Editorial

Ostrisize Them from the Muslim Community

Those who talk of violence and commit acts of terrorism do not belong to the Muslim community. They may claim themselves to be Muslims, they may declare their commitment to Islam, they may swear by God, Almighty
and pledge allegiance to Prophet Muhammad, yet if they commit acts of violence in the name of religion, and kill innocent people in their homes and places of worship, and they cause hurt to women and disabled, hence
they must be be boycotted, brought to justice and ostracized from the Muslim community. There is no place for such people amidst Muslims.Those who killed shias in Pakistan and Iraq are insane. They are anti-Islam and they are the worst enemies of Muslims. Theological differences cannot resolved through violence. Sectarian differences cannot lead to killing and murder of either of the two people. Shia and sunnis have difference in their interpretation of events that took place some 1400 years ago. Yet these differences cannot be the used to justify killing and destruction. The Quran, which is held in reverence by both the communities, holds human life in high esteem and there is no justification of killing in the name of religion. In Pakistan, shia-sunni conflict has been going on for several decades. The two groups have acted violently towards each other. However, those who claim to be of sunni background have outdone the shias in the killing. It is a shame that these acts of violence take place in a country
that was created in the name of religion and that has allowed sectarian violence to reach to a level where there is no escape from it. Any Muslim who advocates violence as a means to settle one’s differences with others is an enemy of Islam. He or she is being misled by satanic ideas and evil forces that are out to destroy religion. They must be stopped.
If these acts of violence kept repeating themselves in the Muslim world, no one would take the claim of Islam’s peaceful nature seriously.Islam never advocated violence to settle differences with others. Islam, on the contrary discouraged violence, The Prophet was imprisoned in the Valley of Shaab for almost three years, yet he never advocated revenge of violence against those who hurt him.
The prophet was denied basic human rights and powerful of Makkah. yet he never asked any of his followers to ambush them or to hurt them. On the contrary whenever he heard the news that the Makkans enemies were
suffering due to drought, famine or shortage of food, he would mobilize his companions to raise funds for them
He was the one who hugged his enemy and forgave them for their severest mistakes and deviations.
Today, many of his followers have become a source of humiliation for him. They advocate violence and vengeance in mosques and places of worship. Many of them have become gods in their own world denouncing others
who disagree with them as infidels and rebels of faith. They must be stopped. We cannot allow them to contaminate our faith their unholy edicts and pronouncements.
Average Muslims are perplexed and disturbed over these incidents of violence. They don’t know how to sop it and they don’t who are behind it.There are several special interest groups who are taking advantage of the situation. They are using these incidents to convince shias that they cannot live peacefully with sunnis and explaining to sunnis that shias are renegades of their faith. They are using the existing tension to project the other as victims. Their purpose is very simple. They want the two communities to hurt each other to the point that they destroy themselves.
The leaders of the two communities unfortunately often play in the hands of extremists or mischief mongers. Rather than interpreting events in a manner that can sooth people’s sentiments, they use history to incite hatred and preach vengeance. They use a language of hatred in their mosques and places of worship and then they have the audacity to claim that they are serving God.
These people take advantage of people’s ignorance of faith and religious history.
Prophet Muhammad never preached hatred against others. He gave people the right to dissent. he was polite and cordial to even his enemies. He ensured that those who opposed him or even fought against him are not harmed.
Even those who were his worst critics and who always hurled abuses against him were forgiven by him. We the average Muslims must show our loyalty to our Prophet by speaking openly against those hate mongers. We must stop them from using a language of division. If we find a sunni scholar speaking against shias in a derogatory, we as sunnis must have the courage to stop him peacefully from doing so. If a shia scholar is hurling abusive language towards sunnis or their leaders, we as shias must have the will power to stop him from doing so.We cannot allow this verbal dual between our scholars to hurt each other. People are accountable for their own actions and if they are deviant in their faith, God will deal with them in His own way and according to His will and style. Who are we to settle the differences in a violent manner? Who has given us the right play the role of God in determining who deserves to be alive and who deserves to be killed.
We the average people must have the moral courage to stand up against religious bigotry and hatred. If we don’t act now, our children will become disgusted with our faith The shia sunni divide and the violent expression on the part of the followers of two sects will drive many young people away from the faith.
Let us speak against violence openly and clearly. Let us remind ourselves that we cannot leave our religion to be exploited by a clergy and hierarchy that lives in hate and that breeds vengeance. Let us make a commitment to our Prophet and express our loyalty with him by settling our differences peacefully.
Let us observe a day against violence and terror in our mosques and Islamic centers. Here in American we can do that. Let the shia scholars visit sunni mosques to extend a hand of friendship and let sunni scholars visit the shia mosques to recreate the spirit of brotherhood. We cannot live in isolation of each other. We cannot allow the violence mongers to destroy the beauty of Islam.
There are differences between the two communities. But let us pledge that we will not hurt each other. We will not call names. We will not hurl abuses. We will develop a humane method to resolve our differences. We will use our reason to settle our conflicts. Let us resolve that we will stand for the protection of human life and let us remind ourselves that our Prophet was a Prophet of mercy and compassion nor a prophet of vengeance or violence. Islam is much bigger than the egos of any of our leaders who promote violence. For God’s sake, let us intervene. Let the people speak because it is only through the popular voice, truth prevails and peace emerges strong.