The ringleader, Irfan Khalid, and his henchmen Irfan Naseer and Ashik Ali meant to cause bloody mayhem, as did all those previous bombers from Glasgow to London, some of whom succeeded while others were discovered before they could bomb themselves off to hell.
Sexual permissiveness disgusted them, as did most values of the country they were born in. The gang frequented the Darul Ihsan gyms in Sparkhill, an inner city enclave in Birmingham. And it was in these enlightening joints that the thwarted three recruited others. Some went off to Pakistan and were made to come home by their families. There will be more and we can but hope they are stopped before they get the violent glory they crave.
I have met smart Muslim undergraduates and post-graduates at some of our top universities who offer perfectly honed theses to justify the actions of men like the Birmingham three.
In sum, they give three key reasons: Palestinian rights denied by Israel, Islamaphobia, and Western interference in Muslim countries. These exact points were raised by a Muslim letter-writer to The Independent last week. I sympathise with this position and have written with deep conviction on all those thorny issues. I cry as I read — as many must when reminded of the chemical warfare used against Iraqis and the suffering of Palestinians. In Burma, Muslims are subjected to terrible persecution and Aung San Suu Kyi, now part of the establishment, expresses only tepid concern.
But no injustice can excuse or explain the rise of brutal Islamicists. Palestine is their cynical, moral pretence. These include the expectation that children, from an early age, should benefit from education about the values, attitudes, modes of behavior, and ways of life that can enable them to resolve any dispute peacefully and in a spirit of respect for human dignity and of tolerance and non-discrimination.
The major world religions claim that their education systems teach peace. However, some people say that in practice history and religious education were used to promote war rather than peace. They argue that because religion is, and has been, the cause of so much violence and wars, religious education should be banned from schools and colleges in Islamic society.
My contention is that, taught sensitively and in the right way, religious education can in fact be a force for good, peace, understanding and reconciliation. The vast majority of Muslims and Islamic scholars believe that nothing in Muhammad's life or in the Qur'an or Islamic law justify terrorism.
There are many principles in Islamic teachings that provide a foundation for creative peacemaking. In Arabic salaam is translated as peace and is considered as one of the holy names of God. Nasr, : Islam is a religion of universalism, tolerance, peace, and reconciliation. Islam teaches that life is sacred and that the believer has a duty to uphold truth and justice. Social justice is the core principle of Islam. Pursuing justice in the face of oppression and suffering is the personal and collective duty of every Muslim.
But Islam is often misunderstood as a religion of the sword that justifies the use of violence to spread the faith; while the principles of nonviolence are not well developed within Islam.
Concepts of peace are at the core of the Islamic teachings. The term salaam envisions a peaceful, harmonious social order of justice towards all without violence or conflict. The primary principle in Islam is peace. Islam emphasizes on peace in communication with all Muslim and non- Muslim people in a society, and encourages its adherents to avoid war and violence. There are many principles of peace in Islam, which are significant for creating the culture of peace that I shall point to some of them here:.
The first and cardinal principle of culture of peace is the acceptance of religious faith is optional. According to Islamic teachings, people are free to accept religious belief. And God hears and knows all things. These passages counsel tolerance and patience toward other faiths. Therefore, religious faith is a voluntary matter that individuals must choose freely and consciously and not compulsively.
The message of such verses of the Qur'an is to respect dissenting beliefs and to recognize the freedom of others. This principle can in many cases prevent cultural violence and contribute to the realization of a culture of peace. The second principle in creating a culture of peace and a non-violent society is Islam's emphasis on peace as the primary law and non-violence. The Qur'an invites people to peace and life, and regards war and violence as the evil way.
That means: But if they incline towards peace, then incline towards it, and put your trust in Allah. He is the Hearer, the Knower. Moreover, except in limited cases, it does not permit the use of force. Although the Qur'an recognizes the right to retribution its adherents, it is also a reward for forgiveness. So in ash-Shura it says: The retribution of a bad action is one equivalent to it. However, whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward lies with Allah.
He does not love the unjust. This principie is so important in Islam that even if the enemy becomes cowardly, it does not endorse the deviation from human values.
