Maryam Rajavi:Extremists are misusing the name of Islam
Last Updated: Saturday, 16 July 2016 11:23
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| Maryam Rajavi |
Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian
Resistance, earlier this week wrote a commentary for Forbes exposing the
un-Islamic nature of Islamic fundamentalists who massacre innoncent people in
the name of religion.
Mrs. Rajavi pointed out that last week,
billions of Muslims around the world celebrated Eid al-Fitr, which marks the
joyous end of the holy month of Ramadan. To practicing Muslims of all stripes,
Ramadan is a season of compassion, self-betterment and community, values wholly
denigrated by the persistence of terrorism and tyranny under the name of Islam.
She added that the spasms of violence in
places such as Orlando, Istanbul, Bangladesh and even Saudi Arabia are the
deliberate outcomes of a frightening and aggressive world outlook that offers a
twisted image of Islam. Its foot soldiers strip Quranic verses and the
traditions of the Prophet of all context in a vain–and illegitimate–attempt to
justify murder, conquest and subjugation.
In the article, published on July 10, Mrs. Rajavi wrote:
This is not Islam.
From the outset, when Prophet Mohammad invited
all to accept a single God, he told people that this would bring them
salvation. God said in the Holy Quran that the Prophet had come to open the
chains from people’s hands and feet. Prior to this, Jesus had said, “Love one
another just as the Lord loves you.” Before him, Moses invited people to a
religion that considers human beings as part of one family, describing the
various peoples, ethnicities and tribes as branches that lead back to a single
source.
So, all of us, as the children of Abraham, are
brothers and sisters. What is essential in relations among human beings is not
retribution, tyranny and exploitation, but freedom, compassion and unity.
Sadly, oppressive rulers and forces have
interpreted Quranic verses over time in accordance with the most reactionary
schools of thought. In the course of this conflict, two diametrically opposed
versions of Islam have emerged. One is based on tyranny. The other is based on
freedom.
From the mullahs ruling in Tehran, to the
Lebanese Hezbollah, to Boko Haram and Daesh, all exhibit a twisted commitment
to the oppressive and tyrannical interpretation. But one need only look to the
Quran to realize that they stand in stark contrast against the truth of Islam.
The truth of Islam
What today’s extremists introduce as “Jihad”
is nothing other than sheer terrorism and brutality. The meaning of jihad in
the Quran is to rise up against injustice, something that has even been
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Quran gives
permission for jihad only to those who face injustices, are being murdered or
forcibly exiled from their country. Ironically, Muslims who oppose the rule of
clerics or caliphs, as well as non-Muslims who refuse to surrender to them, are
the primary targets of this falsely labeled “jihad.”
Extremists also espouse brutal inequality and
violence against women, depriving them of basic rights, barring them from
leadership roles, and oppressing them as second-class citizens. But Islam
played a pioneering role in opening the path of liberty and equality for women.
From the earliest days, hundreds of women gained prominence by swearing
allegiance to the Prophet and assuming responsibilities in political, social
and military matters.
Another horrifying trait of extremists is
their attempt to discredit moral, humanitarian and Islamic principles as they
grapple for power. Before becoming the leader of Iran, Khomeini in his book
titled The Islamic State deemed as permissible mass killings in order to ensure
the survival of the state or, as he put it, in order to “uproot many of the
corrupt races that are harmful to society.”
Is it not true that monotheistic religions
were revealed in order to imbue human beings with moral codes and humanitarian
principles? Were the Ten Commandments of Moses or everything that Jesus and
Mohammad said not intended to contain the aggressive, greedy and oppressive
tendencies of human beings in order to inaugurate a path toward freedom?
It brings me deep sorrow that extremists of
all stripes portray themselves as defenders of Islamic and moral standards. In
order to implement unjustified violence, which they falsely describe as
“Islamic punishments,” they have amputated limbs, gouged out eyes and stoned
women to death with indescribable barbarity.
No one has trampled upon Islamic law more than
this bunch. As the Quran says, “And of men is he whose speech about the life of
this world pleases thee, and he calls Allah to witness as to that which is in
his heart, yet he is the most violent of adversaries. And when he holds
authority, he makes effort in the land to cause mischief in it and destroy
tilth and offspring; and Allah loves not mischief” (Quran 2:204-205).
The spirit of goodwill
It is critical for true followers of Islam to
stand up against perversions of our faith. And there are many groups who seek
to do this, one of which is the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the main component of
the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Since its founding in 1965,
the group has embarked on a theoretical effort to understand the truth of Islam
and wipe away dogmatic and static readings of the Quran. The NCRI succeeded in
promoting in Iranian society the credible views of Islam on freedom, human
rights, social justice, gender equality and the rights of ethnic and religious
minorities and other matters.
Muslims worldwide must come together to reject
sectarianism and religious conflicts. We must declare that the struggle is not
between Shiites and Sunnis, or Muslims and Christians, or the people and
culture of the Middle East against the people and culture of the West. Rather,
the main struggle is between tyranny and extremism on the one hand, and
democracy and freedom on the other. And as this month of Ramadan comes to an end,
we must not allow the spirit of goodwill to leave with it.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi is the President-elect of
the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
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