There is no doubt that Islam is a religion of peace that provides and promises comfort, solace and love for everyone. Even the name ‘Islam’ comes from the word ‘peace’ (silm) in Arabic. Throughout the Holy Qur’an, God commands Muslims to be loving, compassionate and forgiving towards everyone even in the most demanding of situations, including ones that might impair the very interests of Muslims.
Yet, despite this obvious fact, most people might have a very different view of Islam owing to the handiwork of extremists claiming to act in the name of Islam.
These extremists bomb buildings, kill innocent civilians in the most abhorrent way, treat women and children like they are lesser humans and promote their despicable way of life to everyone, advertising their disheveled and filthy appearance and their souls warped by hatred. According to them everything that humans enjoy, such as art, music, beauty, children, laughter – even good food – is a sin.
There is seemingly not a day that goes by without another radical or extremist group coming up with another abhorrent action or statement using the name of Islam. However, it should be known that their actions will not be able to taint the beautiful image of Islam.
Try as they might, they will fail because the sensible Muslims of the Qur’an are rising up to the task of proving them wrong and showing the world the true nature of Islam; the epitome of love, beauty and compassion. As these Muslims know, that true Islam preaches and encourages everything that is beautiful; that Islam is the real promoter of democracy, freedom, science, art and the joy of life. They want to demonstrate how Islam is the one that gives women the true respect and value they deserve, teaching societies how women should be cherished, respected, loved, protected and prioritized. They know that according to the Qur’an, Muslims should be the most sophisticated, high-quality, modern, and well-educated people in the world. They also know that true Islam is the only thing that can stop harmful ideologies like racism, anarchy and communism from hurting people, and that true Islam is the only cure to the illness created by extremists claiming to act in the name of Islam or other religions: They know that Islam seeks to do this by speaking to the hearts and minds of people, replacing these mistaken ideas with the correct ones.
It might take time, yet slowly but surely this is happening:
Islam was sent to bring peace and love to the world, and it will do so by infusing a deep love that is so deeply entrenched in people’s hearts that in the end, everyone in the world will be embraced regardless of their differences.
Adnan Oktar's piece on Burma Times & Riyadh Vision & Muslim Mirror: