Buchanan 1

Sidney R. Buchanan
AP Lang and Comp
Mrs. Hackett
18 March 2016
Entangled and Messy:
What the Islamic Jihad Really is
Religion and violence are two contradicting, perpetual aspects to the world.The
first, being inherently peaceful in nature, has been corrupted into the second by
misconstrued information from one particular religion - Islam. The Islamic faith has been
seen in many different lights: violent, evil, corrupt. It is very rare that this religion be
viewed anywhere in the realm of peaceful or loving. Particularly in America (where
citizens feel strongly against this minority group among them), it is crucial to understand
what this religion truly preaches and, furthermore, how to avoid these conflicts.
Every individual experiences fear at some point in his or her life. At a young age,
children often suffer from a strong, inexplicable fear of the dark. A fear of spiders
plagues many well into adulthood, as does a fear of heights. More often than not, these
fears fade into the subconscious mind as people grow and mature; however, in the case
a fear develops into an extremely irrational fear towards an object or idea, it becomes
destructive force. America is no stranger to this concept. Anti-Muslim sentiment is the
most recent development; this aggression, contrary to popular belief, existed long
before September 11, 2001. However, this infamous day caused the fear of Muslims
and Islamic culture to swell. Islamophobia is [a]n exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility
toward Islam and Muslims that has grown alarmingly in stature since the terrorist

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attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon, as well as the attempt on the
White House brought down in Somerset County(Islamophobia).
In 1994, an arsonist in Yuba City, California set fire to a nearly completed
mosque burning it to the ground. Four years later, tension had increased to more direct
damages as a 23 year old man threw a brick into a glass front door to the mosque in
Fort Collins, Colorado. In June of 2000, a man severely injured a Muslim during worship
when he fired a round from his shotgun through the Islamic Center door in Memphis,
Tennessee. If this escalation was not concerning enough, just months before
September 11, 2001 several children beat two Muslims who were simply standing
outside of their Mosque. One was in critical condition after several surgeries. It is
apparent in these events hatred towards Muslims and Islam did not begin with
September 11, 2001(1994-2001). Furthermore, these transgressions were towards
civilians, not terrorists. While these events in no way justified the 9/11 attacks, they
served as a precedent of hatred for the aftermath of that terrible day. After all, people
fear what they do not know.
The American people claim that terrorism is never acceptable, but terrorism is
defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political or religious
aims. In spite of this claim by Howard Zinn, American citizens terrorized their neighbors
and fellow country men forcing Arabs and Muslims to fear for their lives. If an individual
fit the description of the stereotypical middle easterner, he or she was a target. Islamic
people were persecuted, even killed out of senseless hatred and unfounded bias. A
woman in New York even went as far as to push a man onto the train tracks because
she believed him to be a Muslim. Her statement to police said that she pushed a

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Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since
2001(Santora) Menendez unknowingly, albeit willingly, conformed to the political
aims of America; the violence she and so many others committed towards Islamic
people were endorsed by propaganda by the United States Government.

This particular image could be found in subways and often times on billboards,
and clearly painted the Islamic faith as inherently violent; however, any text, when taken
out of context, can seem negative or volatile. This is true especially when a deep wound
such as the attack on the Twin Towers is depicted alongside such text.This translation is
inaccurate because it does not represent the entire verse. The entire verse is, We shall
strike terror into the hearts of those that have disbelieved because they associate
partners with Allah for which He has sent down no authority. Their abode is the Fire; and
evil is the habitation of the wrongdoers(Koran 3:151). There are a few other verses in
this chapter of the Koran that sound violent when one does not read the entire third
chapter. The chapter has nothing to do with Islamic Jihad; the third chapter pertains to
acts in the house and personal affairs. The text from 3:151 is explaining the
repercussions of unfaithfulness towards a husband for both the woman and man
involved. It is akin to a verse from the Bible, Let marriage be kept honorable in every

