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| Muslims:
Judge us not by un-Islamic acts of few Parvez Ahmed & Arsalan Iftikhar From the Abu Ghraib
prison torture scandal by American soldiers to the brutal beheading of
Nicholas Berg in Were it not for the powerful photographic
archives of both atrocities, they would have probably been relegated to
footnotes in history books. However, this war could now be perpetually
defined by the despicable footage of humiliating torture and cold-blooded
murderous executions. Each side may be tempted to use the others'
injustices to justify their own barbaric actions and only continue the
cycle of violence. For obvious reasons, the Abu Ghraib
torture is inflaming Muslim passions around the world. The passions are
being inflamed domestically as more Americans are viewing the gruesome,
despicable and everlasting images of Berg's execution on Internet video
feeds. The potential for continued misunderstanding between the Muslim
world and America is reaching troubling proportions. Just as a handful of American soldiers
committing torturous war crimes do not represent the sense and
sensibilities of the vast majority of Americans, it is important to judge
Muslims by the same standards. Just as America cannot be judged through
the lens of its often misguided foreign policy or torturous acts of
American soldiers, the world of Islam should
not be held accountable for the un-Islamic and barbaric deeds of a
minuscule minority of more than a billion Muslims. America is a signatory to both the torture
and Fourth Geneva Convention, and thus, any citizen of ours who violates
international law must be held accountable for their crimes. The barbaric
tortures also constitute gross violations of the U.S. Code of Military
Justice, the paramount domestic legal and ethical guidelines for our men
and women in uniform. Muslims are also bound by a hallmark
ethical and moral code. A Muslim who violates the commandments of God in
the Quran or those of the prophet Muhammad
must also be held accountable. When outlining the rules of engagement for
wartime, the Prophet Muhammad said on numerous occasions: "Do not
kill any old person, any child or any woman;" "Do not kill the
monks in monasteries;" "Do not kill the people who are sitting
in places of worship;" "Do not attack a wounded person;"
and "No prisoner should be put to the sword." Prophet Muhammad
also prohibited the killing of anyone who is in captivity and also ordered
people not to pillage residential areas or cultivated fields during war.
He also outlawed the mutilating of the corpses of enemies. These clear and
concise statements make any violation of these edicts during wartime a
clear violation of core Islamic principles. Islamic scholars also assert that war in
Islam is purely defensive in nature (Quran Despite such clear injunctions, some
Muslims who claim to be killing in the name of Islam are, in fact,
completely defiling its essence. The extremists and militants who attempt
to hide behind the veneer of Islam are, in reality, openly violating many
of its core teachings. Just as their ends do not justify their criminal
means, the same can be said of the criminal American soldiers and their
commanders who consign human beings to leashed animals. Just as the cruel torture of Iraqis has
been universally condemned by people of all faith, the overwhelming
majority of Muslims worldwide are sickened and condemn Berg's horrific
death as inherently shocking, against all teachings of Islam and
universally deplored by all spiritual, caring and decent human beings.
Unspeakable and appalling acts perpetrated by followers of any religion
should be unanimously condemned as fundamentally irreligious and
unpatriotic crimes. Parvez Ahmed
is a national board member for the Council on American-Islamic Relations ( Source: e-mail... also published |