I was have taken part in a few debates recently regarding Islamic terrorists and I have became concerned with some people’s views that “Muslims are evil” this view I feel is counterproductive and rather insulting. But I can understand why people could hold this view in a world were Islamic Terrorists are all over the news and in some cases just down the road, however not all Muslims are terrorists. Historically it has been us Christian’s in the west that have terrorised them for example the crusades and the Spanish inquisition. Saying that however I would like to say that I have no sympathy with Islamic extremists, there acts revolt me.
Islam is not evil but there are people who have interpreted the Qur’an in their own way and what they have extracted is truly evil. The problem people in the west have is that they hear words like “jihad, Martyr, Infidel” to name but a few and have little understanding of what these words mean. Some people for example believe that “Jihad” means war and that all Muslims are out to kill all “Infidels” this is totally untrue. And I really have came across quit allot of people who hold this view.
Modern day radical Islam comes mostly from the teachings of sayyid Qutb in a form of radical Islamic activism called “Qutibism” this guy had a massive influence on Bin Laden and his teachings have been used as a ideological template for many other Islamic extremists the world over however these extremists are in the minority.
Just because the Muslim man down the road form you is going to a mosque every day doesn’t make him a terrorist. This “Islamophobia” is one of the views that can send Muslim community’s into isolation. If they see that their fellow citizens think they are evil and they are the subject of persecution and discrimination then it is more difficult for the security services to communicate with Muslim communities (this is a must in counter-terrorism), there for combating the threat becomes more difficult. On top of that it also alienates members of our communities who could have so much to offer us. It creates a “they won’t help us why should we help them” mentality within the community and it becomes counterproductive for the security services and the community as a whole. There is also the possibility that Islamophobia could be used to radicalise more and more young Muslim men into extreme radical views of Islam, something we have seen hear in Brittan.
I used to see it allot when I was at school it was basically the stupid kids bulling the Muslim kids or anyone who wasn’t white I can recall one of my peers once being asked “why did you blow up the towers you paki fucker” when I stepped in I was called a “paki lover”. Now that I have left school I still see it. For example a few months ago my friend’s dad who is Muslim had a row with some customers calling him the usual rubbish, when he arrived for work the next morning they had vandalised his shop window and decorated it with pork sausages, how sick is that.
It saddens me because these views held by some people causes drifts in our communities and create a sense of fear and the “us and them” feeling. And that’s what terrorist’s want they want us to live in fear, they want us to been looking over each other with suspicion and then it all snowballs. I really don’t understand discrimination of any sort be it race, religion, age or sexuality but it’s this stuff based on someone religious beliefs that really gets me annoyed, it is disastrous for our communities.
I would really appreciate comments on this form Muslims.