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way, and the marriage bed undefiled. For God will judge those who commit sexual sins,
especially those who commit adultery(Hebrews 13:4). which explains that God does
not endorse sexual sins, else he will cast judgement. The American people wanted to
view the Muslim people in a bad light, and ads with incomplete verses on them
accomplished this task. If the Bible is quoted out of context, it too can seem violent. For
example, Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to
them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and
sheep, camels and donkeys.' " (1 Samuel 15:3,8) This particular verse seems to show
that the Christian religion is indiscriminate in violence, so long as the killer kills in the
name of God because it says to kill children and infants - or the people who we view
as most innocent. Clearly, both religions can seem extremely violent when taken out of
context. However, neither of them is. America wanted to retaliate in the aftermath of
9/11, and the more nefarious Islamic religion seemed to the American citizens, the more
support the war on terrorism gained.
When the world wide war on terror began, President George W. Bush
announced, We shall make no distinctions between terrorists and countries that harbor
terrorists(Zinn 129). Inadvertently bush waged war on every nation in the world. This
endless cycle of violence has gotten America nowhere. It has accomplished nothing but
caused more fear for the gains of the government. It has simply caused a disillusion of
what Islam actually practices. Because of the war on terror, Americans fear what they
believe to be an inherently evil religion. A religion that is of peace, not war.
Islamic culture has always been based on a harmonious interplay of Faith and
reason(The Essential Koran VII); for this, it failed to become a secularized religion.

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When Christianity became secularized, it struggled with scientific concept fighting an

internal battle for the truth of creation which led to the separation of church and state.
Islam had no need to fight this battle, scientific reasoning was fairly well accepted, and
the lack of secularization equated quite easily to a lack of political and religious
separation that people saw as backwards and extreme. However, this not the case;
separation of church and state is a modern idea primarily practiced by Christian oriented
countries. It is evident, however,that the ideas of secularization drew in regions of the
Middle East around the same as the French Revolution. During this time, secularized
society seemed to offer the temptation of freedom from a world in which Christian
suppression reigned. The areas that had become secularized, suffered from domestic
tension far greater than any international tension in this time period due to the distaste
of practices by more traditional Muslims. Traditionalists violently suppressed the liberals
which helped to solve nothing.
Today, it is interesting to consider the foreign motives of the United States. It is
likely that the United States intervened to protect the economic asset that the Middle
East had become through its natural resources. The lure of revenge probably did not
hurt in motivating the United States Government either. Beyond a doubt, this
intervention seems to have increased aggression both internationally and domestically,
but since troops have been significantly extracted from the Middle Eastern areas in the
last eight years these domestic instances seem to have declined, and yet the fear of
terrorism has spread. It is likely that many Americans continue to fear Muslims and
Islamic culture due to mass media coverage. With the exception of extremist groups
such as ISIS, international terrorism has decreased in nature.The fear of death by

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terrorism is quite unfounded. In fact a study by the CDC shows the most likely cause of
deaths are nowhere near terroristic threats.
Assuming homicide or all
other sources to be where terroristic
activity lay, it is more likely that one
will kill him/herself before he or she
dies due to terrorism. So why is
everyone afraid? Mass media
coverage plays a large part in the
fears of the people. Attacks are
covered and exemplified, often over
exaggerated by news stations who
thrive on the hatred the people of
America have towards Muslims.
Regardless of the peoples fears, the facts are indisputable.
As the trend of decreased terroristic violence in correlation to the removal of
foreign involvement continues, the word of the Koran rings particularly true. "Fight in the
cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not
transgressors(Standring). This particular verse is telling in how people should approach
Middle Eastern conflicts. If Muslims truly believe in the word of Allah, transcribed by the
Prophet Mohammed, they will fight back. But only when they have been attacked first
does the Islamic religion call for this violence. In addition to this, a Muslim must follow
and adhere to a set of rules - The Rules of Engagement - which forbid the Muslims from

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fighting indiscriminately. Islamophobia increased in severity after the September

eleventh attacks, but that was an attack against civilian life. Women and children died in
those attacks, but the Rules of Engagement explicitly forbid the attack of women,
children and innocent civilians. According to these rules, the 9/11 attacks were not
endorsed by the Islamic religion, nor were the attacks performed by the Islamic State
endorsed by the masses who practice Islam. These facts point to attacks such as
September 11, 2001 being not of islamic faith.
According to the aforementioned rules, American people are safe from harms
way so long as they do not cross over the boundaries in the Middle East. If America
withdrew its troops, it would cease to be the antagonist. America would benefit
domestically from the end of entanglement as it would nearly eliminate the possibility as
being seen as confrontational. The benefit from avoiding possible conflict is undeniable.
In addition to the Rules of Engagement, the idea of Jihad is not what most people
believe. There are two separate jihads. The first jihad mentioned in the Koran is
considered the Great Jihad, which is not the war in the name of Allah that Islamophobic
individuals twist in order to justify their hatred. The Great Jihad is an internal battle. A
battle against society and oneself to achieve purity. It is a battle to ignore the greed and
cruelty of life. What it is not is a battle against human life. This jihad is in reverence for
human life, not the desire to fight against it and innocent people. The Great Jihad is
similar to the Christian Gods message to love thy neighbor. "The Koran is saying to
humans, this is the final guidance from your Creator, for the specific purpose of
worshipping him and creating a civil society where you can live in peace with one
another," says Muslim scholar Imam Sulayman S. Nyang of Howard University in

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Washington, D.C who explains the greater and lesser jihads (Standring). It is
extremely important to separate this internal conflict from the external conflict that the
lesser jihad speaks of, because above all else the Koran preaches.
The lesser jihad, which is mentioned as an earthly, physical, and controversial
struggle between the people, is to be waged against the oppressors of Islamic
culture(Standring). Which stresses the point of removal from entanglement in the Middle
East. The lesser jihad only is to be waged against the oppressors of Islam. Therefore,
America could be free from the dangers if and when they disengage with the Middle
East. If Americans were to end their involvement in the Middle East, it is likely that the
tensions would nearly cease to exist.
The major exception to these rules, of course, is organizations such as Al Qaeda
or ISIS. Groups who twist the word of Allah say that terrorism is justified by the Koran.
These people who fight their Holy War have found a reason to transgress against the
United States and other nations in the word of their God. Regardless of their true
motives, buried deep inside those individuals, it has become a very powerful journey for
them. It is dark because "Religion, after all, speaks to our most basic and ultimate
convictions, and if you are wanting to use violence, if you can find a religious
justification, then you can find a very powerful motivation," (Standring). It corrupts and
defiles the very nature of Islamic Religion: the desire to live in spiritual purity with all
human life.
A peaceful religion can be turned evil by two forces: fear, and corruption. For a
very long time, American people have harbored a deep rooted fear towards Muslims.
This fear developed over a series of events and quickly became a destructive force

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driven by Islamophobia. Tensions caused by terrorism, for the most part, are avoidable;
this is and likely will always remain in the shadow of those who pervert the Holy text.
Disregarding the outlier to this situation calls for the need to take a hands-off approach
towards the Middle East as the trends show a general decrease in violent action
domestically and internationally. In the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, If you treat
people right they will treat you right ninety percent of the time. (10 Inspirational
Presidential Quotes).

Works Cited
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"Ad War Erupts over Meaning of jihad in U.S." WND. WND, 16 Dec. 2012. Web.
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Hashmi, Sohail. Political Extremism Led to the Attack on America. Terrorist Attack on
America. Ed. n/a. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2003. 24. Print.

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"Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West." Gallup.com. Gallup

Inc, 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
Lewis, Bernard. What Went Wrong?: The Clash between Islam and Modernity in the
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