Muslims are not terrorist or Barbaric.
Now, in order to show how a true Muslim should behave, we must read the translation of a letter of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’:
The letter which our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ had written (by his secretary) addresses to all Muslims and reads as follows: [The original copy of the letter exists on the thirtieth page of the first volume of Majmû’a-i-Munshaa-tus-salâtîn, by Feridun Bey.]
“This letter has been written to inform of the promise that Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, the son of Abdullah, has made to all Christians. Janâb-i-Haqq has given the good news that He has sent him as His compassion, and has assigned to him the task of safekeeping the deposit entrusted to mankind. This Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ has had this letter recorded for the purpose of documenting the promise he has given to all non-Muslims.
“If anyone acts contrary to this promise, whether he be a sultan or else, he will have revolted against Janâb-i-Haqq and derided His religion, and will therefore deserve His condemnation. If a Christian priest or tourist is fasting with the intention of worship in a mountain, in a valley, in a desert, in a verdure, in a low place or in the sand, I, on behalf of myself, my friends and acquaintances and all my nation, have revoked all sorts of obligation from them. They are under my protection. I have forgiven them all sorts of taxes that they have had to pay as a requirement of the agreements that we made with other Christians. They may not pay jizya or kharâj, or they may give as much as they wish. Do not force or oppress them. Do not depose their religious leaders. Do not evict them from their temples. Do not prevent them from travelling. Do not demolish any part of their monasteries or churches. Do not confiscate things from their churches or use them in Muslims’ mosques. Whoever does not obey this will have disobeyed the command of Allah and His Messenger and will therefore be sinful. Do not impose such taxes as jizya or gharâmat on those people who do not trade but are always busy over worshipping, no matter where they are. I will preserve their debts on sea or land, in the east or in the west. They are under my protection. I have granted them immunity. Do not impose (the taxes called) kharâj and ’ushr [tithe] for the crops of those who live in mountains and are busy with worship. Do not allot a share for the Bayt-ul-mâl [the State Treasury] out of their crops. For, their agriculture is intended only for subsistence, not for making profit. When you need men for Jihâd (Holy War), do not resort to them. If it is necessary to impose jizya [income tax] (on them), do not take more than twelve dirhams yearly, however rich they may be and however much property they may have. They are not to be taxed with troubles or burdens. If there should be an argument with them, they shall be treated only with pity, kindness and compassion. Always protect them under your wings of mercy and compassion. Whereever they are, do not maltreat Christian women married to Muslim men. Do not prevent them from going to their church and doing the worships prescribed by their religion. Whoever disobeys or acts contrary to this commandment of Allâhu ta’âlâ will have revolted against the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. They shall be helped to repair their churches. This agreement shall be valid and shall remain unchanged till the end of the world, and no one shall be allowed to act contrary to it.”
This agreement was written down by ’Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in the Masjîd-i-sa’âdat in Medina on the third day of the month of Muharram in the second year of the Hijra. The signatures affixed are:
Muhammad bin ’Abdullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’.
Abû Bakr bin Ebî Kuhâfa, ’Umar bin Hattâb, ’Uthmân bin Affân, ’Alî bin Ebî Tâlib, Abû Hurayra, ’Abdullah bin Mes’ûd, ’Abbâs bin ’Abd-ul-muttalib, Fadl bin ’Abbâs, Zubayr bin Awwâm, Talha bin ’Abdullah, Sa’d bin Mu’âz, Sa’d bin Ubâda, Thâbit bin Qays, Zayd bin Thâbit, Hâris bin Thâbit, ’Abdullah bin ’Umar, ’Ammar bin Yâsir ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’.
As is seen, our exalted Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ commands that people of other religions should be treated with utmost mercy and kindness and Christian churches should not be harmed or demolished.
Islam has never been a religion of savagery, and Muslims have never transgressed against Christians, none the least for bloody purposes. On the contrary, Muslims have protected Christians whenever they needed protection.
Whatsoever the motives in the minds of those people who manipulated those barbarisms, be they personal interests, patriotic fantasies, plundering intentions, feelings of grudge and vengeance, which have nothing to do with religion, or be they sheer religious purposes, the outcome was the lives of innocent people.
The true Islamic religion communicated by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunna ‘rahima-humullâhu ta’âlâ’ is far from all sorts of superstition and responsive to common sense. Islam’s Holy Book is the Qur’ân al-kerîm. The Qur’ân al-kerîm commands that only Allâhu ta’âlâ should be worshipped and teaches that the manner of this worship is prescribed by Him, alone. They are the most elegant, the most dignified, the most salutary acts of worship which befit a slave best. According to the teaching of the Qur’ân al-kerîm, all Muslims are equal in the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ. The only grounds whereon a Muslim can have superiority on another are taqwâ and knowledge. Taqwâ means to fear Allâhu ta’âlâ. The thirteenth âyat of Hujurât Sûra of the Qur’ân al-kerîm purports, “The most valuable and the most virtuous of you in the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ is the one who fears Allâhu ta’âlâ most.” Compulsion in converting people to Islam takes place only as a prohibition in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. Jihâd (Holy War) is made to communicate Islam, not to make people Believers. Qur’ân al-kerîm commands always to show mercy and compassion to people. People who flout these commandments have no ties with Islam.
[1] Ref: These paragraphs are quoted from the book “Why Did They Become Muslims?” page 284. “Why Did They Become Muslims?” contains a few paraphrased selections from the statements made by some of the many non-Muslim, who are famous great commanders, statesmen and scientists celebrities who believed in Allâhu ta’âlâ and admired Islam; these statements reflect their views of Islam. As you read them you will hear from the very tongues of these respectable people why the Islamic religion is superior to other religions. In fact, reading these explanations will provide you with an opportunity to see and admire once again the high merits of our religion, and thus feel and offer gratitude to Allâhu ta’âlâ for having been Muslims. The book is published by Hakikat Kitabevi, Istanbul. You can find the whole book and the other valuable books in the web site www.hakikatkitabevi.com.tr and download in PDF format for Adobe Acrobat Reader, EPUB format for iPhone-iPad-Mac devices and MOBI format for Amazon Kindle device.
