Opinion
October 1, 2002
Year 13 No. 308

Islam and Terrorism
"According to Islam, all men are created equal"
Hasan Yavuzer, Imam, The Turkish-American Islamic Foundation - Greenbelt, Maryland - In Islam man has a great value and is considered to be the best of all God's creations. Everything in the religion of Islam is given to the order, benefit and service of mankind. The utmost importance is given to the protection of a man's honor, personal and social well-being. All actions and behavior that may endanger these rights are considered as cardinal sins.

The right to live precedes everything else in Islam. Those who cannot have this right cannot have the other rights either. Islam requires that the right to live be completely respected and it protects a man's most fundamental right to live by law. Islam also makes obligatory laws to protect this right. God forbids murdering and commands in the Holy Qur'an: "Do not approach the deed of murdering that is forbidden."

Islam considers the murder of one to be equal to murdering all of humanity and saving of one to be equal to saving all of humanity.

Islam is a religion of peace, fraternity and tolerance. It highly values love and respect. It orders man that one should not treat others the way one does not want to be treated by others. It pays utmost importance to individual rights. God even commands man not to come to Him in the Hereafter with the violations of one's basic rights. Not only does Islam value the significance of personal rights, it also gives importance to social life and forbids everything that violates social order and peace.

According to Islam, all men are created equal and possess all the same rights. All men are equal regardless of what their ethnicity, color, language and religion are. The only criterion of superiority is to do good deeds in this world and to perform God's commands. All men have the right of freedom to religion, rituals, thought, and expression. In the Islamic faith, no one can be prejudiced or punished due to his/her belief. Reward and punishment belong only to God.

What we have recently experienced shows us that what mankind needs most are love, respect, affection, mercy and tolerance. The events of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington, DC as well as murders, wars and genocides in the whole world clearly show that mankind needs love and tolerance more in the 21st century.

A Turkish poet and philosopher, Yunus Emre, says: "I love the created because of the creator" regardless of one's race, color, language and religion.

Another Turkish philosopher, Haci Bektasi Veli, calls for ending all wars and living together in peace saying: "Come and let's all become one."

Today man needs unity, love and tolerance more than ever before. It is obvious that bad is bad; no matter who does it. It is also clear that terrorism is terrorism and a terrorist is a terrorist. Terrorism and terrorists belong neither to a religion nor to a nation. Every religion and every nation may breed bad deeds and terrorism. We, the Turkish nation, have also suffered a lot from terrorism and have lost many. We know the pain of terrorism quite well. I completely loathe and condemn terrorism and terrorists. I share your pain and pray to God that He would never let us live something like this again.

God bless America!
God bless you!
God bless all of us!