The aim in actions like lived in Boston is to depict Muslims as the army of the antichrist, as Gog and Magog

The aim in actions like lived in Boston is to depict Muslims as the army of the antichrist, as Gog and Magog

Everyone must join forces against terror

The world has been living side by side with terror for hundreds of years. Even though actions may differ from country to country, all terrorist organizations aim at defenseless civilians and send their messages by way of these people. In the terrorist attack in Oklahoma in the USA 167 people were savagely slaughtered, 19 of them children. A fanatical Jew who opened a hail of fire on Muslims praying in a mosque in Palestine caused the deaths of 29 people. Thousands of people have lost their lives in attacks against Muslims in India over the years.

Terrorist attacks both great and small have for years been perpetrated in France, Spain, the Philippines, Japan and Ireland.

 

One could go on. However, the entire world came face to face with terror in 2001. In the wake of the attacks against two major cities in the USA which led to the deaths and injuries of thousands of people, the concept of “terrorism” began to be debated once again. That was because that attack had been carried out at an unexpected time, against a country regarded as the world’s only superpower, and in a totally unforeseen manner. The attack created an air of fear and panic all over the world, especially in America.

 

Following the attacks, the USA embarked on a major fight against terror. Many countries have lined up alongside America in this struggle, and lent their support to it. The series of bombings in Istanbul, just when it was thought that the forces of terror had been brought under control, again reminded people of terrorism’s dark face: first synagogues, then the British Consulate, then the HSBC General Directorate building …

 

The Saturday prayer, which had been performed for centuries, was interrupted by the bombs exploded on November 15th. Twenty-four people were killed in the explosions at the Neva Shalom synagogue at Beyoglu Kuledibi and the Beth Israel synagogue at Sisli, and 300 were injured. Dozens of more people lost their lives in the explosions at the British Consulate and the HSBC building, and hundreds were injured. Images similar to those which followed the September 11 attacks began appearing on our television screens. Ruined buildings, people fleeing in panic, burned out busses, corpses lying in the streets …

 

The point we wish to emphasize in this article is the Islamic perspective on terror attacks and the killing of the innocent. All forms of terrorist attack are roundly condemned in Islam. According to the Qur'an, it is a great sin to kill an innocent person, and anyone who does so will suffer great torment in the Hereafter:

… 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. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, but even after that, many of them committed outrages in the earth.(Qur’an, 5:32)

This verse equals the killing of one innocent to slaughtering all of humanity! Another verse expresses the importance that the faithful attach to life:

Those who do not appeal to any other deity besides God [alone]; nor kill any soul whom God has forbidden [them to] except with the right to do so; nor fornicate. Anyone who does so will incur a penalty. (Qur’an, 25:68)

In yet another verse, God issues the following commandment:

Say: "Come, and I will recite to you what your Lord has forbidden for you": that you do not associate anything with Him; that you are good to your parents; that you do not kill your children because of poverty—We will provide for you and them; that you do not approach indecency—outward or inward; that you do not kill any person God has made inviolate—except with the right to do so. That is what He instructs you to do, so that hopefully, you will use your intellect. (Qur’an, 6:151)

Any Muslim who believes in God with a sincere heart, who scrupulously abides by His verses and fears suffering in the Hereafter, will avoid harming even one other person. He knows that the Lord of Infinite Justice will suitably reward him for all his deeds. In one of the hadiths, our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) listed the kinds of people who are not pleasing to God:

"Those who act cruelly and unjustly in the sacred lands, those who yearn for the ways of the ignorant, and those who wrongly shed human blood." (Sahih Bukhari Hadith)

Another element we wish to concentrate on is the attack on devout Turkish Jews worshipping in their synagogues. Churches, synagogues and mosques are houses for the worship of God. It is a terrible crime in the sight of God to slaughter innocent people as they worship in their churches, synagogues or mosques. These are houses where the name of God is remembered, praised and recited. In the Qur’an, , God reveals that:

… God guides to His Light whoever He wills and God makes metaphors for mankind and God has knowledge of all things. In houses which God has permitted to be built and in which His name is remembered, there are men who proclaim His glory morning and evening. (Qur’an, 24:35-36)

The people who go to those places are devout, prayerful people. All houses where the name of God is remembered are sacred in the eyes of Islam. Visitors to these houses may be Jews, Christians or Muslims. The important thing is that each one is a devout believer in God. A Muslim must respect and protect the holy places where the People of the Book worship God, and protect them. For Muslims, these places are precious because in these places, people, whether Jews or Christians, remember God. In the Qur'an, the places of worship of the People of the Book, ie. monasteries, churches and synagogues, are mentioned as places of worship protected by God.

…[I]f God had not driven some people back by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, where God's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. God will certainly help those who help Him—God is All-Strong, Almighty. (Qur'an, 22:40)

As a manifestation of his loyalty to God's commands, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was most careful not to destroy the holy places of the People of the Book. Such destruction means, in the first place, opposing God's commands. This aside, it means preventing people who have faith in God worshipping Him. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) promised the Christians, who were the other party to a peace agreement he made, that their churches would not be destroyed and that they would never be harmed. The tax (Jizya) agreements he made with Christians also guaranteed the safety of churches.

 

The first agreement made after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) that guaranteed the protection of the temples was a tax agreement Khalid bin al-Waleed signed with the leader of the city of Anat. Ibn Ishaq stated that those agreements made by Khalid bin al-Waleed were also approved by Abu Bakr and the three caliphs following him. This aside, Abu Bakr offered the same guarantees that had been offered to the people of Najran by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

 

The Islamic societies that abided by Islamic morality after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) also paid special attention to this issue. Muslim leaders who adhered to the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) respected the places of worship of non-Muslims in conquered countries and showed great tolerance to the clergy.

 

Terror Will Disappear When People Come to Live by the Moral Values of Islam

 

In the Qur'an (32:9), God reveals that He has breathed His Spirit into man, His creation, and that man is His representative on Earth (Qur'an, 6:165). One of the most important differences between man and the animals is that man was created with both earthly desires and with a conscience. Every person possesses desires that incite him to evil, along with a conscience that inspires him to avoid it. Alongside such pleasing attributes inspired by that conscience-love, sacrifice, compassion, humility, affection, honesty, loyalty and kindness-he also possesses destructive and undesirable tendencies, stemming from his earthly desires. Thanks to his conscience, however, the believer can distinguish between right and wrong and opt for what is morally right. Strong belief in and fear of God, faith in the Hereafter, powerful fear of the endless torments of Hell and a yearning for Paradise all keep the temptations of his earthly desires at bay. Therefore, he always behaves well towards people, is forgiving, responds to wickedness with good, assists those in need, and shows compassion, love, affection and tolerance.

 

Terrorists, on the other hand, listen to their earthly desire for violence instead of their consciences, and can easily turn to all forms of wickedness. They become loveless, aggressive people who easily hurt others without the slightest pang of conscience. Having no fear of God, they do not know the morality of religion, nor do they practice it. Nothing can stop them from committing crimes.

 

In restraining its citizens, society's prevailing rules can go only so far. Thanks to its law enforcement units, the state may be able to partially protect streets and public spaces, and-thanks to a powerful system of justice-may be able to take necessary means to ensure public order and ensure that the crime rate drops. But since it's impossible to keep watch on every individual, 24 hours a day, it's essential that peoples' consciences enter the equation at some stage. Someone who doesn't heed the voice of his conscience can easily turn to crime when on his own, or surrounded by people of like mind. That being the case, a model of society emerges which is composed of individuals who lie when necessary, have no hesitation about making unjust profits, and feel no unease about oppressing the weak. It is clear that physical precautions and measures will bear no fruit in a society which has no fear of God and which has lost its spiritual values. Religious moral values, on the other hand, command a person to refrain from evil, even if he is all alone, even if nobody will punish him for his evil deeds. It is evident that a person who knows that he will be called to account in the presence of God for his every deed, his every decision and his every word, and that he will be suitably rewarded for these in the eternal life of the Hereafter, will scrupulously avoid committing evil.

 

Terrorist organizations can't possibly have any place in a society whose people avoid evil of their own free will. Where religion's morality prevails, problems that give rise to organizations supporting the use of violence will disappear naturally. If the whole society possesses superior virtues like honesty, sacrifice, love and justice, there can be no place for such things as poverty, unequal distribution of income, injustice, the oppression of the weak, or limitations on freedoms. On the contrary, a social order will emerge that meets the wants of the needy; where the wealthy protect the poor and the strong, the weak; where everyone can enjoy the very best health care, education, and transport systems. There, tolerance and understanding will dominate the relationships between different ethnic groups, religions and cultures.

 

For these reasons, proper morality is the key to solving so many social problems. The source of that key, in turn, is the Qur'an, which God has revealed as a guide for mankind.

 

It must not be forgotten that unless necessary measures are taken, unless deep-rooted solutions are brought in, the 21st century will continue to be a time of terror and violence, just as the 20th was before it. The homes of innocent people will be bombed, and women and children will be slaughtered. The ideological fight against terrorism, therefore, must be started with great urgency, to include very great numbers of people.

This fight will be fought on the level of ideas-between people who believe in God, who are loving, forgiving, compassionate and in full possession of their conscience; and those who draw their strength from ignorance and violence. In one verse, our Lord reveals, "Why were there not people with good sense among the generations of those who came before you, who forbade corruption in the earth…" (Qur'an, 11:116). Believers should possess the virtue that God describes in that verse. While terrorists hope to achieve their aims by violence, believers know that true success can be achieved only by clinging tightly to the religion of God, and acting accordingly. Jews, Christians, and Muslims will join together in that struggle, in a spirit of respect for all beliefs and ideas and, by the will of God, enjoy definitive success. This is God's promise to all His believing servants, which will definitely come true.

 

At this point, a great responsibility falls on all true believers, no matter what their religion. Jews must not ignore Old Testament statements calling mankind to peace and tolerance, and they must call on all other Jews to oppose terrorism. So should Christians call on all other Christians, taking as their guide the morality most pleasing to God. One should not forget that terrorism stems from wrong ideas and the basic struggle against terrorism should be on the level of ideas. Believers must explain that these ideas are wrong, and that no idea can prevail by means of violence, oppression and cruelty; and despotism can never bring about beauty.

 

Terrorist ideology is built on sand. Its foundations can easily be swept away by mobilizing a proper education campaign. Sincere believers in all parts of the world can help end the ignorance that breeds terrorism by searching for solutions, writing books and articles, promoting educational activities and disseminating their own cultural heritage. The prevalence of tolerance, peace and security on the Earth, as commanded by God, will make terrorism disappear into the pages of history forever. Adopting a defeatist, pessimistic attitude in the face of terror is unacceptable. Our hope is that this suffering will not be repeated, and that all measures will be adopted to that end.

 

May God have mercy on those who died in those hateful attacks, and may He heal the injured. Our sincere condolences to all mankind. (For detailed information, please see Islam Denounces Terrorism and Only Love Can Defeat Terrorism by Harun Yahya)

Finding the real source of terror

Especially for the last 20 years, there is a concept called "Islamic terror" on the agenda of the Western world. The terrorist attacks, which were organized against the two big cities of the United States of America on September 11, 2001 and resulted in the death of tens of thousands of innocent people, brought this concept to the world agenda once more.

As Muslims, we strongly condemn these attacks and we offer our condolences to the American nation. This article explains that the source of the violence that we condemn is definitely not Islam.

