if any one killed a person, it would be as if he killed the whole of
mankind; and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life
of the whole of mankind
When it comes to the Hadith the sayings of the Prophet - we find no
difference in the teaching being conveyed. One of Hadith reads,
"The Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand others are safe"
(Bukhari).
Tell that a would be terrorist.
So the emphasis in Islam is not on wanton killing far from it. On the contrary
the stress is on safeguarding and promotion of life.
This is why there is so much emphasis in Islam on charity and serving others.
Apart from the institution of Zakat which is used to spend on the
underprivileged in society, giving in charity is considered a devotion and a
dedication designed to bring you closer to God and a practice excessively
engaged in during the month of Ramadhan.
So, it is unfortunate that Islam is associated with violence and terrorism in a
manner that other faiths are not when its teachings in reality are so different.

Having said this, the question has to be posed, why? Why is it that the
perception of so many of us particularly in the West is associating Islam with
terrorism and violence? Why this divergence of perception from reality? In my
opinion the fault of much of this lies in two camps first those tiny minority of
Muslims who insist in using the name of Islam to justify their criminal acts and
pursue their worldly aims and the second, much more significant and perhaps

sinister, are those in the mass media and the promoters of Islamophobia who are
ever keen to portray the antics of such extremists as representative of true Islam.

Consequently when atrocities take place where Muslims have committed the
outrage, the name of Islam is invariably used. 9/11 and 7/11 here are considered
as Islamic acts not just terrorist ones. The killing of Lee Rigby is treated as an
act perpetrated by two Muslims prompted by the teachings of their faith. The
fact that both were recent converts with limited understanding of the religion of
Islam is conveniently ignored.

The same is not done when similar atrocities are committed by people of other
faiths. When Anders Brevik massacred more than 70 people in cold blood in
order to preserve the Christian heritage of Europe, he was never described as a
Christian terrorist or even a terrorist at all. In fact attempts were made to
suggest he was insane. Mark Chapman the murderer of John Lennon was a born
again Christian and, among other things, was motivated to kill Lennon because
he was upset that he had declared the Beatles more popular than Jesus.
Similarly the Lords Resistance army of Uganda originally United Holy
Salvation Army and Uganda Christian Army/Movement1 - committed atrocities
and terrorised the region, and despite the fact, they considered themselves
Christians and doing a Christian duty (they wanted to rule according to the 10
commandments), they were never characterised as Christian terrorists. Nor
should they be.

Cross over to the continent of Asia, in the Sri Lankan civil war, the Tamil Tigers
- described by the FBI as among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in
the world2 - were terrorists alright but seldom described as Hindu terrorists.

1 It functioned as a personality cult of its leader Joseph Kony who declared himself to be a Prophet
leading a violent cult that earned him the nickname "Africa's David Koresh"
2 http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/january/tamil_tigers011008
3

So you can see how from a Muslim perspective we feel unfairly treated and
victims of Islamaphobia where the outrages of a few cranks and wierdos who
exist in every faith is considered and projected as the norm.

Religion, not only Islam but religion in general - has nothing to do with
gratuitous violence or terrorism. Many of these activities that fall under the
guise of religion are motivated by political social and economic reasons, not
religious ones.

Interestingly when Gallup conducted a poll of 50,000 Muslims in 35 countries

of the world3, it reported that 93% of those who were polled rejected 9/11 and
suicide attacks as legitimate and of the 7% that considered them legitimate, they
cited political reasons for their stance NOT religious ones.

So only a small fraction of Muslims have sympathy with 9/11, and of those that
do, none are motivated by religion.

Serious academics in the field endorse this position. Professor Robert Pape of
the University of Chicago a leading terrorism expert4 - examined every single
case of suicide bombings from 1980 to 2005. There were 315 and concluded,

3 The poll was carried over 6 years and featured in the book Who Speaks for Islam by
John L Esposito & Dalia Mogahed

4 Robert Anthony Pape, Jr. is an American political scientist known for his work on international
security affairs, especially the coercive strategies of air power and the rationale of suicide terrorism.
4

...there is little connection between suicide terrorism and Islamic

fundamentalism or any of the worlds religions.Rather what nearly all suicide
attacks have in common is a specific secular and strategic goal: to compel
modern democracies to withdraw military forces from what the terrorists
consider to be their homeland.

He adds,

Religion is rarely the root cause, although it is often used as a tool by terrorist
organisations in recruiting and in other efforts in service of the broader strategic
objective.5

Therefore any perception that religion is at the root of terrorism is false because
the reality is quite different.

In recent years we have observed the emerging sceptre of ISIS, creating havoc
in the Middle East and beyond. Despite their name - Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria - the antics they are embroiled in, of intolerance of those of other faiths
and the destruction of monuments these have nothing to do with Islam and
history lays testament to this. We dont have to give chapter and verse from the
Holy Quran to prove this just look at history! Muslims have been in these
lands for over a thousand years, and in compliance with their teachings, people
in those lands have been able to remain there and practice their faiths freely, be
they Yazidis or Christians, Sunnis or Shias; the statutes and heritage sites
belonging to ancient times have been preserved and left intact. Yet these
barbarians there is no other word for them deem it right to expel those who
do not agree with them in matters of religion and demolish a heritage that has
existed for thousands of years and belongs to all humanity.
That they use the name Islam compounds the outrage and the fact that our
media in the West perpetuates this characterisation that this is in line with
Islam- compounds the outrage even further.
5 Extract from the US hardcover edition of Dying to win: the strategic logic of suicide terrorism
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ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) are not Islamic except in name only
certainly not in deed. The Holy Prophet tolerated people of other faiths so much
so that he even allowed them to worship in his mosque. There is no compulsion
in religion6 the Holy Quran declared and exhorted believers to offer protection
to the places of worship of others, the synagogues, churches and cloisters7. Such
is the tolerance and acceptance expressed in Islam. Yet these people devoid of
any scholarship in Islam have engaged in these acts considering them Islamic.
{Abu Bakr Baghdadi may have a qualification in Religion8 but the rest, like
David Koresh are practically illiterate when it comes to religion and are led by
others with ulterior motives.}
Their presentation of Islam is not accepted by anyone in the Muslim world. The
al Azhar University, one of the most prestigious institutions of learning in the
Islamic world claims that ISIS follows false Islam9 and the Grand Mufti of
Saudi Arabia has said that ISIS is the enemy of Islam.
Yet in this crusade of the promoters of Islamophobia the perception that is being
created is that it is ISIS that is presenting real Islam despite its vilification by
the vast majority of Muslims. Polling in the States have revealed that over a
quarter of those polled believe that ISIS is what a true Islamic society looks
like. It is absurd.
Part of the reason for this is that we in the West choose to describe this cult as
Islamic. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria we say. There is no need to do so. North
Korea is not a democratic nation and even though it calls itself Democratic
Peoples Republic of Korea we hardly ever refer to it by that name because in
reality it has nothing to do with democracy. The same should be with ISIS. It
may call itself Islamic but in reality it has nothing to do with Islam, so let us not
dignify it with that name.

6 Holy Quran Ch2 verse 257

7 Holy Quran Ch22 verse 41
8 Phd in Education some say Islamic Studies - from the University of Baghdad
9 Statement of Al Azhars Grand Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb as reported by Ashraq al-Awsat, 13.12.14
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This year we were marred with the tragedy of what took place at the offices of
the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo when two French Muslims along with a
third at a kosher delicatessen later murdered 17 people including a Muslim
policeman. They claimed they did so to avenge the drawing of the caricatures of
the Prophet which Charlie Hebdo had published and which they found
offensive.
The caricatures that had provoked the murders were offensive and were hurtful
no doubt but as many Muslims were at pains to point out, they could not
conceivably warrant murdering the perpetrators for this act. What the killers did
was wrong, it was totally un-Islamic and absolutely contrary to the teachings of
the Holy Quran which in one place says,
when you hear the signs of Allah being denied and mocked at, do not sit with
them until they engage in a talk other than that..10
Swapping seats, is what the Qurans idea of the right response should have
been to such acts of blasphemy, not mass murder is!
And what about the man himself, the Prophet, what would he have been his
response when subjected to the provocation meted out by Charlie Hebdo?
Would he have emulated the murderers or reacted differently?
Well, lets examine this. He is known to have said,

Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you
well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong to
them. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do
wrong (even) if they do evil. (Al-Tirmidhi)

doing good to those even if they do evil is a very noble even saintly sentiment.
Easy to say but very difficult to do. Did Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) manage to practice what he preached? Well, consider these
two incidents in his life and judge for yourself.

10 Holy Quran Ch 4 v141

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One old woman, despised him and what he stood for so much that every day,
when Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) walked past her
house, she hurled abuse and rotten food at him. But one day, only silence
greeted him as he walked by. On making his enquiries Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) learnt that the woman was seriously ill. As soon
as he found out, he rushed to her sick bed and comforted her. Amazed at his
kindness, she converted to Islam.
And the second incident,
During the early period of his ministry Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) suffered ten long years of persecution, torture and abuse at
the hands of the people of Makkah which was far worse than these cartoons,
and yet when he returned to Makkah as a victor he showed nothing but
forgiveness and magnanimity. He forgave everyone. Hind, one of the Holy
Prophets chief tormentors offered freedom to her slave to kill the Holy Prophets
beloved uncle Hadhrat Hamza and then in a further act of pure barbarism cut
out his heart and chewed upon his liver. And yet the Holy Prophet, in his hour of
greatest triumph when he had both Hind and the assassin at his feet, sought no
revenge, no decapitation or hanging not even a formal trial. Instead he returned
their evil with good (just like he exhorted others to do in the hadith quoted
above), he treated them with compassion, with mercy and simply forgave them
leaving them free to go.
After listening to these two incidents, Im sure you would have reached the
same conclusion as every reader would have of how the Prophet would have
responded to the cartoons. Like he preached, he would not have returned evil
with evil or in the case of those Paris murderers with a far greater evil. Instead
he would borne the outrage with patience, forbearance and responded to it
peacefully. This represents the reality of the teachings of Islam. What the Paris
murderers did was nothing but a gross distortion of Islam and an aberration of
its teachings as proved by the example of he Prophet.
The Charlie Hebdo atrocity also raised the issue of freedom of expression.
While rightly mourning the victims of this tragedy, sympathy for Charlie Hebdo
itself went overboard. It went overboard because the justified wave of sympathy
that arose then merged into an acceptance for the irresponsible stand that the
magazine had long adopted of provoking and offending others under the cover
of free speech. Some even went as far as saying that they were champions of
free speech. This was a false perception of reality a perception based on a
delusion a delusion that the freedom of free speech is absolute. It isnt.
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We cant for example insult anyone at will, we cant mock the Holocaust it is
an offence in some countries to deny it - we cant use the F word for gays or the
N word for Blacks and there are plenty of other examples that can further
illustrate this.
In 2006, Sony pulled its Dutch PSP ad showing a white woman clutching a
black woman by the chin. Why? Because the US critics and NAACP11 were
offended. Next year, Snickers pulled its famous "man kiss" ad -- after it played
at the Super Bowl. Why? Because the gay community was offended. In 1998,
DDB, a leading advertising company, apologized and paid thousands of dollars
in compensation when Catholics sued them for making a VW Golf ad that
mocked Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper. Why?..because the French Catholic
community was offended.12
So it is clear absolute freedom of speech and expression does not exist. It is
limited and we should not pretend otherwise as the supporters of such outrages
invariably do. In order to preserve this freedom and enjoy it we have to tread
carefully exercising the responsibilities that go hand in hand with this freedom.
We cannot and should not use it, like Charlie Hebdo, as an excuse to hurt and
offend others needlessly. If we are to live harmoniously, as we are in the West,
in increasingly multi-religious and multi ethnic societies, we can only do so if
we respect the sensitivities of others.
Here it has to be understood that any caricature demeaning the Prophet is felt
deeply by Muslims. Muslims revere the Holy Prophet. He is dearer to us than
our closest relations, our best friends, our dearest colleagues, our greatest hero
all rolled into one. So any insult to him is extremely painful. Imagine if
someone most dear to you is insulted and ridiculed and multiply it a 10 - no a
100 times. That is how a Muslim feels on seeing his beloved Prophet mocked. It
does not excuse the reaction of the murderers for one moment but it should
reveal the depth of feeling that exists, and an insensitivity and ignorance on the
part of those who publish such cartoons and support these publications.
Interestingly in that wave of hysteria following the Charlie Hebdo affair one of
the few voices of sanity and reason that arose was that of the Catholic Church
and the observations of Pope Francis in particular.
He said and I quote,
11 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
12 Taken from blog by Dr Faheem Younous, Getting Real about Blasphemy and Free Speech 9th Jan
2015
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If my good friend Dr {Alberto}Gasparri says a curse word against my mother,

he can expect a punch,
He added,
Its normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You
cannot make fun of the faith of others.13
From this it is hoped that readers will see, how initial perceptions about Islam
can be deceptive. Dig a little deeper not too hard to do the reality of Islam is
quite different. It is not a religion of violence or intolerance at all. Quite the
opposite, it is one of peace, of harmony and tolerance.
American writer Harlan Ellison has said,
You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed
opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.
So I hope when you form your opinion of any aspect of Islam, you will
not be swayed by any common perception that is being bandied about in
the media or expressed by extremists but will be able to separate the
truth from the rubbish, the grain from the chaff, examine the issues by
looking at the sources of Islam the Quran and Hadith and talking to
Muslims. That will enable you to acquire an informed opinion - not of
the false perception of Islam - but of the reality of Islam.

13 Independent 15/1/15
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