People say that all it takes is one bad apple to spoil the bunch. In terms of people and religion, that translates to one extremist ruining the image for all those worldwide who identify as Muslim. It saddens me that Islam has been shrouded in the media's images of ISIS and terrorism. Bombs exploding, people screaming for their lives, the inability to compromise… That is not what Islam is about.
Islam, by nature, is a very peaceful religion. The very word, Islam, which means "surrender," is related to the Arabic word salam, or peace. Those who identify as Muslim practice the five pillars, which include a declaration of faith, daily prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and it is observed by Muslims all around the world as a month of fasting. Charity, nightly prayers, and recitation of the Quran are the prevalent activities of the month. The entire month is devoted to bettering oneself through the teaching of the religion. It is a time of spiritual reflection, improvement and increased devotion and worship.
The name of Islam is being used and manipulated by a small group of extreme radicals who have taken the Quran and used it to justify actions the very book reads against. What upsets me the most is that billions of peaceful Muslims are being blamed for the actions of these few. When the KKK were throwing balloons full of urine at African Americans, no one blamed the Christians. When the Westboro Baptist Church picketed and protested after same-sex marriage was finally legalized, they were the only ones being blamed, not the entire religion that they claimed to represent. There are bad people in every group. We cannot let a small part of the population dictate our behavior towards the entire religion and its followers.
As Ben Affleck so perfectly put it, “How about more than a billion people who aren’t fanatical, who don’t punch women, who just want to go to school, have some sandwiches, pray five times a day, and don’t do any of the things you’re saying of all Muslims. It’s stereotyping.” We all must stand by those millions of Muslims in this world. Whether you believe in Allah, Jesus, Bhagwan, or whomever, every religion has a common core value of compassion for those around us. Every religion will tell you that their higher power is all-loving and all-forgiving. How can we then use those same religions to justify hating a whole group of people? Religion was created to bring people together, not pin them against each other.
Muslims are not the enemy. Islam is not the enemy. The group of individuals threatening our peace and freedom? Those are the enemies. Terrorists are the enemy.
The sooner we accept that fact, the sooner we will start seeing a change. I believe that this generation has what it takes to put aside our differences and channel what is really important, and that is the power of humanity. It is up to all of us to eliminate the gap between religions and stand as one, unified force. Only then will we build the strength needed to fight the war on terrorism, and only then, will we be able to win.
