In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
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In the wake of the horrible tragedy of September eleventh, Muslims from around the world have raised their voice to deplore the fanaticism of the hijackers and to express solidarity with the innocent victims.Yasser Arafat personally hasted to donate blood. King Abdullah of Jordan averred his unequivocal support for the international effort to combat terrorism. Scores of other leaders in Middle Eastern and African nations declared their sympathy for the murdered Americans, denouncing terrorism as a means of protest, whatever the grievances might be.
In the United States, American Muslims likewise rose to the occasion. The great Muhammad Ali put in an appearance at a coming-together of hundreds of celebrities and representatives of many faiths, declaring: "I wouldn't be here representing Islam if it were terrorist. I think all people should know the truth, come to recognize the truth: Islam is peace.
Ali noted, "I cannot sit idly by and let the world think that Islam is a killing religion. [Terrorists] have twisted the teachings of Islam."
Louis Farrakhan, in Chicago, said: "... though the pain that black people have suffered in America has caused me to be angry with the country of my birth," Farrakahn says, "I know that with all of America's problems, she's the greatest nation on this earth."
Immam Izak-El M. Pasha pleaded, "Do not allow the ignorance of people to have you attack your good neighbors. We are Muslims, but we are Americans."
In the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks, he continued, "we Muslims, Americans, stand here today with a heavy weight on our shoulders that those who would dare to do such dastardly acts claim our faith. They are no believers in God at all."
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What the West should know
about its own history - Will Durant's "The Story of Civilization" tells how during Europe's Dark Ages, the Arabs "led the world in power, order and extent of government, in refinement of manners, in standards of living, in humane legislation and religious toleration, in literature, scholarship, science, medicine and philosophy." By the tenth century and the heroic battlefield achievement of Charles Martel, the Christian Warrior, Arabs had begun on the Iberian Penninsula a civilization of unprecedented superiority there. Cordoba alone had seven hundred mosques, sixty thousand palaces and seventy libraries, including one with half a million manuscripts and a staff of researchers and bookbinders. With a population of five hundred thousand, more than ten times that of the rude Franks of Paris, it was the most sophisticated city in Europe. and it had the first streetlights on the entire Continent. Later Arab kingdoms flourished in the mountains of Andalusia, and the Alhambra citadel of Granada, begun in 1238, was one of the wonders of the civilized world. In modern times, observers as diverse as the American Washington Irving, and the composers of several operas, have availed themselves of the glories of this Andalucian past for inspiration and the creative Muse. More on Islam's Golden Age. Desmond Stewart writes: Muslim mysticism passed directly or indirectly into the very fibre of Spanish Christian tradition. St. Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross might never have written as they did if they had not been exposed to such Sufi doctrines as the concept of God as the Beloved and Friend, and the belief that God could be known only through renunciation of the world. [Recommended: Maria Rosa Menocal. The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain] |
