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The following is an excerpt from Sam Schlorff's article "the two faces of Islam". He has a book coming out with the same name and maybe reprinting a small section here will spur some debate.
I can understand that Muslims in America, to try to assuage the fears—and the animosity—of the public, have been speaking out in an effort to distance themselves from those who perpetrate such crimes. In recent days, there have been news items and interviews with Muslims on this topic in the local newspaper, or on TV, all affirming that "Islam does not teach or approve such actions." We are told that "Islam means ‘Peace,’ and is a religion of peace," or that "taking one’s own life is not Islamic and is disapproved."
I can also understand that our government feels a need to make a sharp distinction between Islam and Islamic terrorists, as the President has done in his speeches to the nation. Many of our citizens, as well as many not-yet-citizens in our workforce, are Muslims, and we cannot afford to build a wall of alienation between these and other citizens.
And we need to speak out and act decisively against all forms of vigilantism that lash out at any who look like they could be Arabs or Muslims. What’s more, the government needs desperately to maintain peaceful relations with the some 40 Muslim-majority nations of the world, and to obtain the support of as many as possible in the war against terrorism. We must work with them, not against them, if we are to make any headway.
Two Sides to Islam
But where does the truth lie? Does Islam sanction such terrorist acts? Or is it truly a religion of peace? That is the question. The answer, however, is not so simple. The truth is that both tendencies exist in Islam—in conflict with each other. There are two sides to Islam so to speak, two faces.
On the one hand there is normative Islam, with which you may be more or less familiar. To a majority of Muslims this is what Islam is all about. It involves them in believing in the six articles of Islamic faith and practicing the five required "Acts of Worship" – from the five ritual prayers that are performed daily, to the month-long fast of Ramadan, to the pilgrimage made to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, and so on. Between seeking to fulfill these and other duties imposed on them by Islamic Law, participating in various Islamic festivals, and trying to put food on the table, the average Muslim would seem to have little time for much else.
This is the only Islam that most Muslims in this country know. I’m told that 42 percent of U.S. Muslims are native born (of which the vast majority is African American), and the remainder are immigrants who have come here to find work, get an education, or escape oppression. But there are those who do know the other side of Islam, but do not want to acknowledge it, or what is worse, do not want the truth to be known.
The truth is that there is another side to Islam, a side that embraces violence "in the way of Allah." As has often been said, Islam divides the world into two zones, Dar as-Salaam ("House of Peace"), and Dar al-Harb ("House of War"). Islam is not just a religion, as I have written elsewhere; it is an ideology with a political agenda.* It holds that all men are created to live in submission to Allah, as prescribed by Islamic law.
Muslims believe that Islam’s destiny is to extend its control until the whole Dar al-Harb is subject to Islamic law in an Islamic state, and this includes the use of force. The word "Islam" does NOT mean "peace." It is related to the Arabic word for peace (salaam), but it means "to surrender, to submit, to make peace by laying down one’s arms in submission." It has a militaristic connotation. Herein lie the origins of radical Islam.
Violence a Historic Element in Islam
It is a fact that killing, violence and terrorism have always been part and parcel of Islam. This even includes giving one’s life to advance the cause of Islam. In saying this I do not mean to imply that such acts have always and uniformly been practiced throughout history, at least to the extent of the barbarity seen on Sept. 11.
In our modern world, at any rate, most Islamic nations try to live at peace with other nations and have taken a position against violence and terrorism, but these have been present to a greater or lesser degree from the very beginning of Islam. In a word, one cannot make as hard and fast a distinction between normative Islam and radical Islam as some would like.
One can readily find passages in the Qur’an that exhort the faithful to fight and kill the "unbelievers," that is, to wage Jihad (Holy War). Consider, for example, Sura 2:190-191a: "Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. …" (See also 2:216-218; 8:38-41; 9:5-6 & 29 etc.).
