If there was anything I wanted him to take away from that conversation, it was that these people were practicing a distorted version of Islam.
Source/Credit: Author
By Anas Raheem | December 31, 2015
My colleague returns from dealing with yet another Mohammed/Mohamed/Muhammad” (or some variation of the spelling). As someone who identifies as Muslim (and conveniently bears the same name), I can feel a few cheeky remarks coming my way.
True to form, he explains, “Your cousins are at it again”. The story he would go on to tell me is one that is far too familiar. Yet another dodgy Muslim male (on this occasion originating from an Arab nation) acting dubiously- attempting to somehow use false pretenses to make his way into New Zealand.
After some light-hearted exchanges and some friendly banter, my colleague opens up on his experience with Muslims and the Muslim world. I can tell that he feels our relationship has developed to a point where no offence would be taken. Having worked in Malaysia for a number of years, he talks of his experience in dealing with Muslims. He explains how women are considered to be vastly inferior to men. He talks of how on one occasion; an employee was fired for not ordering Halal food for a function. He explains how common it is for Arab men to attend “business meetings” or “holiday” in Asia just so they can indulge in cheap sexual fantasies before returning home to countries governed by strict Sharia law. He recalls discovering videos involving bestiality on the cellphones of a number of these Muslim individuals.
These individuals, my colleague believes, are simply following the teachings of Islam i.e. the Qur’an and the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him). My colleague makes this assertion with the knowledge that the Muslims he has encountered pray five times a day; they only eat Halal food and profess to follow the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.
On TV, the media is quick to highlight and report on the barbaric acts of ISIS/ISIL, Al-Qaeda and the like. These are the only Muslims that make headlines. After all, no one is interested in the millions of stories about peace-loving Muslims who denounce extremism and practice Islam in its pure, unaltered form.
Although he would deny it, it is apparent to me that my colleague has a very, VERY negative view of Muslims… and I don’t blame him.
I usually find myself laughing off these incidents (with much embarrassment) or quickly distancing myself from these so-called “Muslims”, but I increasingly feel an obligation to set the record straight on Islam.
I ask my colleague to take a step back and ask him what he believes the purpose of praying is? (Since he is aware that Muslims are required to pray five times day). He tells me that he hasn’t given it much thought. With the little religious knowledge I have, I begin to shed some light on prayer and Islam.
Prayer is a means to find God. It is a means to reform one-self; to seek forgiveness for sins. Forgiveness not just your own wrong doings but for those who have wronged you. Prayer is a means to find peace within one-self and in doing so a means to understand the purpose of life and our Creator. I tell my colleague to take a step back and forget Sharia, forget Islam and just use common sense. If the purpose of prayer is to achieve peace, if the meaning of Islam in itself is peace, how can an individual claim to pray and be a “pious” person and harm humanity in anyway? Islam forbids harming another individual with merely the tongue (i.e with words), then how can anyone condone the actions of those so-called “Muslims” who kill people in the name of God? That is not Islam, I tell him. If there was anything I wanted him to take away from that conversation, it was that these people were practicing a distorted version of Islam. Although no one has the right to judge another’s intentions, I can say confidently, that these people are only Muslims in name.
In subsequent discussions, I go on to tell my colleague that I belong to sect of Islam that is considered non-Muslim by the majority Muslim world. In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims (as we are known – believers in the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad) are deemed to be non-Muslim by an amendment to their constitution. In fact, Pakistanis applying for a passport must declare Ahmadis non-Muslim on their application form in order to obtain a passport. A number of Ahmadi Muslims have been brutally killed around the world by so-called “Muslims” claiming to be acting on the teachings of the Holy Quran. I know first hand that the “Islam” these individuals are practicing is distorted beyond belief.
On the topic of Women in Islam, I accept that on the surface, it may appear that women are in some way “lesser” beings. It appears they hold a second-class position in society. This is absolutely not the case. The second successor to the Promised Messiah, Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, explains in his book Muhammad the Liberator of Women:
“By the advent of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) all these iniquities were wiped away, as it were, with one stroke. He declared that God had particularly entrusted to him the task of safeguarding the rights of women. He proclaimed in the name of God that man and woman by virtue of their humanity, were the equal of each other, and when they lived together, just as man had certain rights over woman, so had woman certain rights over man. Women could own property in the same way as men. A husband had no right to use the property of his wife, as long as the wife, of her own free will, did not let him have some of it. To seize her property by force, or in a manner which made it doubtful whether her natural shyness had not stood in the way of her refusal, was wrong. Whatever the husband of his own free will should give away to the wife, would be the property of the wife and the husband would not be able to take it back from her. She was to inherit the property of her parents just as well as her brothers.”
The primary issue with “Muslims” who use the Holy Qur’an as evidence to kill is that they fail to understand or refuse to accept the context in which these verses were revealed. These “religious” clerics use these Quranic verses to achieve their personal motives and aims. They knowingly take the verses out of context in order to fool the masses. The official website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community explains:
“The verse of the Holy Quran is often mentioned to malign Islam. The verse does not say infidels it says idolaters. (9:5) And when the forbidden months have passed, kill the idolaters wherever you find them and take them prisoners, and beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, then leave their way free. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.
This verse, chapter 9 verse 5, is often used as evidence that Islam allows killing of non-Muslims, but what is not recognized is the context and history behind these verses. The history of this verse is that when Prophet Muhammadsa began preaching the unity of God he was persecuted for 13 years, much as Prophets Abraham and Jesus were. Since Muslims who are being persecuted are encouraged to leave for safer areas, rather than create disorder, Muhammadsa and his followers migrated to Medina. After they left, the Meccans attacked them in Medina on and off for a period of nine years until Chapter 9 was revealed.
Looking at the context of the verses, it becomes obvious that the commandment of this verse only relates to those tribes who continued hostilities against the Muslims even after they had migrated. In particular, reference is made to 5 tribes (‘Banu Khuza’ah, Banu Mudlij, Banu Bakr, Banu Damrah, and Banu Sulaiim) that did not honor the treaties they made with Muslims. It is also important to remember that the preceding verses give these people respite for 4 months to reconsider their behavior and cease hostilities. Sadly after 4 months passed, the enemies of Islam continued their hostilities against the Muslims. Only then was Prophet Muhammadsa commanded by God to meet them in battle to defend Muslims and the religion of Islam.
Even in this situation the Quran states that if the enemies repent of their behavior and promise to fulfill their treaties, it becomes incumbent on Muslims to cease military action and forgive them. Unfortunately those who take this specific verse out of context fail to see that as the title Al-Taubah suggests, the main subject matter of the chapter is forgiveness and repentance.”
As a young Muslim living and working in this beautiful country of ours, I am constantly reminded why God has blessed countries like this with peace and prosperity. New Zealanders are peace loving, open-minded, forgiving, tolerant, non-judgmental, and generous - the list goes on. New Zealanders have responded to the refugee crises in Syria (as they often do) by demanding the government to do more. New Zealanders are a people of great humanity. The Muslim world should be shouldering the burden of refugees thereby following the practice and beautiful example of the Holy Prophet of Islam- not Germany, not the UK etc. If anything, it is New Zealand that can profess to be a nation following the TRUE teachings of Islam.
--Thoughts on TRUE teachings of Islam | Anas Raheem
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