Thats the way I see it- Nuray

Submitted by Omar (United States), Jan 21, 2006 at 16:28

Dear Nuray,

It's also nice to hear your voice and sharing different opinions about our one faith. I said that "learning about Islam is a difficult thing", which is different from saying "Understanding Islam is a difficult thing." Although "THE BOOK" is one, we actually got a large number of books for "Sunnah" and "Hadith". Today, in this "so messed up world" and the so many political problems in the world, it's hard to find some one who teaches you Islam in its purest form, without putting it into a certain political theme. That is why I think Muslims may find it difficulty in learning about the true nature of their religion, and removing these misleading themes put by people they trust and love.

I used to live in Egypt where you would always listen bad thing about Jews and how they tried to kill the prophet ...etc. But we were never told about how the evil actions were exclusive to some Jewish tribes, and not all the Jewish tribes betrayed the prophet and didn't follow the Constitution of Madina, which was set and agreed upon (by all tribes).

A political theme such as the Muslim Extremist's conspiracy theory is being proven everyday to be true. Although I don't believe in the so called by Bin Laden "Christian – Zionist" War on Islam, a lot of people are actually believing in it. With such ideas, people start to look for things to encourage Jihad and use anything in the Islamic history to support such claim, even if it may be misleading.

With the story of Jewish tribes betraying the prophet, some Muslims are convinced that one day Israel will attack Egypt again, betraying the peace agreement. I think such idea is untrue if only Islamic history is used to support such idea. Jews are as any human beings, and dishonesty was never exclusive to one group, and that is the way I see Islamic history.

On the other hand, a lot of Muslims are not well informed about the Islamic Law of war which forbids killing old men, children, and women, a Law where the concept of "an eye for an eye" doesn't apply. If they are well informed, then how can you explain 9/11? When Bin Laden is asked about such matters, he speaks about how America didn't care about women or children when it bombed Hiroshima with the Atomic Bomb. He is someone who is seeking revenge for Muslims around the world, and doesn't care about Islamic Sharia.

See video (for Arabic language speakers) on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.html

While, as you say, applying the Islamic teachings may be hard, and that is the real "Jihad", I also think that Muslims are not always well informed about their religion. My experience in Egypt tells me that a lot people are not well informed about their religion and don't apply the Islamic teachings….amazingly they actually know. I usually blame poor education which doesn't teach Islam well. However, thanks to the Islamic media, Muslims are becoming more and more educated about their lovely religion.

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