Terrorism is like cancer to the human society.

Cancer appears initially in a very small size in any weak organ of the body and then increases and spreads throughout the body.

Terrorism also appears in some individual family members as a result of oppression, injustice and atrocity. It slowly spreads out in the streets, town, state and country. It causes chaos, human casualty, property damage and destruction in every form.

Terrorism creates feelings of not being safe and insecurity in every part of the society. Because of the bloody acts of a few individuals, a whole society suffers.

Terrorism is a secular phenomenon. It is not a teaching of Islam.

Genocide and massacre have been done in the past because of several reasons:

Political reasons: The aftermath of World War I through the end of World War II, when Joseph Stalin was responsible for the deaths of millions in Russia and Adolf Hitler had millions of Jews killed in Germany and across Europe.

Cultural revolution: Mao was responsible for the deaths of millions in China.

Ethnic cleansing: Ismail Enver Pasha of the Ottoman empire Turkey had millions of Armenians killed. Benito Mussolini was responsible of the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people during World War II. The same is true for Pol Pot at Cambodia, who was responsible for the deaths of more than a million of Cambodians, likely more; and Kim Il-sung of North Korea is likewise credited with hundreds of thousands of deaths. Charges of genocide were levied against Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in connection with the killing of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Majority Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims are clashing in Burma.

The list goes on and on.

Most of the dictators and responsible of these mass murders were not Muslims.

Islam is the religion of peace and harmony toward fellow humans. Islam doesn’t allow to kill any animal or bird, let alone a human being.

Prophet Muhammad came in this world as a messenger of peace and mercy for the whole of universe. He didn’t take any revenge.

After the migration from Mecca to Madinah, all the battles he had taken part in were for self-defense and protection. On the battlefield, he made sure to have minimal casualties. After the conquest of Mecca, he forgave all his Meccan enemies.

That’s why the true follower of Prophet Muhammad and Islam can’t be a terrorist.

Unfortunately, in today’s time, terrorism has become a second name of Islam, which is absolutely wrong and misinterpreted by a few crazy groups who are doing the act of terror contrary to the teaching of Islam and practice of Prophet Muhammad, such as al-Qaida, the Muslim brotherhood, the Islamic State group and others.

These terrorist groups are not the true followers of Islam.

Imam Faridbeg Mirza is the full-time religious director of Masjid Al Noor Islamic Center of Fairfield. He can be reached at [email protected].

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