Demonising Islam

DESPITE DISCLAIMERS FROM President Bush and other leaders, the recent wars in the Middle East have increasingly set themselves in the public eye as a conflict of religions. The perception of a 'Christianity versus Islam' global conflict is held by many, and is fanned by fundamentalist extremists on both sides - the Christian-Zionist Right, chiefly in the US, and the various groups fostering suicide bombing and other terrorist acts within the Islamic faith.
The 'holy war' is not confined to one side. The Christian-Zionist movement manages to ignore Christ's admonition to "love your enemies and do good to those that hurt you". Fundamentalists of Islam, in their zeal for Jihad, ignore many of the tenets of the Qur'an, which teaches:
Say ye: "We believe in God, and the revelation
given to us, and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob,
and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus,
and that given to [all] Prophets from their Lord.
We make no difference between one and another of them,
And we bow to God [in Islam]
CHAPTER 2, "AL BAQARA", VERSE 136

Obviously there are differences between the two faiths - chiefly those concerning the divinity of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. But the idea that this must result in a war to the death between rival religions is a concept that the enlightened in both would not countenance.

We should not forget that the great majority in both faiths long for peace. There are 1.9 billion Christians in the world, and 1.1 billion Muslims which is easy to say, but both faiths are riven by divisions; Catholic and Protestant, to go no further in Christianity, and Sunni and Shiite to go no further in Islam.
Muslims can be found on every continent - 31 million in Europe for example, and over 5 million in North America. Because of wars and persecution, Muslim communities are becoming sizeable minorities in many hitherto Christian countries. Their zeal and devotion often puts Christians to shame. More people worship in Mosques in England, than in Christian churches. The challenges and demands they put on believers makes the average 'comfort-zone' Christian congregation look anemic. A Muslim prays, whether in public or private, five times a day, and gathers in community in his mosque at noon on Fridays. He observes all the demands his faith requires, and in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar he fasts rigidly through daylight hours.

What do Muslims believe? A simple summary describes it this:
"The central Muslim belief is that there is only one God, unique, incomparable, eternal, absolute, and without peer or associate. He cannot be perceived in this world but through His works. Other important tenets of Islam are that God is the Creator of all that exists - and that His will is supreme; that He has sent messengers to humankind, of whom Muhammad was the "seal" - that is, the last; that the Qu'ran is the Very Word of God; that angels, immortal creatures, exist, as does Satan; that humans are responsible to God for their actions, and that, on Judgment Day, an all-knowing and merciful God will judge all mortals according to their deeds in this life".
Once at least during a lifetime, every Muslim is expected to make a pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) for a ceremony known as Hajj, which occurs in the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Here purification, prayer and ritual surround the Ka'bah, a black cubical stone structure in the courtyard of the Great Mosque at Makkah. Muslims believe this structure was built by Adam and rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael.

In a gathering that dwarfs any other regular assembly in the world it grows larger every year. In 1965, 294,000 gathered in the Hajj. In 2002 that number had swelled to 2,300,00. Just under a quarter-of-a-million came from Indonesia alone. Forty five per cent of those attending were women. The number of flights carrying pilgrims in 2002 was 6,226. Over 1.2 million sheep and goats were needed to feed those assembled. Over 40 million loaves of bread had to be prepared. Over 14,000 people were engaged full-time in garbage collection and disposal.
Ask those attending how many agreed with terrorism and it would be a fraction of one per cent. There is widespread indignation at the West's treatment of Islamic minorities such as the Palestinians, and its predatory behaviour in attempts to control Middle East oil. But the vast majority want peace as much as anyone else.

How, then, can reconciliation be achieved out of these different faiths? Both would agree that the basic ingredients are justice and mercy. Both East and West is persecuted by the most destructive religion of all - Mammon, or the almighty dollar. Increasingly, Christians and Muslims are beginning to meet in a common opposition to this common enemy. Amongst the most authoritative and statesman-like voices for Islam in the world is that of Dr. Chandra Muzaffar of Malaysia. His international Movement for A Just World draws on a panel of brilliant writers and commentators of all faiths from round the world. He presents a voice for authentic Islam that is seldom heard, offering hope in a sea of despair.
(International Movement for a Just World, P.O. Box 288, Jalan Sultan 46730, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia)