Answer
Short Answer: They’re not Muslim. “Crime is perpetrated. If it is perpetrated by anyone who is not a Muslim, it’s called a crime. And if it’s perpetrated by a Muslim, it’s called terrorism. So, it’s just the word that they have changed… Look, we are approximately one and a half to two billion Muslims on the globe. If Islam was actually a terroristic religion, nobody would exist. They wouldn’t exist…“
Asalamu Alaikum,
Thank you for contacting About Islam with your question.
Mufti Menk addresses this question in the video below
Transcript:
Mufti Menk: Jazakum Allah Khair, thank you very much. I think what’s important for us is to learn, and to read, and to understand, and to see.
What has happened in the world is crime is perpetrated.
If it is perpetrated by anyone who is not a Muslim, it’s called a crime. And if it’s perpetrated by a Muslim, it’s called terrorism.
So, it’s just the word that they have changed.
So, terrorism, the new definition of it, and I’m sure they might put it in the Oxford Dictionary if they were truthful, the new definition of terrorism is “crime perpetrated by Muslims.”
See so, that would exclude all non-Muslims. And I say this because we read this in the press.
We know what’s happening in the media. You know?
I’m quite well versed with what’s going on at the moment.
And we are, we feel so prejudiced against when it comes to matters of this nature.
You know, you have McVeigh. He’s not called a terrorist.
You have anyone whose Christian, [inaudible], for example.
You have the Lord’s Resistance Army.
You have the Christians: the Tutsis and the Hutus in Rwanda, for example.
The ethnic cleansing that’s happened in a lot of countries.
These people have massacred millions of people, but they’re not called terrorists. Why?
Because this, there is some form of, you know … some people say, don’t just feel pity on yourself by saying things, but there definitely is some form of an agreement to tarnish the image of Islam.
And I never used to believe this.
I used to think, you know what, these theories, and all that, they are wrong.
But one thing that is quite clear is Islam is still the fastest growing religion. You know that? I don’t know if you’re aware of it.
And these people cannot understand. They asked me yesterday, or the day before, why is Islam the fastest growing religion still?
And I tell you the reason that I feel, having spoken to a lot of the women because the bulk of those who are entering the fold of Islam are actually women.
[…]
So, what’s happening right now is the women who are becoming fed up of being enslaved by the makeup industry, for example.
So enslaved that they cannot even walk out of the house without having spent 400 [inaudible] on the face. It’s a reality. And they can’t walk out without this and without that.
They start thinking to themselves, “Hang on—how come we’ve gone back to the Stone Age where we’ve taken out all our clothing and we are dressing for a male-dominated environment, to soothe the eyes of the males?”
There was a time when we wouldn’t dare tell a woman, “You looking gorgeous.”
I’m talking about 40-50 years ago. No one would have come to my mother and said, you’re looking lovely. She would have said, “Hey, shut up!” You know?
But today, you say, “You’re looking lovely.” They say, “Ooohh thank you! Thank you!”
Wow, they’ll actually put it up. We like it … someone acknowledged me. You know? Because it’s all become this issue.
So, people start feeling this. and what happens is they realize that they want to cover up. “Let me become truly liberated. People must know me for my contribution to the nation. People must know me for my service to the rest of humanity. People must know me for my character and conduct, not just what I looked like.”
So, what happens is, when the people who studied what’s going on around the globe, saw that as much as Islam is being portrayed in a negative way, it’s still growing so fast.
To be honest, the word started coming out that would only depict Muslims. So, terrorism is an act done by Muslims.
Like they say, there was a man, you know, for example. It’s just an example that’s given online, and I’ve read it, where a man saved the dog, right?
So, people said this man saved the dog. What did he do? The dog was on the highway, and he ran after the dog, and he saved the dog.
And he actually brought it to safety. So, there was an article saying, “Wow! man saves dog”, and so on and so forth.
And then, they found out he was a Muslim. And what did they say?
They then, put a headline to say a terrorist Muslim disturbs the peace of a dog trying to cross the road.
Come on, come on, come on.
Now, this is just an example. Obviously, it may also be hypothetical, but at the same time, it goes to show that even the Muslims understand that word “terrorism” is abused.
Look, we are approximately one and a half to two billion Muslims on the globe.
If Islam was actually a terroristic religion, nobody would exist. They wouldn’t exist because—
Audience Member: “Can I stand up?—”
Mufti Menk: “You are a non-Muslim, agreed, my brother?
Do you feel safe in this room?
Audience Member: Yes.
Mufti Menk: MashaAllah, you feel secure, don’t you? We’re all Muslims around you. Remember that. MashaAllah. May Allah (SWT) bless you.
I think I’ve just made my point.”
I hope this helps answer your question. Please keep in touch.
Walaikum Asalam.
(From AboutIslam’s archives)
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