Suicide Attacks Are Incompatible with Islam

Mawlid an-Nabi is an important day for all Muslims. Joyful celebration of the birth of the Prophet of Islam is something all Muslims have in common. Yet even this unifying element has now become a sign of division and fragmentation. Indeed, it has become an opportunity for mutually hostile Muslim groups to attack one another.

All Sunnis and Shiites celebrate Mawlid an-Nabi. Indeed, Houthis in Yemen arrange various activities within the celebrations of the Mawlid. Houthis wishing to hold a celebration in the capital’s al-Sabin Square last week were not allowed to do so, and the celebration was postponed to yesterday. It has been announced that the celebrations in Sana’a will last for a week, with various activities planned.

Members of the Ansarullah Movement, made up of Houthis, perpetrated a suicide attack in the Ibb Governorate the other day because of the Mawlid celebrations: Thirty-three people lost their lives in this attack, aimed at a culture center.

Strapping a bomb to oneself, infiltrating a group regarded as the enemy and blowing oneself up has sadly become equated with Islam. Not a day goes by without suicide attacks in a wide expanse of territory from Afghanistan to Iraq and from Israel to Yemen.

So what is the reason for this increase in suicide attacks? The instability in the countries in the region may represent the primary answer to that question. Attacks are perpetrated either against members of what is regarded as an occupier, such as in Israel, or against Islamic groups that are inimical to one another, such as in Iraq and Yemen.

Thirty-two percent of suicide attacks take place in countries occupied by foreign armies. The other 68% represent attacks by Muslims against one another.

Restaurants, markets and public transport facilities - public places with large civilian populations in other words - are deliberately chosen in suicide attacks. Indeed, attacks can even be perpetrated as Muslims are worshiping during the Friday prayers, as we've seen in Iraq, or while religious celebrations are going on, as in Yemen.

Many Muslim groups condemned Israel for sending its troops into a mosque in Jerusalem, and even denounced it as a foe needing to be destroyed. Interestingly, however, those same groups have remained utterly silent in the face of a suicide attack against a mosque where Muslims were praying, and some have even encouraged such attacks.

If one of those who intended to carry out a suicide attack were to be asked, “Why have you chosen this path?” he would probably say that he was doing this in the name of Islam, since he has been educated with false information and was ignorant of true Qur’anic values such as forgiveness, peace and love.

Yet committing suicide, and thus taking part in suicide attacks - and particularly taking the lives of innocent people in the process - is a blatant violation of the values of Islam; indeed, it is no secret to anyone that suicide is explicitly forbidden in the Qur'an (Surat an-Nisa’, 29). It is therefore impossible for someone who says he believes in Allah and that he abides by the verses of the Qur’an to do such a thing. This is an outrage that only someone wrongly acquainted with the faith, ignorant of true Qur’anic moral values, unable to use his mind and conscience and who has been brainwashed with feelings of hatred and revenge could perpetrate. Everyone, Muslim or not, must oppose such actions.

Allah makes it obligatory in the Qur’an for Muslims to strive to spread goodness across the world and to put an end to evil. However, the means that Muslims are shown in order to bring this about is not “fighting.” On the contrary, they are told in the Qur’an to respond to evil with good and to encourage love, affection, tolerance, patience and goodness. Muslims have a responsibility to call on all mankind until peace, well-being and compassion reign across the world. In other words, Muslims’ struggle must be an intellectual one, not one involving bloodshed, killing or encouraging the taking of life. All Muslims who know the true values of the Qur’an are aware of this and preach the values of the Qur’an in this way. They tell people of the values of the Qur’an and summon them to live in peace by using all the means of modern technology, through books, magazines, films and conferences.

There is absolutely no room for hatred or terror in the moral values of Islam. It is unacceptable in Islam for suicide bombers to perpetrate such treacherous outrages against anyone, for any reason. People who commit such actions and claim to do so in the name of Islam are ignorant fanatics who act in the light of non-Qur’anic nonsense and misinterpretations and who have no idea of what it means to be a true Muslim.

In one verse from the Qur’an Almighty Allah says:

“…if someone kills another person – unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth – it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind…” (Surat al-Ma’ida, 32)

Adnan Oktar's piece on National Yemen:

http://nationalyemen.com/2015/01/04/suicide-attacks-are-incompatible-with-islam/

Tribalized States Or Tribes That Are Effectively States In The Middle East

Tribalized States Or Tribes That Are Effectively States In The Middle East

Tribes are a social organization based on family lines and can be seen in almost all the Arab lands. Tribes are also the most important elements in social life and even in politics in Yemen.

