Answer
Salam (Peace) Levy,
Thank you very much for contacting About Islam with your question. Please find part one of the answer to your question below. Find the second and final part at the link here.
We need – regretfully – to note that you have misunderstood our answers. We do not legitimize violence and murder against innocents. On the contrary, we absolutely oppose it.
We sincerely appreciate your defense of Islam against ignorant critics. We respect your sincere belief in the equality of humans and your defense of all that is good.
Actually, if you have somehow come to feel that Muslims want to murder you and your entire family, it is only natural that you are angry.
We fully understand your position. Still, it seems we need to clarify to you that the stand of Islam on violence and murder is not different from what Moses or Jesus taught.
The Quran repeatedly and emphatically says that its role is to confirm the previous scriptures of God, namely the Torah and the Gospel.
This is because all these scriptures – according to Islam – were revealed to the respective prophets by the same God Almighty, the One and Only Creator.
The Holy Quran says:
{The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah – that which We have sent by inspiration to thee [O Muhammad] – and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus […] And they [the followers of the prophets] became divided only after knowledge reached them – being insolent to one another […] Call [them to the faith] and stand steadfast as you are commanded, nor follow you their vain desires; but say: “I believe in whatever book Allah has sent down; and I am commanded to judge justly between you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord: for us [is the responsibility for] our deeds, and for you for your deeds. There is no contention between us and you. Allah will bring us together, and to Him is [our] final goal.} (Quran 42:13-15)
When this is the teaching of the Holy Quran, how can we who believe that the Holy Quran justifies the killing of any person who follows a different prophet? These atrocities are clearly the result of political discrepancies and not religious.
I honestly wonder if you came to this misunderstanding about Muslims from the media, which is constantly distorting the facts and issues in which Muslims are involved.
It is also possible that our responses to the questions on the Palestinian martyr operations – named by the media as “suicide bombings” – might have led also to this misunderstanding. Yet, you have clearly stated about that you believe in the equality of all humans.
So, I wonder if you support the Zionist claim of the superiority of the Jewish race, over the rest of mankind or their claim for the land of Palestine for themselves. Yet, to make our position clear, we would give the following details of the issue:
Zionists claim that being the children of Abraham (peace be upon him-pbuh), they should get the land of Palestine, promised by Jehovah to Abraham’s children. Yet, they do not consider the children of the first son of Abraham, Ishmael (peace be upon him) as deserving of this promise!
They simply believe that only the children of Isaac (peace be upon him) – the second son of Abraham – deserve all the blessings from God, including the “promised Land”. The Gentiles, or Goyyim, are categorically “inferior” to Jews and are therefore denied equality and a considerable degree of humanity.
Soon after World War II, the British handed over to the UN, the responsibility of dividing Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab Palestinian state. The UN gave 56% of the land to the Jewish population, who owned only 7% of the land at the time the decision was taken.
Naturally, Arabs considered this a clear betrayal by the world body. As a result, fighting erupted between Arabs (both Christians and Muslims) and Israelis. Then with the Western support, Israelis defeated the Arabs and captured most of the Palestinian territory.
On May 14th, 1948, Zionist leaders proclaimed the state of Israel and by that time, over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs had become refugees!
More than 75% of the refugees were forced to leave their homes due to Zionist or Israeli military actions. This is along with psychological campaigns aimed at frightening Arabs into leaving.
The most infamous atrocity occurred at the massacre of Deir Yassin – a village near Jerusalem – where Menachem Begin’s radical outfit, killed in cold blood hundreds of Arab men, women, and even children.
Please visit the following link for more details: Deir Yassin Remembered
As a result of all this, now the Palestinian people live as refugees in the land of their own birth. Many of them still live in the refugee camps established in 1949. From the very inception of Israel, that country, with the help of the US, has been continuously expanding its borders into Arab territory, by direct occupation.
They have been demolishing Arab homes, constructing Jewish settlements, and directly violating the UN resolutions. This is, irrespective of all the protests by the Palestinians and the appeal of all the sensible people of the world.
Please continue reading part two at the link here.
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:
Any Teachings to Justify Terror?