ISLAM IS NOT

RELIGION OF
EXTREMISM
"......Whosoever kills an innocent human being it shall be as if he has killed all
mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved
the life of all mankind..." - Quran 5:32

UTM ISLAMIC
CENTRE
How the Quran can be misunderstood
When reading through the Qur'an or the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him), one must understand the context in
which the wording applies. The following verse of the Quran is a favorite amongst those seeking to mislead people about
Islam:

"And till them wherever you find them, and expel them from where they expelled you, as persecuting people to sway them
from God's Religion is worse than killing. But do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque, unless they fight you there. But if
they do fight you, then slay them; This is recompense of the disbelievers." - Quran 2:191

On occasions, this verse has been dangerously trimmed down to the following:
"And kill them wherever you find them...." - Qur'an 2:191

The obvious question is, "Kill who?" To answer this question, one should read the verses before and after verse 2:191.
"And fight in the way of Allah those who fight with you and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who
exceed the limits" - Qur'an 2:190

The above verse mentions fighting as a means of self defence (i.e., with those who fight you). The verse after 2:191 is:
"But if they cease, Allah is Oft-forgiving. Most Merciful." - Quran 2:192

These verses were revealed at a time when the Muslims been had been expelled from their homes on account of their
faith. They endured more than ten years of persecution and eventually had to flee to a safe land.

The above verses were referring to the Arab pagans of Mecca during the Prophet's time, who oppressed the Muslims and
planned to attack them where the Muslims sought refuge.

Hence, the above verse can only be applied in such circumstances. This example demonstrates that verses in the Qur'an
should be understood in their proper context since verses were revealed in stages in relation to particular situations, over a
period of 23 years. It is also important to note that the Quran was revealed in Arabic. Therefore, translations into different
languages may be misleading and/or inaccurate.

Permissible fighting/warfare
There can be no doubt that Muslims (like anybody else) have a legitimate right
to fight against aggression or when oppressed.

Islam teaches that warfare is permitted in order to preserve the wellbeing of the
community or to prevent oppression from spreading - this may be in the context
of defensive or offensive warfare depending on the particular situation. Islam, just
like any 'way of life' that wants to ensure its survival, has the right to defend itself
when war is declared against it. In the Quran we read:

"To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they
are wronged." - Qur'an 22:39

However, when the enemy ceases its hostility, Muslims are commanded to cease
fighting.
"And if they incline to peace, then incline to it and trust in God; surely He is the
All-Hearer, the All-Knower." - Quran 8:61

Abu Bakr (may God be pleased with him), Prophet Mohammad's closest friend
and first successor, spoke of the Islamic approach to war by highlighting the
following:

In the battlefield, one should not:

