For Muslims, the Koran is the word of Allah or God, as passed on to humanity through revelations made to Prophet Muhammad. Moderate Muslims and Islamic scholars have maintained that Islam is a religion of peace. Considering that Islam has the second largest following and is the fastest growing religion in the world, it is necessary to understand the concept and relevance of peace and war in the context of the Holy Quran. Islam, the religion itself, is the submission of oneself to the will of Almighty God. The Quran says: “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace and satisfaction” (The Holy Quran 13:28).
Peace within the society is of great significance in Islam, with Muslims being asked to ‘Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses for the sake of Allah, even if this may go against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin’ (The Holy Quran 4:135) and ‘let not the enmity of a people cause you to turn away from justice. Do justice, for that is closer to piety’ (The Holy Quran 5:8). Muslims greet people by saying “Assalaam-walaikum”, which translates as ‘Peace be unto you’ . The critics of Islam point out that the religion lists harsh punishment of crimes, including death for murder, rape and drug trafficking, and the cutting off of hands and feet for each instance of theft, however, scholars maintain that it is the implementation of such strict laws that has kept the crime rate in Islamic countries low. For a Muslim, murdering an innocent, whether a Muslim or a non-Muslim, carried the sin of killing all of mankind – an unforgivable crime, even in the hereafter.
On the subject of global peace, Islam preaches the concept of universal brotherhood and rejects any prejudice based on race or gender, and its achievement of eliminating race consciousness was a ‘crying need’ of the modern world: ‘It is conceivable that the spirit of Islam might be the timely reinforcement which would decide this issue in favor of tolerance and peace’ . It was this spirit of tolerance that led to the conversion of prominent Americans of African origin such as Malcolm X to Islam after a visit to Mecca about which he stated ‘I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed around me by people of all colors Each hour here in the Holy Land enables me to have greater spiritual insight into what is happening in America between blacks and whites’.
However, post the 9/11 attacks, terrorism has been associated with the religion of Islam, a perception that the majority Muslim community had been trying to change ever since. It has been noted that, despite the US war on terror being waged for years now, there are no studies about Prophet Muhammad or his military doctrine within the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency or at war colleges . The term ‘Jihad’ has been used by Muslim extremists to exemplify a ‘holy war’ that, in fact, finds no mention in the Koran or Quran, the holy book of Islam. The concept of Jihad is ‘a constant struggle’, requiring the followers of Islam to constantly strive for betterment. This includes internal struggles against personal weaknesses as well as opposing aggression .
The early leaders of Islam, including Prophet Muhammad and the caliphs who succeeded him, never fought wars for the sole purpose of spreading religion. It can be said that their spirituality was ahead of its time, and, as is the case in the modern world, they considered it their right to preach Islam. However, their efforts were mostly met with violent aggression and oppression, against which they defended themselves and their people. Pertaining to warfare, the Quran strictly forbids the breaking of treaties or violating cease fires. It enjoins a code of honorable conduct, wherein, should an enemy soldier surrender in the battlefield, he not only to be spared but also taken to a secure area and safeguarded. The fair and kind treatment of prisoners of war is also stressed, as this is considered a demonstration of the traits of a good Muslim. A Muslim can wage war only against oppression, in self defense, and never for the mere acquisition of land or wealth.
It can be concluded from the above discussions that, the religion of Islam and the Holy Quran itself, carry messages of peace not only for the Muslim community but mankind at large. It is the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of its verses by critics and extremists that has developed a prejudiced image of the religion post 9/11 .
Works Cited
Jimoh, Abbas. "Greeting in Islam." 11 May 2012. Daily Trust. 27 May 2012
Sperry, Paul. "The Pentagon Breaks the Islam Taboo." 14 December 2005. FrontPage Magazine. 27 May 2012
Standring, Peter. "Koran a book of peace, not war, scholars say." 25 September 2001. National Geographic Today. 27 May 2012
Toynbee, Arnold J. Civilization on Trial. New York: Oxford University Press, 1948.
