Answer
Salam Dear Sister,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Your reaction is quite a normal one and it is becoming the common reaction of Muslims around the world, who are tired of having to apologize for the behavior of other Muslims and who wish the world could see Islam as it really is.
It is a fact of life that startling events hit the news headlines much quicker than ordinary, everyday ones do. If, for example, there were a hundred cars passing your house in the next half an hour and two of them had an accident, it would be the two cars that got on the news, not the ninety-eight cars that drove peacefully past.
In the same way, a Muslim somewhere in the world might blow himself up or attack a civilian target, whereas five hundred thousand Muslim grandmothers today might teach their granddaughters how to recite the Quran. Again, the startling event would be on the news and the peaceful grandmothers wouldn’t!
This is something we have to live with. We can’t really blame anyone for this reporting of news. Reporters just give their readers what they want. If we didn’t want to read startling items we wouldn’t buy the newspapers.
In the face of such barbaric events coming out of the Middle East at the moment, many ask why Muslim leaders are not speaking out against these things and condemning those who commit them.
As a matter of fact, all the Muslim religious authorities have condemned these actions in the strongest terms, yet their words don’t make it onto the news and so people never get to see this side of the coin.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims throughout the world feel the same as you do. They condemn acts of violence in the name of Islam and they condemn those who claim to act in the name of Muslims, when these people represent no one but themselves.
Even though the news doesn’t speak much about this, ordinary people are not so stupid that they can’t think for themselves. Ordinary people have learned to distinguish between right and wrong and they know that these fanatics do not represent the majority of Muslims.
However, as you rightly say, a constant diet of such news reflects badly on Islam and Muslims.
So what can we do?
Well, the first thing we need to do is to inform ourselves properly about what Islam does teach, then there can’t be any doubt in our own minds that what these people are doing is wrong. Islam does not allow the killing of innocent people.
Even in a war to defend Islam there are very strict rules about how that war is to be conducted. Old people, the innocent, women and children are not to be harmed.
Prisoners of war are to be treated well and are not to be harmed in any way. In such a defensive war, even the religious buildings of other faiths are to be protected.
What is more, the Muslim army must be so careful in its behavior that even animals and plants are protected from harm.
Such a war to defend Islam must also be called for by the legitimate religious authority. It is not for this or that individual or group of individuals to speak in the name of all Muslims and call for war. It certainly is not allowed that one man should proclaim himself as the voice of Muslims throughout the world.
In the same way, individuals cannot take it upon themselves to defend the whole of Islam by their violent actions. Such individuals have no right to act in the name of Islam or on the behalf of others.
As Muslims we are brothers and sisters to one another. At times, this sense of brotherhood is not so obvious in our world, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to act on their own when they think the rest of the Muslims should be doing something else. As one Ummah, one community of believers, we are responsible for one another.
Another way, and perhaps the most important one of all in presenting to the world a true image of Islam, is to behave in our own lives in such a way that people will see what Islam is really like. This is the true Jihad – and it is the most difficult one.
It might not be very exciting to work hard in our own communities and to live as good Muslims without thanks from anyone else, but that is what we are called to do. It is the pleasure of Allah that we seek, not the approval of others.
We should all try to live as our Prophet (peace be upon him) lived. Our good manners and behavior should make the rest of the world look at us open-mouthed, amazed at what good people Muslims are. This is really difficult.
Anyone can thrown a stone or incite hatred and violence. That is easy. It is so much more difficult to be a good person, doing everything for Allah’s sake and seeking his pleasure only.
Insha’Allah, our own behavior can tell the world what Islam is really like and that its beauty and sweetness can turn the world upside down.
I hope this helps answer your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.