Commit treachery. Harm or burn trees, especially the fruitful
Mutilate the dead. Slay the enemy's flock, except for food.
Deviate from the right path. Harm those who devote their life to
Kill a woman, child or aged man. worship.
War on terror
is slander to
Muslim
community
ANIS NISRINA BINTI ROSLAN
UTM ISLAMIC CENTRE
anisnisrina88@gmail.com
Figure 1
An attack to World Trade Center
that had collapsed in a massive
cloud of dust and smoke.
On September 11, 2001, the terrorist
attacks on the “World Trade Centre
(WTC)” and the Pentagon marked a
significant milestone in American foreign
policy and national security strategy,
particularly in relation to the Middle East.
Following the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq, as well as the occupation of both
countries by the United States (US), Iran
and the US became virtual neighbors,
resulting in periodic cycles of engagement
and confrontation between the two foes.
Following Iran's beneficial involvement in
the removal of the Taliban administration
in Afghanistan and the country's
subsequent rehabilitation, the US
designated Iran as "part of an axis of evil".
Bush began his presidency with a
pessimistic worldview, which was only
strengthened by the 9/11 attacks. Bush
saw the world as a dangerous place lived
by self-interested states that will use
military force to achieve their interests.
This strategic view of the international
environment was heightened by
September 11, which highlighted the
possibility of catastrophic terrorism on
American soil via the intersection of terror
and technology. Next, the threat of
catastrophic terrorism, he appears to say,
is the rise of revisionist states fueled by
religious fervor and those fueled by their
leaders' tyrannical or hegemonic
aspirations, and he specifically mentions
Iran in this regard. According to
psychological assessment, Bush's choice
to lump Iran, Iraq, and North Korea
together as an axis of evil was a natural
extension of his worldview. This mindset
has built that American’s president view
on those country.
Firstly, the attack on the WTC, New
York is just one of the events that occurred
that involves these two states. The War on
Terror was a term used by Bush to engage
war on the Muslim community, notably the
Middle East such as Afghanistan, Iran,
and Iraq.
Therefore, it is a fallacy to conclude that
the attack was conducted totally by the
terrorists which referred to the Muslims.
Conspiracy theories sparked, mentioning
that the attack was planned solely by the
American Government, just to create a
scenario where they can put all blame on
the Muslim community, following create a
war to prevent terrorism worldwide. Since
then, the word ‘terrorist’ is often paired
with Muslims. Discrimination towards the
community rages as people began to
develop Islamophobia, where Muslims are
seen as barbaric, violent, and unorthodox.
The event of 9/11 was benefitted as an
agenda for the US to intervene in every
revolution, conflict and war that happens
throughout the Middle East region. Bush
believes that by attacking first, he can
prevent future damages and demolitions
on America. Another logical reason on
why Bush focuses on war in the Middle
East was due to tragedies that could be
traced back to the Cold War Era where the
US and Russia was at a proxy war with
one another. Afghanistan was well-known
as a main ground for the Soviets to place
military forces during the war. This alerted
America, as they were trying to prevent
the sphere of power carried out by the
Soviets. To connect two events that are
correlated, the tragedy of 9/11 is just
another smokescreen for the America to
intervene in the Middle East to fight off
Russians.
On 29 January 2002, Bush had labelled
North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an evil axis.
This action is influenced by the
understanding of neo-conservatism which
considers the ideology of democracy to be
the best political system and it is the
responsibility of the US to spread it. Hence
the term "changing the Iranian regime"
exist. However, despite threatening US
diplomacy with other countries, it was also
able to make a good impression in foreign
policy. The US-led war on terror can be
said to be due to violations of the “Nuclear
Proliferation Treaty” (NPT) by several
countries (Study Corgi, 2021). Bush also
stated that he would act if countries that
sparked violence such as in Cuba, Libya,
Sudan, and Syria because the doors of
US diplomacy and the country have been
small. There is no denying that NPT
violations do occur and are suspicious. For
example, Saddam Hussein has developed
nuclear, chemical, and biological. In fact,
the “Central Intelligence Agency” (CIA)
has reported that Iran is developing
nuclear weapons. Although the
development of the Iranian army is a
security policy, the US considers it a
threat. However, this terrorist war by the
US is not merely a threat to world security,
but many are denied because this evil axis
country is not a democratic country.
 Bush's actions have had a devastating
effect, that Bush’s notion of this axis of evil
was unclear in the geopolitical realm and
that it was only fitting to pave the way for
political intervention by the US anywhere in
the world. Bush's speech drew the attention
of nuclear weapons-producing countries to a
response that seemed to justify an initial
attack on American states. As such, India
