Okay, we as Muslims already know there is no place for terrorism in Islam. But at the same time, Muslims are the first to realize that the media oftentimes portrays the religion as being synonmous with violence and killing.
To combat this gross misrepresentation one can find an impressive rap sheet of events and seminars put on by Muslim groups in the United States, in order to share the true Islam.
American groups such as CAIR, Islamic Relief, and our very own Ann Arbor Muslim Students' Association, have been at the forefront of these admirable efforts.
Fortunately groups and individuals have been increasingly becoming more vocal in their stances on 'jihad' (the physical one). One such individual is a Pakistani scholar Tahir ul-Qadri who has recently released an extensive edict on the impermissibility of terrorism in Islam.
He isn't the first scholar to do so, nor will he likely be the last. What makes ul-Qadri notable is that he wrote such an incredibly thorough fatwa (600 pages in the Urdu language) and his in your face type declarations addressed toward the 'muslim' terrorists.
Ul-Qadri's fatwa and firm stance against terrorism only received minimal coverage from Western media and the reader likely knows this already since he or she is probably hearing of this story for the first time right now. Still, it is probable that shaikh did not declare a jihad on terrorism for fame-sake. He saw the rampant confusion and misunderstanding and did what he could to rectify it. People may not like his style, but then, what have they done to rectify the situation?
So there you have it Muslims and non-Muslims. Here in America and overseas, followers of Islam are taking a stance against terrorism. They are saying, "Not in the name of my religion, you don't!" And hopefully someone is listening.
