SHARED WISDOM

Islam is a religious ideology, whereas the position of Muslims is determined by the sentiments and conduct of a community. This being so, the student of Islam must not gauge Islam by the personal deviations of the human beings making up the community known as ‘Muslims’. Instead, to see the true face of Islam, one must gauge Muslims in the light of Islamic teachings. To discover the original message of Islam, one must differentiate between Islam, on the one hand, and Muslims, on the other, and judge Muslims based on Islamic teachings, not vice versa. Through my writings, interactions, programmes and lectures, I seek to present the true face of Islam based on the Quran and the Sunnah. From this, people can form a more authentic understanding of Islam on issues about which there is much confusion and debate, such as jihad, Muslim militancy, suicide bombings, blasphemy, religious freedom in Islam and the position of women. In this way, they can clarify many misunderstandings. A PEACEFUL STRUGGLE ‘Jihad bin nafs’ refers to making the maximum effort to keep control over one’s negative feelings. ‘Jihad with the Quran’ refers to engaging in sharing the message of the Quran with others. The word jihad literally means ‘struggle.’ A sincere effort for the cause of goodness can be called jihad. Man’s lower