Prophet Killed Others
Other verses promise the shahiid (martyr), who gives his life "in the way of Allah," the forgiveness of sins and direct entry into Paradise. Take Sura 3:195b: "So those who fled and were driven forth from their homes and suffered damage for My cause, and fought and were slain, verily I shall remit their evil deeds from them and verily I shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow—A reward from Allah. …" (See also 3:169; 4:74-77 &100; 22:58, etc.) And then there is the example of the Prophet himself who, as has been recorded in the Hadith (Islamic tradition), did not hesitate to have his opponents and critics killed.**
One will of course find many apologists who condemn acts of violence. Claiming that Islam has only been extended by peaceful means, they maintain that Muslims fight only in "self-defense," as the verse cited above seems to indicate. It is amazing, however, how far "self-defense" can be stretched.
Ossama bin Laden was recently reported as saying, "The terrorism we practice is of the commendable kind for it is directed at the tyrants and the aggressors and the enemies of Allah." (Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 23, 2001, page D4). For such militants, it is sufficient for a Mulla or radical Muslim party to pronounce a person or a country an "enemy of Allah" to justify killing. Consider what happened to President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt! He was assassinated by a fundamentalist group in Egypt as an "enemy of Islam" because he made peace with Israel.
Islam at War With Itself
One could say that Islam is at war with itself.*** On the one side are the "moderate" Muslim governments that are trying to run a modern ship of state within the family of nations, more or less within the framework of normative Islam. Nearly all have Islam as the "religion of state" in their constitutions.
On the other side are a number of radical Muslim movements, usually on the outs with their own governments, which are usually headed by radical Mullas. These teach that the Muslims are in trouble because they have forsaken true Islam and that the solution is to return to pure Islam. To these movements, "the enemy" is mainly the West, especially the U.S. (the "Great Satan"), but also the "moderate" (to us) governments of the Muslim World.
One such movement is the Taliban who have succeeded in gaining control of most of Afghanistan. For the most part, however, these radical movements operate clandestinely (e.g. the GIA in Algeria, the Islamic Jihad in Egypt, and so on). Some have front organizations in the West, and at least one, outlawed in Syria, has established a base in England from which to propagandize for a return to the Caliphate, a single Islamic government that rules over the whole Muslim world—and eventually over the entire world!
Radical Islam Gaining Ground
Between the Muslim governments of the world and the radical Muslim movements are the rank and file of Muslims who try to live their lives in accordance with Islam as best they can, but often they are the ones to suffer the most. But make no mistake. Radical Islam has been gaining ground for a number of years for various reasons, and the more moderate governments, more or less friendly to the West, have their backs to the wall so to speak.
I can also understand that our government feels a need to make a sharp distinction between Islam and Islamic terrorists, as the President has done in his speeches to the nation. Many of our citizens, as well as many not-yet-citizens in our workforce, are Muslims, and we cannot afford to build a wall of alienation between these and other citizens.
And we need to speak out and act decisively against all forms of vigilantism that lash out at any who look like they could be Arabs or Muslims. What’s more, the government needs desperately to maintain peaceful relations with the some 40 Muslim-majority nations of the world, and to obtain the support of as many as possible in the war against terrorism. We must work with them, not against them, if we are to make any headway.
Two Sides to Islam
But where does the truth lie? Does Islam sanction such terrorist acts? Or is it truly a religion of peace? That is the question. The answer, however, is not so simple. The truth is that both tendencies exist in Islam—in conflict with each other. There are two sides to Islam so to speak, two faces.
On the one hand there is normative Islam, with which you may be more or less familiar. To a majority of Muslims this is what Islam is all about. It involves them in believing in the six articles of Islamic faith and practicing the five required "Acts of Worship" – from the five ritual prayers that are performed daily, to the month-long fast of Ramadan, to the pilgrimage made to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, and so on. Between seeking to fulfill these and other duties imposed on them by Islamic Law, participating in various Islamic festivals, and trying to put food on the table, the average Muslim would seem to have little time for much else.
This is the only Islam that most Muslims in this country know. I’m told that 42 percent of U.S. Muslims are native born (of which the vast majority is African American), and the remainder are immigrants who have come here to find work, get an education, or escape oppression. But there are those who do know the other side of Islam, but do not want to acknowledge it, or what is worse, do not want the truth to be known.
