Call to reformation is not antithetical to the principles of any religion. It is not blasphemy to point out the moral and ethical sins of people belonging to any religion.
Source/Credit: NWA Democrat Gazette
By Hameed Naseem | January 30, 2016
The horrible crimes committed by Farook Syed and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, on that fateful Wednesday in St. Bernardino, Calif., sent chills down the spines of millions of Americans. Those killed by the terrorists were people who helped the less fortunate among us. Farook himself was employed there, and the victims were his own colleagues and acquaintances. This act of terrorism came at the heels of the horrific, simultaneous terrorist attacks in Paris in which more than a hundred innocent souls were massacred in cold blood. Both these crimes are the direct result of the Islamic State's (IS or ISIS) planning and propaganda. The Islamic State has threatened the world of many more terrorist attacks to follow in the name of Islam.
So, what is Islamic State and who is the caliph -- the spiritual heir to the prophet, the leader? ISIS claims the driving force behind all their inhumanity and mayhem is the religion of Islam. They use Islamic terminology and some portions of Quranic verses taken completely out of context to brainwash young and vulnerable Muslims. In reality, the Quran vehemently rejects such atrocious conduct and emphasizes compassion. Furthermore, we observe that Muslims throughout the world live lives similar to those of other nations, going through struggles in life to make the world a better place for posterity. It must be admitted, however, that there are a large number of Muslim extremist clerics--religious scholars--who still hold medieval values and are hell-bent on creating dissention between nations and disorder throughout the world. They are using social networks, YouTube and other media outlets to mislead the young to push forward their political agendas. A growing number of Muslim civic leaders have started to speak out against ISIS to save their people -- especially their youth -- from falling in their trap.
Islamic state is a modern concept that was coined for the first time by Abul A'la Maudoodi in British India in the early 1920s, in the wake of the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire by the British at the conclusion of World War I. In 1908, the nationalists had gained power in Turkey -- the seat of the Ottomans -- and stripped the caliph of all authority and reduced him to a mere figurehead. In the aftermath of World War I, the Middle East became free from Ottoman rule, and in 1924, the secular government of Kemal Ataturk in Turkey abolished the caliphate altogether and exiled him. Although the erstwhile caliph had no political or religious authority over Muslims in India, religio-political leadership there used this issue to stir up agitation against the British to make political gains. In that backdrop, Maudoodi wrote a series of editorials in a Delhi newspaper that were collected and published under the title Jihad in Islam. This book has become the revered text for many extremists and jihadi terrorist organizations.
Prophet Muhammad had, in fact, prophesied that divinely guided caliphs would succeed him after his demise only for about 30 years. Afterwards, a "biting" monarchy would replace it, which would last for some time, until it would transfigure into an oppressive monarchy. Finally, the prophet foretold, "Caliphate in the precept of prophethood would come to pass." This highly quoted and agreed upon prophesy depicts how spiritual decadence was to set in the Muslim community, especially among the ruling class that would eventually lead to its total moral and spiritual collapse. God would intervene then by sending his emissary by the name of Imam Al-Mahdi and Messiah as depicted in other prophesies of the Prophet. Al-Madhi would bring back the true faith and spread peace in the world. Divinely guided caliphs were to commence thereafter following this latter-day reformer.
Call to reformation is not antithetical to the principles of any religion. It is not blasphemy to point out the moral and ethical sins of people belonging to any religion. This is what all prophets had done. If you read through the Holy Bible, you will find -- time and again -- the prophets calling the Jews to reform themselves from the evil ways they had adopted and to come back to the pristine teachings or else they were doomed. Reformation of people is an ongoing process. Prophet Muhammad had prophesied the moral decline of Muslims, but at the same time had given the glad tiding of divinely inspired reformers at the turn of every century. Of course, humans in general reject the advice and pleas of such reformers, who many a time, suffer extreme oppression at the hands of the wicked. Muslim history is replete with such examples, as is the history of the previous peoples.
The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, claimed more than a century ago to be that awaited reformer, the Imam Mahdi and the Messiah. He warned the Jihadi extremist clerics of severe backlash against Islam if they do not stop their misinterpretations for their ulterior gains. After his demise in 1908, he was succeeded by a caliphate to continue his mission of reformation, thereby fulfilling the Prophecy of the Holy Prophet. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has become the largest Muslim community in the world under this divinely inspired caliphate to bring peace to the world.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, USA, has recently launched another nationwide campaign, "True Islam and the Extremists," that aims to reach millions of Americans -- Muslims and non-Muslims -- to clearly depict what Islam teaches in order to distinguish from what extremists teach and to get endorsements from all who would be willing to support our fight against terrorism. Please visit trueislam.com.
NAN Religion on 01/30/2016
Read original post here: Ahmadiyya Muslims take lead in educating Muslims about true Islam
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