A point that needs to be primarily indicated is that it is not clear who carries out this act. This felonious attack can be the act of very different focus groups. It could be a communist organization that hates American values or a fascist one that protests against federal administration. It could be the result of a hidden fraction in other countries. Even if the terrorists who hijacked the planes carry Muslim names, the question of who used them for what purpose will continue to remain a mystery.

Even if terrorists have Muslim names and identities, the murders they perpetrate cannot be labelled "Islamic terror", just as it could not be called "Jewish terror" if the perpetrators were Jews or "Christian terror" if they were Christians. That is because murdering innocent people in the name of a Divine religion is impossible. Unless forgiven by Allah, murdering innocent people is a great sin that brings endless torment in Hell. A person who believes in religion and has fear of Allah cannot do something like this.

The perpetrators can commit such violence only with the intention of attacking religion itself. It may well be that those who carry out such violence do so to present religion as evil in the eyes of people and to generate hatred and reaction towards the religious. Consequently, every attack on innocent people having a "religious" facade is actually an attack made against religion.

Religion commands love, mercy and peace. Terror, on the other hand, is the opposite of religion; it is cruel, merciless and demands bloodshed, murder and misery. This being the case, the origins of a terrorist act should be sought in disbelief rather than in religiousness. The origins should be sought in fascist, communist, racist or materialist outlook on life. The name or the identity of the triggerman is not important. If he can kill innocent people without blinking an eye, then he is an unbeliever, not a believer. He is a murderer with no fear of Allah, whose main ambition is to shed blood and to cause harm. For this reason, "Islamic terror" is an erroneous concept which contradicts Islam's message. The religion of Islam by no means countenances terror. On the contrary, terror (i.e. murders committed against innocent people) in Islam is a great crime and Muslims are responsible for preventing these acts and bringing peace and justice to the world.

Command of war in the Qur'an

According to the Qur'an, war is a last resort and an "undesired necessity" to be waged within specific humanitarian and moral bounds. One verse describes how it is deniers of Allah who instigate the wars in the world, and that war is not pleasing to Allah:

"... Each time they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it. They rush about the earth corrupting it. Allah does not love corrupters." (Surat al-Ma'ida, 64)

When we look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad (saas), we see that war was resorted to only when unavoidable and for defensive purposes alone.

The revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet (saas) took 23 years. During the first 13 years, Muslims lived as a minority in the pagan order in Mecca, and were subjected to severe oppression. Many Muslims suffered physical torture, some were killed, most had their goods and homes plundered, and they were subjected to constant insults and threats. Nonetheless, Muslims continued to live without resorting to violence and always called on the pagans to live in peace.

Eventually, when the oppression inflicted by the pagans became unbearable, the Muslims migrated to the city of Yathrib (later Medina), where they encountered a freer and friendlier climate and where they established their own administration. Even after setting up their own political structure, they still did not resort to arms against the aggressive pagans of Mecca. Only after the revelation of the following verse did the Prophet (saas) command his community to ready themselves for war:

"Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against because they have been wronged—truly Allah has the power to come to their support—those who were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying, 'Our Lord is Allah'… " (Surat al-Hajj, 39-40)

In short, Allah gave the Muslims permission to wage war because they had suffered oppression and cruelty. To put it another way, the war permitted to them was for defensive purposes only. In other verses, Muslims were warned to avoid unnecessary provocation or the use of unnecessary violence:

"Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight you, but do not go beyond the limits. Allah does not love those who go beyond the limits." (Surat al-Baqara, 190)

Following the revelation of these verses, wars between the Muslims and the pagan Arabs took place. None of these wars were provoked by the Muslims. Moreover, the Prophet (saas) established a climate of peace and security and a social structure in which they could live in peace with the pagans by concluding a peace treaty, namely the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, in which many of the pagans' demands were accepted. It was the pagans who broke this treaty, at which a new war broke out. Due to the rapid rise in the number of Muslims, the Islamic army achieved a strength that the pagan Arabs were unable to withstand, and the Prophet (saas) advanced on Mecca with that powerful force and duly captured it. No blood was shed in the course of that conquest, and not a single nose was caused to bleed. Impressed by this elevated character of his, the pagans later turned to Islam of their own free will.

This peaceable and moderate policy of the Prophet Muhammad's (saas) stemmed from the essence of Islam as revealed by Allah in the Qur'an. In the Qur'an, Allah commands believers to treat non-Muslims well:

"Allah does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. Allah loves those who are just. Allah merely forbids you from taking as friends those who have fought you in the religion and driven you from your homes and who supported your expulsion…" (Surat al-Mumtahana, 8-9)

The verses above clarify the approach of Muslims to non-Muslims: A Muslim should treat all non-Muslims kindly and only avoid making friends with those who show enmity towards Islam. In a case where this enmity causes violent attacks against Muslim existence, which becomes a cause of war, then Muslims should wage this war justly by considering the humane dimensions of the situation.

The Meaning of the Concept of Jihad in the Qur'an:

Another relevant concept essential to be shed light on is that of "jihad."
The word actually means "struggling." In other words, according to Islam, waging jihad means "endeavoring or making great efforts." The Prophet (saas) has informed us that the greatest jihad is the one waged against one's own lower self. The lower self implies one's selfish passions and greed. An intellectual struggle against anti-religious and atheistic ideas is also definitely a jihad.

Beside such intellectual and moral meanings, war as a physical struggle is also a "jihad". However, this war has to be for defense purposes or a limited one as we have described above. The concept of jihad to be used to define an act of violence against innocent people, meaning terror, is a very big and unjust distortion.

To sum up the facts we have seen so far, the "political doctrine" of Islam (in other words, Islamic rules and principles regarding political matters) is exceedingly moderate and  peace loving. This truth is also accepted by many non-Muslim historians and theologians. One of these is the British historian Karen Armstrong, a former nun and an expert on Middle East history. In her book Holy War, she makes the following comments on the subject:

... The word 'Islam' comes from the same Arabic root as the word 'peace' and the Koran condemns war as an abnormal state of affairs opposed to God's will… Islam does not justify a total aggressive war of extermination… Islam recognises that war is inevitable and sometimes a positive duty in order to end oppression and suffering.The Koran teaches that war must be limited and be conducted in as humane a way as possible... When Mohammad sent his freedman Zaid against the Christians at the head of a Muslim army, he told them to fight in the cause of God bravely but humanely. They must not molest priests, monks and nuns nor the weak and helpless people who were unable to fight. There must be no massacre of civilians nor should they cut down a single tree nor pull down any building. (Karen Armstrong, Holy War, MacMillan London Limited, 1988, p. 25)

Following the death of the Prophet (saas) Muslims continued to display exceptional tolerance and respect towards members of other faiths. Both Christians and Jews lived securely and freely in Islamic states. Muslims have never been mischief-makers in history; on the contrary they have brought security and peace to people of every nationality and faith wherever they go to. (For detailed information please see: Harun Yahya, Justice and Tolerance in the Qur'an, Vural Publishing, 2003)

In short, the basis of Qur'anic morality is to establish tolerance, peace and mercy and Islam aims to clear the world of mischief.  The commands of the Qur'an and enforcement of these by Muslims throughout history is peremptorily loud and clear. (For detailed information see:www.islamdenouncesterrorism.com)

The known bigot of the end times will have the attributes of the antichrist (Dajjal) and the sufyan

BEDIUZZAMAN TOLD THAT HE WILL ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES WITH HIS WISDOM AND INTELLIGENCE

SEVENTH MATTER: (Risale-i Nur Collection, Fifth  Ray)

There is a narration: “The Sufyan will be an eminent scholar; he will fall into misguidance through his learning. Numerous other scholars will follow him.”