The truth is that there is another side to Islam, a side that embraces violence "in the way of Allah." As has often been said, Islam divides the world into two zones, Dar as-Salaam ("House of Peace"), and Dar al-Harb ("House of War"). Islam is not just a religion, as I have written elsewhere; it is an ideology with a political agenda.* It holds that all men are created to live in submission to Allah, as prescribed by Islamic law.
Muslims believe that Islam’s destiny is to extend its control until the whole Dar al-Harb is subject to Islamic law in an Islamic state, and this includes the use of force. The word "Islam" does NOT mean "peace." It is related to the Arabic word for peace (salaam), but it means "to surrender, to submit, to make peace by laying down one’s arms in submission." It has a militaristic connotation. Herein lie the origins of radical Islam.
Violence a Historic Element in Islam
It is a fact that killing, violence and terrorism have always been part and parcel of Islam. This even includes giving one’s life to advance the cause of Islam. In saying this I do not mean to imply that such acts have always and uniformly been practiced throughout history, at least to the extent of the barbarity seen on Sept. 11.
In our modern world, at any rate, most Islamic nations try to live at peace with other nations and have taken a position against violence and terrorism, but these have been present to a greater or lesser degree from the very beginning of Islam. In a word, one cannot make as hard and fast a distinction between normative Islam and radical Islam as some would like.
One can readily find passages in the Qur’an that exhort the faithful to fight and kill the "unbelievers," that is, to wage Jihad (Holy War). Consider, for example, Sura 2:190-191a: "Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. …" (See also 2:216-218; 8:38-41; 9:5-6 & 29 etc.).
Prophet Killed Others
Other verses promise the shahiid (martyr), who gives his life "in the way of Allah," the forgiveness of sins and direct entry into Paradise. Take Sura 3:195b: "So those who fled and were driven forth from their homes and suffered damage for My cause, and fought and were slain, verily I shall remit their evil deeds from them and verily I shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow—A reward from Allah. …" (See also 3:169; 4:74-77 &100; 22:58, etc.) And then there is the example of the Prophet himself who, as has been recorded in the Hadith (Islamic tradition), did not hesitate to have his opponents and critics killed.**
One will of course find many apologists who condemn acts of violence. Claiming that Islam has only been extended by peaceful means, they maintain that Muslims fight only in "self-defense," as the verse cited above seems to indicate. It is amazing, however, how far "self-defense" can be stretched.
Ossama bin Laden was recently reported as saying, "The terrorism we practice is of the commendable kind for it is directed at the tyrants and the aggressors and the enemies of Allah." (Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 23, 2001, page D4). For such militants, it is sufficient for a Mulla or radical Muslim party to pronounce a person or a country an "enemy of Allah" to justify killing. Consider what happened to President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt! He was assassinated by a fundamentalist group in Egypt as an "enemy of Islam" because he made peace with Israel.
Islam at War With Itself
One could say that Islam is at war with itself.*** On the one side are the "moderate" Muslim governments that are trying to run a modern ship of state within the family of nations, more or less within the framework of normative Islam. Nearly all have Islam as the "religion of state" in their constitutions.
On the other side are a number of radical Muslim movements, usually on the outs with their own governments, which are usually headed by radical Mullas. These teach that the Muslims are in trouble because they have forsaken true Islam and that the solution is to return to pure Islam. To these movements, "the enemy" is mainly the West, especially the U.S. (the "Great Satan"), but also the "moderate" (to us) governments of the Muslim World.
One such movement is the Taliban who have succeeded in gaining control of most of Afghanistan. For the most part, however, these radical movements operate clandestinely (e.g. the GIA in Algeria, the Islamic Jihad in Egypt, and so on). Some have front organizations in the West, and at least one, outlawed in Syria, has established a base in England from which to propagandize for a return to the Caliphate, a single Islamic government that rules over the whole Muslim world—and eventually over the entire world!
Radical Islam Gaining Ground
Between the Muslim governments of the world and the radical Muslim movements are the rank and file of Muslims who try to live their lives in accordance with Islam as best they can, but often they are the ones to suffer the most. But make no mistake. Radical Islam has been gaining ground for a number of years for various reasons, and the more moderate governments, more or less friendly to the West, have their backs to the wall so to speak.
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