Thursday, July 10, 2014

Toronto Star Opiner: Young Muslim "Reverts" are Being Radicalized by Imams Pushing "A False Picture of Jihad"

Man, I'm tired of the same old spin:
In a modern, multicultural, multi-faith society, we know better than to consider Islam a monolithic force for evil. In fact, Islam has countless good qualities that endear it to people looking for God and spirituality. The same is true of Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism and every major religion. That’s why so many people enter these faiths every year. They provide a means for spiritual uplift.
Thus, Muslim converts — and devout Muslim youth — are often tempted to become more and more religious in their search for inner peace. And it’s during this process that they become vulnerable to recruiters’ talk of a glorified, romanticized, violent jihad that, while wholly alien to Islam, appeals to these wide-eyed, impressionable youth who long for a greater cause. 
But if these young Muslims only knew what a false picture of “jihad” recruiters portray, we could nip radicalization in the bud. Muslims in the west must make it known within their communities, especially among the youth, that what these radicals teach is not jihad. Not as the Qur’an teaches it; not as the Prophet lived it.
And right on cue here it comes:
In reality, jihad means an ultimate struggle within oneself to purify the mind and soul and thereby elevate oneself to a higher spiritual status; the refinement of morals through good deeds, prayer and service to mankind. As the Prophet himself remarked, “the greater of those who carry out jihad is he who strives against himself most.”
As the Prophet also remarked,
"I have been commanded (by Allaah) to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, and they establish regular prayer and pay zakaah, then if they do that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning will be with Allaah."
I guess that means Islam's founder had a "false picture of jihad" too.

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