When I heard about the shooting of 14-year-old Pakistani Malala Yousafzai by
a coward, who must think he's a real man to shoot a teenage girl while on a
school bus simply because she wants an education, I felt sick.
I might sound like a broken record when I tell you over and over that Islam
does not support this behavior.
When I tell you that in fact, Islam liberated women and liberates women from
being subjected and used by men.
When I tell you that the Prophet Muhammad fought to stop the practice of
burying newborn girls by men who believed women brought shame to families in
Arabia during the pre-Islamic era. In fact, there are verses in the Koran
recounting these events and prohibiting it for the believers.
When I tell you that the Prophet dedicated portions of his sermons to women,
that the Koran has a chapter literally called "The Women."
When I tell you that there's a chapter in the Koran dedicated to Mary, who is
considered the most important woman in Islam.
When I tell you that when God addresses the believers in the Koran, he's
addressing both men and women equally, unless specified otherwise.
When I tell you that Islam empowers women through calling for their
education, rights and place in society.
When I tell you that the Prophet's first wife, Khadija, paid him a salary
because he worked for her.
When I tell you that his second wife, Aisha, used to hold classes to teach
men, among them the Prophet's own companions, on family life under Islam.
When I tell you that women, in early Islam, enlisted in the military.
But these are just the facts.
How can a person who claims to be a Muslim justify what he did if he knew
these facts about the religion?
If he and the group he belongs to, which admitted to shooting Malala and
announced plans to end her life if she survives, understood just a portion of
what Islam is really about, the thought of stopping women from being educated —
the thought of hurting a human being, let alone a little girl — wouldn't cross
his mind.
But what is troubling me is much bigger than this latest incident.
It's that the minute the Taliban or some kind of psychotic individual or
group calling themselves Muslim commits atrocities, so many people around the
world automatically assume that they're carrying on the teachings and mission of
Islam and include the 1.6 billion of us in the same circle.
Those who say Islam is the source of these individuals' action don't realize
that in doing so, they empower the criminals.
And those who expect Muslims to apologize for those psychos' behaviors put us
in a corner and weaken us.
Let's see if I can provide you with a clear analogy: Say you're a devout
Christian and one day you're reading the newspaper about some KKK
member or skinhead who lynched an African American. Now, the KKK and its members
claim to be Christians who are carrying out the will of Jesus. But are they?
Well, how hurt would you be if the next day, you and your religion are being
defined by the KKK's actions or by the abortion
clinic bomber, who too believes he's carrying out the will of God? What if
you're expected to apologize each time one of them decides to go postal?
Does it say anywhere in the Bible that black people should be lynched or that
it's OK to bomb the clinics and kill the doctors who perform abortions?
I haven't seen that.
MONA SHADIA is a reporter for Times Community News. An Egyptian American, she was
born and raised in Cairo and now lives in Orange County. Her column includes
various questions and issues facing Muslims in America. Follow her on Twitter @MonaShadia.
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