An Example of Noble Character

ISLAM: A RELIGION OF PEACE During a journey to Europe, I met a young Muslim man. He was from an Arab country and told me that he was searching for employment. In this pursuit, he went for an interview at a non-Muslim organization. During the conversation, the interviewer asked him, “Are you a Muslim?” When the young man replied, “Yes,” the interviewer immediately responded: “Then you are a terrorist.” In today’s world, due to the extremism and militant actions of a section of Muslims, a widespread perception has developed that Islam is a religion of terrorism—that Islam seeks to achieve its objectives through violence and warfare. But this idea is completely false. Islam is not defined by the behaviour of Muslims. Islam is a principled system; it is not the national behaviour of any ethnic group. The actions of Muslims should be judged in the light of Islam, but Islam itself should not be judged by the actions of Muslims. If some Muslims engage in acts of terrorism, the responsibility lies with them—not with Islam. Just because they raise Islamic slogans does not make their actions Islamic. Islam is the name of the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet of Islam and the example of his life. And the Prophet of Islam was a messenger of peace, not a messenger of war. That is why the Quran calls him “a mercy to all the worlds”: