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Unless you are related to Rip Van Winkle and have inherited his ability to sleep for years at a time, you know of the spread of Islamic terrorism that has plagued the world. I don’t need to reel off events for you. And naturally this has generated a lot of chatter…on television, radio, the internet, at work, church, etc.
The first thing that seems to happen when anyone expresses outrage at an act of terrorism by a Muslim is that another person feels called upon to interject what they intend to be a calming observation. “All Muslims are not terrorists. We can’t condemn a religion for the acts of a percentage (the number varies) which have become ‘radicalized’.”
There’s a big problem that we face in the west, however. When people express an opinion about Islam as a religion and Muslims as followers of that religion, most really don’t have any idea what they are talking about.
I’d wager a significant amount of money that less than 10% of Americans have any idea what Islam is really about. I’ve heard people with stacks of university degrees weighing in on the current situation of Islamic terrorism, the refugee crisis, and homegrown terrorists, and when pressed admit they’ve not read the Quran (the holy book of Islam), the Hadith (sayings of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam), nor other works which talk about the history of Islam and the life of its founder. They usually say they have friends who are peaceful Muslims and that these friends are appalled at the acts of terrorism being perpetrated by their co-religionists.
How many of you reading this can say you’ve read anything on Islam, outside of new reports about terrorist acts? How many of you know what constitutes the basic difference between a “Sunni” and a “Shiite” Muslim? How many of you know any of the history of Islam’s spread after Muhammad its prophet died in 632? Can you name the holy cities? Do you know what the “hegira” (also spelled hijrah) is? Do you know when it happened? Do you know its significance?
Folks, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. But it is VITAL that western people ramp up on their knowledge of this faith of Islam. I’ve read extensively on Islam, including the Quran and some of the Hadith and I’ve read a number of books and articles about Islam and Muslims. I am also an Eastern Rite Catholic Christian, and I know people PERSONALLY who have had to flee the Middle East due to the treatment of Christians there by the Muslim majority.
The Quran is a book of non-contextual verses…that is, it isn’t a story which flows. It’s a collection of “revelations” made to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel which were subsequently written down. The book is not in chronological order. It is in order of the longest surahs (chapters) to the shorter ones. There is no central authority in Islam as there is in Catholicism, which has a Pope and Magisterium to guide the faithful. Imams (Islamic holy men) and Islamic scholars often have opinions which differ by literally 180 degrees on what a Quranic verse means. They turn to the Hadith, Muhammad’s oral statements, to attempt to solve differences of opinion, but often this does not shed enough light to clarify something.
The Quran is full of verses which spur believers on to violence. Some Muslims interpret this as recommending an “inner” struggle, but there are some verses which simply don’t lend themselves to that interpretation.
Let me provide you with a few (from www.thenoblequran.com) :
And then there are the Hadith, the oral sayings of Muhammad. Let me give you a few examples (from Sunnah.com)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle (Muhammad) said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."
Narrated Sa’b b.Jaththama who asked Muhammad:
What about the children of polytheists killed by the cavalry during the night raid? He said: They are from them.
Narrated Ikrima:
Ali burnt some people and this news reached Ibn `Abbas, who said, "Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet said, 'Don't punish (anybody) with Allah's Punishment.' No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet said, 'If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.' "
Narrated 'Abdullah bin Abi Aufa:
Allah's Apostle said, "Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords."
At this point you may be thinking this is a long list. I assure you this is just a sample. And I would ask you to consider doing the following:
Consider.
David R. Myers is a parishioner at Our Lady’s Maronite Catholic Church in Austin, Texas. Before embarking on a career as an Information Systems Consultant, he was a newspaper journalist and Corporate Communications specialist. A fluent Portuguese speaker, he organizes the Austin (Texas) Portuguese Language Meetup Group.
He is the author of A Prophecy of Snow, a novel about cats (website www.catnovel.com). He has submitted work to the Catholic Spirit, the newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Austin, and has had poetry published in Strong Verse, an online poetry magazine.
