Another reason for public alienation from the real Islam is that the faithfuls fall from the high pedestal of principled religion to the level of communal religion. Then, this communal agenda is Islamised, the ideals of Islam being replaced by communal aspirations. This is the result, in modern times; of Muslims being faced with many kinds of communal problems, such as the usurpation of their land, deprivation of political power, cultural invasion, exploitation in terms of economic resources, etc.All over the world, Muslims have launched movements on these scores. In some places they take the form of protest and demands, while in others they develop into armed conflicts. If such activities have any justification, it is purely communal. Muslims fight for their communal objectives, but they call it Islamic jihad. Their leaders form political parties, they enter into violent conflict with other rulers in order to gain power, but they carry out all these activities in the name of Islam. Power play, pure and simple, is given the name of Islamic politics. The so-called Islamic jihad is the most glaring example of engaging in non-Islamic activities under the banner of Islam. In different parts of the world, wherever Muslims are engaged in fighting for their own communal purposes they inevitably call their activities Islamic jihad. The harm done by such violent jihad has multiplied thousand-fold due to the modern media's selective coverage of news. Since hot news is more profitable than soft news, examples of Muslim jihad are seized upon by the media as grist to the mill. This has distorted the image of Islam to such an extent that, today; Islam and violence have become synonymous. [Highlight1] A state of affairs has developed in which Muslims have come to believe that the cause of Islam can be served only through jihad activism, that is, armed struggle. With this mindset, they are unable to understand the significance of peaceful struggle. Anyone who talks in terms of peace and tolerance finds his integrity in question. Any attempt at making them understand the importance of peaceful struggle is seen as a conspiracy to keep them from performing jihad as a "religious duty." It is thus an extremely difficult task to call Muslims to peaceful Islam. Such a mission involves the risk of being discredited among one's own co-religionists. In consequence, the call goes unheeded.
Related Articles
Article
The first thing we have to take into consideration is why do misconceptions occur in Islam in the first place. We will be able to understand this taking into consideration the following incident.Once a Muslim scholar…
Article
There are two aspects to the struggle of the Indian independence movement under Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. These two aspects have been exemplified in the independence movement by Gandhi as:
1. Civil…
Article
Farida Khanam | The Speaking Tree | November 06, 2016 | New Age Islam
At a meeting in New Delhi, Danial A Latifi shared with us a noteworthy experience with reference to the issue of talaq or divorce. Latifi, a senior…
Article
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Islam Today | 21 June 2007
Contrary to common belief, Islam does not teach extremism. It, actually teaches its adherents to follow the mean or the balanced path.
In the fourth chapter of the…
Article
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Islam Today | 5 Sept. 2007
Contrary to common belief, Islam does not teach its adherents to react against issues such as that of Rushdie and the cartoon issue. Islam teaches patience in the…
Article
Islam tells us that all religions revealed by God to His messengers brought true guidance from Him and, therefore, were one and the same. Therefore, Islam is not a recent religion. It is the same religion sent by God…