Terrorism is nothing to do with Islam: US Iowa City imam

Monday 30 Nov 2015 - 10:55 Makkah mean time-18-2-1437

Image from Iowa City Press-Citizen

Iowa city, USA (IINA) - Around 100 people gathered in the Iowa City Public Library in USA, on Sunday afternoon to listen to Imam Molhim Bilal who explained to them that Islam is a religion of peace, Iowa City Press-Citizen reported.
"The definition of terrorism does not include Islam, nor does it include Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism," said Bilal, the imam of the Iowa City Mosque.
The event, which ran in the library from about 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, consisted of a presentation from Bilal followed by a question and answer session. The intent was to educate the audience about how the extremist ideology of terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida differs from Islam as a religion.
Bilal explained that Muslims condemn terrorism, including events like the 9/11 attacks or attacks in Paris earlier this month, and that anyone who commits such atrocities is misrepresenting Islam.
"It doesn't matter what religion you follow, it doesn't matter under what banner you are. Killing innocents ... this is something that Allah hates," he said.
Groups that carry out attacks in the name of Islam are twisting passages of the Qur’an and taking them out of context, Bilal said. And, he pointed out, Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan are fighting back against terrorism, both on their own and in collaboration with other countries like the United States.
In the presentation, Bilal gave examples of the inclusiveness of Islam, telling a story about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) standing in respect as the funeral procession of a Jewish man passed him, simply because he was a fellow human being.
Often, people who go to join ISIS are ignorant of the reality of the group and are taken in by propaganda that is spread through social media and other channels, Bilal noted.
In response to a question about what stereotyping and Islamophobia does to the Muslim community in the United States, Bilal compared it to the struggle of the African-American and LGBT communities and said people need to speak out.
"The best way to fight stereotyping against Muslims is to talk about it and spread what Islam is," he said.
Muslims have a long history in the US and just want the same things like a home, a job and a good life for their kids, that everyone else does, he said. In fact, he said many mosques in the US have collaborated with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to try to stop potential terrorists.
Bilal said that since the United States is not a majority Muslim country, not everyone automatically knows that Islam stands for peace, instead hearing something negative in the media.
SM/IINA

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