http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20061014.F06&irec=5
Religious followers must have blind faith Islam is an Arabic word which means peace and Prophet Muhammad is given the title of Rahmatul Alameen (mercy for all peoples) by the holy Koran. Though the Koran and Sunnah (deeds and sayings of the Prophet) fully support this view, unfortunately in today's world there is a common misperception that Islam is a religion of violence and extremism. Even the pope, in his recent speech, delivered similar remarks. The real source of a religion's teachings are its divine book and Sunnah. Whoever goes against them cannot be taken as a representative of that religion. This is wrong to say that Islam encourages the use of force to spread its message. Neither the Koran nor Sunnah support this idea. All the battles fought during the time of the holy Prophet were purely defensive. "Permission (to fight) is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged-- and Allah has power to help them -- those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, 'Our Lord is Allah' -- and if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, where the name of Allah is oft commemorated ...." (22:40-41). These are the verses where, for the first time, Muslims were allowed to defend themselves. If Muslims are persecuted purely because of their faith, they are asked to migrate. If the enemy, still chases and wages war against them at their new refuge then they are allowed to fight back. "And fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight against you, but do not transgress. Surely Allah loves not transgressors ...." (2:191). Muslims are not allowed to kill innocent civilians. They are allowed, only, to fight those who fight them. There is no mention of spreading Islam by force in these verses. Following are divine words about preaching and spreading the message of Islam. "Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation and argue with in a way that is best ...." (16:126). Wisdom and arguments are the weapons for Muslims to spread Islam, not the sword. What if someone does not agree with and accept Islam? "And say (it is) the truth from thy Lord, where for let him who will, believe, and let him who will, disbelieve ...." (18:30). Islam must have good arguments and wisdom, this is why Muslims are told to use them. It does require its followers to have blind faith. Nor does it promotes the illogical idea of "original sin", where Adam commits a sin and his progeny have to pay for it. Neither does it present the idea of a helpless God, who has to curse His beloved son -- to wash away the sins of others -- to abide by His own law of justice. FAZAL-E-MUJEEB Jakarta [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
