(WASHINGTON DC - November 9, 2009) The Islamic Information Center reiterates its position on the attack on Fort Hood last week, specifically that it was completely against the teachings of Islam and the actions of alleged shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, are in no way representative of the beliefs or actions of Muslims. Rather, the attack was both offensive and contrary to American Muslims, and Muslims around the world. To further explain how peace is an essential component of the Muslim belief, it is important to look at the holy text of Islam, the Holy Quran (sometimes spelt 'Koran').
The Quran specifically states, that if anyone kills a single person, it is as if he has committed genocide against all of humanity. (Chapter 5, Verse 32). In fact, this same verse continues to say that despite messages from various Prophets throughout history exhorting peace and the value of life, many people violated the teachings of God and committed grievous excesses.
This explains that Islam teaches, through the Quran, that killing innocent people is beyond the limits of Islam and in the eyes of God akin to killing all of humanity.
To further explain how Muslims should behave, the Quran explains in the second chapter, verse 177, in the following way:
"It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in God and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; and give away wealth out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the (the emancipation of) the captives; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the promises which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain, suffering, and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing."
Chapter 25 of the Quran, "The Criterion" was divinely revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (May God Bless Him) when he was still preaching in Mecca (circa 610-622 AD), until the tribes of Mecca became extremely hostile and threatened violence. Muslims as a result had to leave Mecca for the nearby city of Medina. This chapter of the Quran lays out the description of a pious and devout believer. The first and foremost sign of a believer is that of being peaceful and wishing peace onto others. Verse 63 says:
"The worshippers of the All-Merciful are they who tread gently upon the earth, and when the ignorant address them, they reply, 'Peace!'"
The small Muslim community in Mecca faced harassment and persecution from others while they simply wanted to quietly practice and propagate their religion of peace and equality. The "ignorant" people referenced in this verse are the militant tribes who were opposed to the equal rights that Islam bestowed upon prisoners, men, women, family members, and all others that ancient Arabian culture was biased against.
So what did the Quran advise to the earliest Muslims, when the "ignorant" Meccans threatened them, taunted them, and harassed them?
They were taught to respond by saying "Peace be upon you." They wished their tormentors peace, and in so doing they pledged their own nonviolence toward them. This message of peace message still resonates today in the hearts of Muslims around the world.
The subsequent verses go on to sketch out elements of the spiritual life before coming back to issues of peace and violence: The verses (64 - 68) describe the ideal Muslims:
"They pass the night in adoration of their Lord, prostrating themselves and then rising ... When they spend, they are neither spendthrifts nor miserly, but spend in rightful moderation. They do not call on any deity other than the one God. They do not kill a person, the taking of whose blood God has forbidden..."
This shows that the Quran explicitly forbids taking the life of any innocent person, and that the attack on Fort Hood directly contradicts the teachings of Islam. Such violence is vehemently condemned repeatedly in both the Holy Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and his holy progeny.
This information alert is not an extensive listing of all the specific instances of where the Quran decries violence, but it is the hope of the Islamic Information Center that providing a starting point for positive dialogue will help in explaining the true and authentic beliefs of Islam, and distinguish it from those individuals who falsely use the name of Islam for immoral and inhumane purposes.
For more information about the Quran and the teachings of peace espoused by Islam, please contact the Islamic Information Center by
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or by phone at 202-347-6405, we'd love to hear from you!