The knowledge is with God, an interpretation is this: although he has no means of sovereignty such as strength and power, tribes and peoples, courage and riches, like a king,HE WILL WIN THAT POSITION THROUGH HIS CLEVERNESS, SCIENCE, AND POLITICAL ACUMEN, AND  THROUGH HIS INTELLIGENCE HE WILL BEWITCH THE MINDS OF MANY OTHER SCHOLARS, MAKING THEM DICTATE HIS WISHES. HE WILL ATTRACT NUMEROUS TEACHERS TO SUPPORT HIM, and pointing out to them the way to an education system stripped of religious instruction, will work for its widespread enforcement.

ASSUMING HIM TO BE A GENUINE SPIRITUAL TEACHER, SOME PEOPLE WILL FOLLOW ANTICHRIST

When he (antichrist) appears, he will summon to faith and righteousness for the first time; EVERYONE WILL FOLLOW HIM, ASSUMING HIM TO BE A GENUINE GUIDE…

Those people of wisdom recognizing this will diverge from him…

(Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah)

Islam is a religion of peace. Obama is against the extremist mindset, not against Islam

In a statement about their fight against terror, U.S. President Obama said: “Our fight is not against Islam, but against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.” He then went on to say that some extremists think that “the West can never be reconciled with Islam” and that they regard violence as justified. “However, America is not at war with Islam; this ideology and terrorist attacks are rejected by the majority of Muslims,” he said.

ADNAN OKTAR: Now, they are not wrong, of course. Various things have gone wrong. The expressions in some classic works are terrifying. According to what these works say, anyone who shaves every week should be killed. That is written explicitly, so why do you deny it? People who do not pray are to be killed according to three of the sects. In the fourth sect they are to be beaten till the blood flows. Until the person goes into a coma, in other words: Then if he still persists in not praying he is to be killed.

If someone who believes in these expressions then says, ‘Islam is a religion of love,’ people will not believe him because you do not practice what you preach. Allah says, “There is no compulsion in religion.” The other wide make things up and say, ‘I will beat you to death with sticks. I will make you pray.” Yet Allah says, “There is no compulsion in religion.” Do you not believe what Allah says. “I do not believe, and I have found these things for myself,” these people say. “I have discovered this idea of beating you until you pray” they say.

This contravenes the Qur’an and Islam but they ignore this. These fabricated hadiths say, ‘When you see a Christian, you must force him into a corner.’ Treat him with contempt, in other words. In their eyes, what must we do if we realize that someone walking along is a Christian? We are meant to shoulder-barge him. So where is he expected to walk? “Force him to the edge of the road and humiliate him,” they say.

Why do you deny it? That is what you think. You have added things to Allah’s religion. What are you trying to turn our luminous Islam into? Then they say, ‘Islam is a religion of peace.’ But nobody will believe them. Of course Islam is a religion of peace. But is what you describe, filled with nonsense, a religion of peace? What you describe is savagery. You talk of savagery. You do not speak of the religion of the Qur’an. You have established a fabricated faith. You then add provisions from your own head that you say are Islam. You should espouse the pure Islam based on the Qur’an. You should scrupulously abide by Allah’s commands. But if something does not suit them, may Allah forbid, they say, ‘No, Allah has revoked this.’ You have lost your senses. How can a verse of the Qur’an cease to apply? The Qur’an is valid until the Day of Reckoning.

The true faith will defend itself. The Qur’an will defend itself. But, by Allah’s leave, we must try to win these people over as quickly as possible. We cannot get anywhere with exclusion and contempt, insha’Allah. (Adnan Oktar, 24 May 2013: A9 TV)

The reason behind the killing of the US Ambassador is the bigot system in Libya

The reason behind the killing of the US Ambassador is the bigot system in Libya

Reading the Treatise of Light Collection is very important in order to hinder the spread of Radical Islam

Reading the Treatise of Light Collection is very important in order to hinder the spread of Radical Islam