The spirit of tribal solidarity confers advantages on their members. It is also easier, by means of tribes, to relocate and manage human and animal populations and run large territories. That is why tribes have managed to survive in Arab lands from the agricultural period down to today’s modern era.

One simply cannot see this social structure in Europe today; groups based on family lines lost all validity following the Industrial Revolution and with the foundation of nation states on the road to democracy.

In the Middle East, however, the state’s use of tribal populations and authority in order to strengthen its control over the people has led to tribes becoming even stronger. Tribes whose authority is made use of are usually repaid by leaders with prestige and important posts within the state.

As a result, tribalism is today even more powerful. As tribes become stronger they begin shaping political life, and they transform themselves into quasi-states. When the authority of a leader that binds tribes together is lost, as happened in post-Saddam Iraq and in Libya after the overthrow of Qaddafi, they enter into conflicts of interest and start fighting one another.

One can see similar developments in Yemen, a part of the Middle East. Many party leaders are also leaders of the tribes they belong to. The overwhelming influence of tribes on the state is still continuing decades after the revolution of September 1962. For example, fifty-eight percent of the Yemeni parliament headed by Abdullah al Ahmar in 1969 consisted of tribal leaders. As the tribal leaders grow older, they are replaced by their children, and the system carries on. The influence of tribes is not limited to politics, by the way; important figures in the military are also leaders or members of tribes.

Tribes also try to increase their influence and power in an unjust manner by means of favoritism. Tribal leaders are generally even able to step outside party policies in order to strength their own influence. Every tribe can organize and protect its own territory, much like a nation-state. That leads to enormous competition in the country; that competition leads to divisions, and those divisions lead to various conflicts.

One can see two tribes with the same language, ethnicity or religion fighting to the death in Yemen. That of course means a serious breakdown in state authority in Yemen, as well as in peace and unity.

It is a violation of Qur’anic morality for members of Muslim tribes to be in conflict. Allah speaks of family relations, blood ties and tribes in the Qur’an, although Muslim unity is stressed as more important than all these. According to the Qur’an, all believers are brothers, no matter what their gender, race, color or tribe, and they have a duty to treat one another justly.

In the Qur’an, Allah commands believers to be united, to stand together in ranks against disbelief, to regard and love one another as brothers, to be compassionate, forgiving and protective toward one another and to strongly avoid fragmentation and division. Believers have a duty to be united according to the Qur’an. As stated in one verse:

Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate. Remember Allah’s blessing to you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing. You were on the very brink of a pit of the Fire and He rescued you from it. In this way Allah makes His signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will be guided. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 103)

From this and similar verses, and from the Qur’an as a whole, we can see that Muslims have an obligation

• To be united;
• To be bound to one another with brotherly love and affection;
• Not to argue and fall out;
• To be one another’s friends and guardians;
• To watch out for and protect one another under all circumstances;
• To counsel one another;
• And to wage an intellectual struggle against denial in ranks like well-built walls.

Any contrary form of behavior, that is

• Being divisive instead of inclusive;
• Not treating one’s Muslim brothers with love and affection;
• Not being forgiving and protective toward one’s Muslim brothers;
• And not standing side by side with other Muslims in the intellectual struggle against denial is forbidden. 

The Yemenis must abandon divisions and differences and remember the fact that all Muslims are “brothers.” They must act as a role model to the world with the moral values this spiritual brotherhood brings with it. The spirit of brotherhood between believers is a gift and a blessing from Allah; Yemenis must therefore give thanks to Allah for this blessing and not forget His command “not to separate.”

In verse 13 of Surat al-Hujurat, Almighty Allah states that He has created differences between people as a means for them to come to know one another, not as a source of conflict. Allah wants Muslims to compete in good deeds, not to fight each other because of their differences. Members of tribes in Yemen must begin at once working for the good of all Muslims. Only then can Yemen strengthen its democracy as a secure and prosperous country.