and Pakistan demand equal rights and
threaten to launch a nuclear attack if they
are threatened. The declaration of this crime
axis state opens opportunities for them to
legitimize their actions to remove the missile
defense system. Bush has been heavily
criticized for accusing him of being the head
of an evil empire, Iran launching angry
protests and even South Korean
newspapers, a US ally, accusing Bush of
undermining the Geneva Accords to
dismantle North Korea's nuclear program.
Bush critics also say that North Korea has
no history of global terrorism, and that Iran
previously supported the war on terror
waged before the Bush administration. This
situation illustrates that they are not
interconnected and cannot be included in a
single group, and each requires a different
policy and approach. Bush's axis of evil
approach has an impact on the US in the
situation of Iran and North Korea. Arabs and
Muslims consider Bush's efforts only to
exploit Iranian and Iraqi oil resources. The
real issue that matters is whether this
country labelled the axis of evil poses a
threat or not.
Neither North Korea nor Iran, respectively,
posed a threat that required precautionary
measures and the administration decided to
resolve the issue diplomatically. The root of
the axis of Bush's evil is starting from the
attack on the US in 2001, but what is the
relevance of Bush to include North Korea,
Iran, and Iraq in this issue when they have
nothing to do. The Al-Qaeda and September
11 attacks should be classified as working on
their own business model and they have
their own political agenda and only use
weak countries to expand their terrorism.
Eliminating these three “axes of evil”
countries does not solve and eliminate Al-
Qaeda. Bush’s concept of this axis of evil
slipped off target (Study Corgi, 2021).
Furthermore, the death of Saddam
Hussein has created a vacuum of power in
the Middle East. Saddam Hussein’s death
has created a power vacuum in Iraq and has
prompted Iran and extremist groups seeking
to; fill that void to spark conflict around Iraq
followed by Syria.
This has pushed the Saudis into the ring Besides that, they also agreed that Saddam
because of their concerns over Iranian Hussein is trying his best to develop
influence. According to Kyle Amonson biological, chemical, and nuclear programs
which include long-range missiles. On July
(2019), if Saddam Hussein is still in power,
18th, 2002, Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter
“The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria''
shared the same view on Iraq. They
(ISIS) or known as Daesh is unlikely to be
strongly believed that Iraq consistently
able to establish a foothold in the region. breached every cease-fire between the US
The counterfactual approach assesses and the Iraq government. Although
that Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial rule was accusations have been made by
for stabilization in Iraq and succeeded intellectuals and government officials on the
against terrorist groups such as Daesh. Iraq issue, there are no solid foundations to
However, these contrafactual hypotheses consider whether all the assumptions are
are not recognized and are true or false. This is due to the nature of
mass media in the US itself. Most of the
underdeveloped in political science in
media in the US are purely controlled by the
evaluating causal hypotheses. Amonson
government (Hawkins, 2012).
(2019) argues that Saddam Hussein's rule
helped stabilize this already chaotic region Any statement that goes against the
and prevented the rise of terrorist government’s principle or turns their
organizations. Saddam’s death has reputation ugly, will be removed. News
sparked Iraqis blaming the country’s agencies such as the TIME, the Economist
dishonesty with Shiites blaming Sunnis and the BBC are mostly biased and pro-
and Sunnis against Shiites and Kurds. In government. The media is one of the
2014, Daesh had a strong foothold in Iraq political tools utilized by the government to
show a good image towards its people. So,
and several Middle Eastern countries.
in the Iran and Iraq context, the public will
Saddam's death only raises more
never know whether Saddam Hussein really
problems with terrorists (Amonson, 2019).
owns and secretly develops WMD
underground. Contradictory, the public also
Even though Bush has committed will never be able to conclude whether their
multiple fallacies during his presidency, it government is telling the truth or just
is not right for the public to put one feeding them with pure lies. The War on
hundred percent blame on Bush himself. terror going to bring a bad reputation on
Other highly ranked officials such as Muslim community itself while this issue
ministers, government officials and US’s was brought due to geopolitics or political
purpose.
representative also contributed to the
series of lies. According to Hawkins
(2012), many well-known individuals in
US’s political arena have given their
opinion regarding the Iraq Nuclear
possession scandal. Certain may even
organize an agreement where intellectuals
gather to talk about this issue. Personnel
such as Bob Graham, Joe Liberman,
Harold Ford, Tom Lantos, and others have
agreed that Iraq is a major threat towards
the US and its allies since these
individuals highly believed that Iraq does
possess WMD to keep their interests in
motion.
Figure 2
George W. Bush
43rd President of the USA