Terrorism and Islam

Terrorism has been among the most discussed issues in the world. Terrorist-associated bombings and brutal killings have been experienced for many years, which have consequently led to strong feelings of hostility and fear towards terrorism among the general population. In many cases, the public has closely associated terrorism with Islam. In a recent incident of Boston bombings the suspect was in many cases described as a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day. In Logan International Airport, Boston, two men were removed from a plane by the rest of passengers when they overheard those two conversing in Arabic. Many people take Islam as terrorist religion and Muslims have often faced segregation and discrimination in working and social places. As they interrelate the two, they completely disregard personalities of terrorists. They also disregard the fact that there are many serial killers that are not Muslim, yet their actions have never related to their religion. Many people who associate themselves with Islam might have been the followers of this religion, but this does not guarantee the fact that their personal motives are fueled by their religion.

The list of globally known terrorists is often studded with names of people known to come from Islam. People like the recently slain Taliban leader Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein among others are associated with Islam and terrorism. At the same time, most terrorist groups, such as Taliban, Mujahedeen and Al Qaeda are based in Islamic nations in the Middle East. In such African countries as Nigeria, a group like Boko Haram has become a menace, killing Christians and trying to overthrow the government. This makes people take a belief that there is a close connection between Islam and terrorism.

Islam appreciates war and their laws are ruthless to people who go against the teachings of Mohammed. Holy war is referred to as Jihad, showing that Allah can command His people to go and fight for their faith. For instance, the Nigerian movement, Boko Haram, refers itself as an organization that fights jihad and that their war is justified. They consider themselves a group that fights for their religion.

While some have the abovementioned views, other people feel that there is no connection between Islam and terrorism. First, they argue out that terrorism is a personal decision and not a religious issue. This can be evidenced by many Islamic countries that do not have terrorist groups. The United Arab Emirates is among the most visited countries in the world because there is peaceful coexistence. Muslim community in the country is peaceful and there have been negligible cases of terrorism.

Media exaggeration has also been part of instilling belief in Islamic terrorism. As stated earlier in this paper, the media insisted on the religion and conversion of Boston bombings into Islam. This is not the first time that people have attempted to kill the masses and if not from the Islamic religion, many are treated as outcasts but their actions are not attributed to their religion. If killings are done by a person who is not from Islamic religion, they are never termed as terrorist actions. A perfect example is the Connecticut shootings, where young children and teachers were killed. The media reported that the perpetrator who has been killed during the incident had a depression. His religion was never mentioned and his actions were attributed to the mental and family issues, and the word “terrorist” has never been used on him. This person could be equated to a suicide bomber. If such killings were executed by an Islamic follower, the most likely answer that media would have tried to go for was “terrorism”. No people have ever attributed groups such as Mafia to religion. The media has created Islamic terrorism.

Islamic religious leaders have vehemently been on record disowning terrorism. The Islamic teachings forbid people to punish others with fire. It also forbids killing of people who have concluded a treaty with their enemies. Further, while it approves justice, it forbids people to punish children and innocent people. The present day terrorists kill anyone by bombings that often turn into fires. This means that they do not follow the teachings of Mohammed.

If Islam is the main contributor to terrorism, then the world would have adopted a method to fight the religion and abolish it in the world. This has not been the case and Islam has been globally accepted and people’s right of worship recognizes it. Its followers are protected by most constitutions.

Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers organization was termed as the most organized terrorist group in the world. They discovered the use of belts in suicide bombing errands. Conspicuously, the number of Islam followers in Sri Lanka is about 8%, while most of them are Buddhists. This raises the question on whether terrorism could be fairly related to Islam, if the most organized terror groups are from a country with less than 8% of its population being Islam religion followers.

Terrorism should be condemned with the strongest terms possible. It is an exercise that leads to international conflicts and unwarranted wars. The US government has spent billions of dollars fighting terrorism. Discrimination in social and working places leads to low personal productivity, especially of the victims of such discrimination. It would be better if people reconciled the world by accepting our religious differences and dealing with terrorists as autonomous groups and individuals rather than religious groups. By so doing, the world would start fighting the actual culprits, terrorists, and not the faithful Islam followers.

If the article was cognitive for you, proceed to read other exclusive papers on https://exclusive-paper.com/. Most of the articles are written by Lily Johnson, a professional writer.