Adnan Oktar's piece on National Yemen:

http://nationalyemen.com/2014/05/25/tribalized-states-or-tribes-that-are-effectively-states-in-the-middle-east/

Does Boko Haram advocate Islam? By Harun Yahya

Does Boko Haram advocate Islam? By Harun Yahya
NewsRescue

Harun Yahya

Bombed-out churches, burned-out police stations, raided pubs, students and teachers riddled with bullets in schools…

When you search for “Boko Haram” on any news site, these are some of the results that will appear. Boko Haram is one of the most dangerous terror organizations operating today, and began its activities in 2002 in Maiduguri, capital of the Nigerian state of Borno, under the leadership of the late Muhammed Yusuf. Boko Haram means “West(ern education) is Unlawful” in the language of the Hausa, one of the tribes of  Nigeria. The group’s proper name is “The Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad”. As can be seen from its moniker, the organization claims to be acting in the name of Islam.

In the view of Boko Haram, everything Western is inherently corrupt and to be avoided by Muslims: Everything Western in Nigeria, and particularly the education system, must therefore be removed from the Islamic world. The organization therefore regards teachers and the students who listen to them, Christians going to church and people having fun in bars as legitimate targets.

Various different organizations sharing similar ideas to those of Boko Haram are also active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Many experts on terrorism, politicians and sociologists in the Western world are seeking answers to the questions “Why have such terror organizations emerged now when there were none 30 years ago?” and “What are the reasons behind them?” Various answers have been provided in the Western press, universities and governments.

We may list some of these as follows; corrupt and despotic regimes unable or unwilling to respond to their citizens’ political and economic demands have given rise to such organizations; the exceedingly interventionist policies of Europe and the US and the losses of life and property suffered by local residents on every intervention; and finally, the failure of Arab nationalism that claimed to protect Arabs and the Middle East against the West and the emergence of an Arab identity that disregarded religious values.

Although there is an element of truth in all these hypotheses, Western countries are not particularly successful in the struggle against these organizations. Neither the pinpoint operations carried out by anti-terror teams nor the missiles rained down by drones are enough to stop these terror organizations.

Many governments, in both Nigeria and the West, are today gravely alarmed by the terror organizations resorting to terrorism in the name of Islam and that concern is by no means unfounded. All those who commit and support terrorism obviously need to be punished according to international law and the principles of justice. More important, however, is the need for long-term strategies to solve the problem.

The best measure that can be taken against these organizations that claim to be Islamic is exposing the perverse nature of the ideology these groups have in their minds.  Muslims must first and foremost demand to undertake that task, because it is Muslims who can best talk about Islam. So what do Muslims need to say? The following are the facts based on the Qur’an that must be expressed instead of the weak objections or suggestions made without any solutions:

• It is a grave sin in the eyes of Islam to kill an innocent person, and someone who kills an innocent person will encounter a terrible punishment in the hereafter (Qur’an, 5:32)

• Islamic moral values command Muslims to behave justly at all times, when making decisions, when speaking or at work; in brief at every moment of their lives (Qur’an, 10:47)

• Muslims must summon people to the moral values of Islam, not using force and pressure, but solely by speaking gently (Qur’an, 3:104)

• Islam commands solidarity and mutual aid among people (Qur’an, 5:2)

• Islam commands goodness and forbids evil (Qur’an, 3:104)

•  Islam commands people to respond to evil with good (Qur’an, 41:34)

• Allah commands Muslims to always be forgiving (Qur’an, 7:199)

• Islam commands people to be pleasant-natured (Qur’an, 7:159)

• There is complete freedom of belief in Islam (Qur’an, 2:256)

• Islam commands not to support wickedness (Qur’an, 10:26-27)

Terrorist organizations are built on impotent foundations. Whether they emerge using the name of Islam, whether they are Marxist or ethnic nationalist, a mass education campaign must be mobilized against the ideological foundation of them all.

The source of terror is ignorance and fanaticism, and the solution is education. Circles sympathetic to terrorism need to be told that this is completely incompatible with Islam and that, on the contrary, it can only harm Muslims and Islam, and the supporters of these organizations need to be educated so they can be purged of this inhuman barbarism. If the Nigerian government supports a policy of education along these lines, it very would likely yield positive results.

Genuine believers in all corners of the world can support this work toward a solution; they can prevent ignorance and stand up against terrorism by writing books and articles, taking part in various educational activities and providing a pleasant and tolerant cultural atmosphere. When the compassion, peace and well-being commanded by God reign across the world, terror will be consigned to the waste bin of history, never to return.

All Nigerians and the entire world must know that Islam is not the source of terror, but rather the only solution to it.

The writer has authored more than 300 books translated in 73 languages on politics, religion and science. He may be followed at @Harun_Yahya and www.harunyahya.com.

The article was also published on The Milli Gazzette.

http://newsrescue.com/boko-haram-advocate-islam-harun-yahya/