So after the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet of Islam said instead of revenge and bloodshed today is a day of mercy. Therefore, the distinction between aggression and defense must be distinguished; aggression is unlawful but defense is permissible under certain circumstances. The Qur'an has even forbidden Muslims from re- proaching.
We made attractive to every com- munity their deeds. In his defensive battles, the Prophet of Islam best practiced human and moral principles, even treating his most vicious enemies with humane behavior. During the Hunayn war, he granted the majority of captives mercy and returned their property to them. In the conquest of Mecca that some Muslims used to chant that today is the day of vengeance, but the Prophet said to them today is a day of mercy, then told the people of Mecca and the leaders of their war, you are all free and there is no worry for you.
The Prophet of Islam during the wars never deprived the enemy of drinking water. In the Kheybar battle he was strongly opposed when he was offered the opportunity to close the waterway or poison the drinking water in the fortress, and forbade the spread of poison in the city of enemies and in general everywhere.
During the war, the Prophet said: Do not kill women, children and the elders and do not burn palm trees and crops. Imam Ali PBUH also commands his soldiers: Never start a war with the enemy unless they start, do not kill the fugitives, do not attack the wounded, don't go into their homes, don't attack women, and don't scold anyone.
Ibn al-Jouzi, : The teachings of Islam invite people to live a peaceful life based on theism, justice and purity. Therefore, peace in Islam is an eternal constitution. Even the nature of war in Islam is a defensive one, not an offensive one, because the principle of Islam is peace and coexistence, not conflict, violence and war. In many verses of the Qur'an, God has allowed Muslims to fight only for defense.
Therefore, war in Islam is a secondary principle, not a primary one. The third principle in creating a culture of peace and a non-violent society is to pay attention to the spiritual self-awareness inherent in our human nature that can move people away from violence. Human nature has a tendency for peace and friendship. Enjoying compassion, and love for others is part of our human nature.
Violence is not our nature. Basically, non-violent relationships can bring us closer to our nature and help us connect and return to what is truly a pleasing way of life, one that con tributes to one another's well-being and comfort.
Human nature tends to peace, and not violence; violence comes from how we learn, not from our human nature. The Islamic teachings attempt to invite people to global peace and a peaceful life on the basis of theism, justice and piety. So, in Islam peace is an immortal and primary law. Allah loveth not aggressors.
This interpretation of peace which is based on Qur'anic teachings can develop a widespread peace around the world and terminate conflicts in many places. In spite of these principles of peace in Islamic cultural heritage, we question the reason behind the violence in some Islamic societies; violence in various dimensions of direct or structural violence or cultural violence. To respond to this question, I would say that since there are many types of interpretation of Islamic doctrines from different points of view, and within different Islamic communities, hence, we are faced with the conflicting voices in some fields.
However, we should not forget that there are conflicting voices within other religions as well. It must be stressed at this point that the problem is not with religion per se. It is not the philosophy or the doctrines, it is not the practices or the rituals, which are the issue.
Rather, it is our interpretation of religion which constitutes the problem. It is the meaning we attach to certain doctrines and rituals which creates difficulties. Over the centuries, most adherents of most of the faiths have developed an exclusive view of their particular religious tradition.
God is seen as the God of their particular group. Truth and justice, love and compassion, are perceived as values which are exclusive to their religion. The unity that they seek is invariably the unity of their own kind. Their religion -they are passionately convinced- is superior to other religions. This Islamic theory of peace culture is misused in some Islamic societies because of poor knowledge of Islamic teachings or due to wrong education.
And there are different interpretations of religion and its foundations among Muslims and there are also misunderstandings of Islamic teachings. There is no question that the problem is not with the essence of Islam but with the problem of understanding and interpreting Islam.
As a result, people are drawn into violence, war and strife because of some misunderstandings and misinterpretations of Islam's teachings. One of the main causes of misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the Islamic teachings, is Fundamentalism, and the avoidance of rationality.
The use of reason in understanding, and interpreting religion, has always been the subject of serious disputes among scholars throughout the history of religion. As a result of Fundamentalism, and the avoidance of rationality in the religious teachings, the individual has adopted a religious exclusivist approach and considers himself just and salvable, and that all other religions are void and misleading.
One prominent example is the idea of Salafist religious exclusivist. There is no doubt that education in any society can play a key role in human development and consequently in the growth and development of that society. Education in any society will play an important role in the cultivation of knowledgeable people and in the development of culture, social order and cohesion, the development of civic institutions and thus the development, progress and excellence of society.
The human factor is the most important factor in the development, growth and development of a society. Therefore, in our age of information explosion, education can be the most effective factor in solving political and social challenges. It is so important that some social science experts have said that without cultural and social development, economic development would not be possible. Sadovnik, : 7. My definite suggestion for the realization of a society free of violence and a culture of peace is primarily to teach peace discourse in society.
It has to become a public culture. The discourse of peace must be incorporated as an approach to the educational system. As a matter of fact, some countries have incorporated the discourse of peace into their educational system literature. From kindergarten and elementary school to university level, where there should be a department of peace and conflict resolution.
To avoid conflicts and violence in societies on the one hand, cultural and religious pluralism must be accepted, interactions and friendship must be pursued, and on the other hand to reject exclusivism.
Religious tolerance, which is based on the teachings of Islam must be followed. We must learn to embrace cultural and religious pluralism on the one hand, and pursue interactions, friendships and rejection of exclusivism on the other hand to tolerate dissent.
In our time, there is an urgent need for good philosophical arguments for religious toleration in the encounter with religious diversity. They might reinforce settled habits of toleration and justify teaching toleration to people in society.
The Kantian response to religious diversity is the view that all religious claims are on a par with respect to truth, because all teach the same thing or make the same claim. The essential content of the former, of pure religious faith, is the understanding of all moral duties as given by God. Kant held that this content -the claim that all moral duties are given by God- is present in all particular religions. This fundamental religious claim is discoverable and justifiable by reason alone, unaided by revelation, scripture and the like.
The Kantian strategy has two essential parts: one is the reduction of all religious claims to a single fundamental claim, and second is the view that the claims of all actual religious communities bear approximately the same relation to this fundamental claim. There is no public evidence that any one religion is unique or superior to others and thus has closer access to Ulti- mate Reality.
John Hick, a contemporary advocator of a broadly Kantian strategy on religious diversity holds that there are indeed genuine differences and at least apparent incompatibilities among the claims of different religious communities. He divides these differences into three categories: incompatibilities with respect to historical matters, quasi-historical or trans-historical matters, and the ways of conceiving and experiencing religious beliefs.
Hick holds that these incompatibilities that different religions claim are not important in religious regards. Approximately 80 percent of German citizens also value the protection of minority interests as a fundamental principle of liberal democracy.
When it comes to respect for religious diversity, however, there is still room for improvement. The study found that in principle, 87 percent of those surveyed are open to other worldviews. Approximately 70 percent say that other religions also contain elements of truth; these respondents are considered religiously tolerant.
But only about 50 percent of respondents in Germany hold the view that religious plurality enriches society. In regard to Islam, this share is even lower: Only one third of the population regards Islam as enriching. In contrast, a majority view Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism as enriching. Overall, about half of those surveyed perceive Islam as a threat.
This proportion is higher in eastern Germany, at 57 percent, than in western Germany 50 percent. These findings, recorded in spring , are largely similar to the results of previous Religion Monitor surveys taken in , , and In her view, this has been amplified by the societal debates and media reports of past years, which often cast Islam in a negative and critical light.
We took a closer look at the share of the population that views Islam as a threat. The conclusion: It is important to draw distinctions here. The overall proportion of people with an Islamophobic attitude in Germany has declined in recent years, according to the Religion Monitor, from 20 percent in to just 13 percent in The analyses also show that individuals with clearly Islamophobic attitudes often reject other minorities as well as Muslims, and their overall worldview is anti-pluralist.
Additional findings of the Religion Monitor: Approval of democracy as a good form of government declines to 68 percent among people with a clearly Islamophobic attitude — more than 20 percentage points lower than in the population as a whole. The results are similar with regard to the protection of minority interests: This democratic principle also finds approval among only two thirds of those who express opposition to the immigration of Muslims.
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