Islamist militant organisations all over the world are carrying out organised butchery of humankind. Islam does not directly have anything to do with this killing and brutal atrocities. However, if you investigate, you will find out that in the Holy Book of the Quran, the text from God is very sensitive and it is open to any kind of misinterpretation.
It is very easy to derive the meaning that you want to derive. The text of the Holy Quran is very sensitive. It is sharper than the sword. This is where you can blame Islam.
Islam does not directly project mass killings or killing of an individual. On many occasions in the Quran, we find the Quran explicitly advising its followers not to spread mischief on Earth. It is also clearly noted that God does not like people who create or spread mischief.
However, there are many factors involved in Islam becoming what it is today.
Adulteration of the Quran
One of the main reasons why Islam has now become a very volatile religion is because the first book that contained information about the religion came out in public almost 150 years after the demise of the Prophet Mohammad.
In those 150 years, it is unknown what was included in the religion of Islam, and what was made part of the Quran. We do not know how many of the Prophetic Traditions that were narrated, were done so genuinely with the original text.
Nothing was on the record for 150 years.
Almost all Muslims maintain to say that the Quran has not been adulterated. The verse famously presented by Muslims as evidence for this assertion was revealed when God and Prophet Mohammad did not have any plan of giving the Quran the shape of a book. It does not apply to [the physical Quran].
God said, ‘I have revealed this Quran and I myself will safeguard it.’ (Quran chapter 15, verse 9)
The Quran which is now in the form of a book did not exist at all during that time. How can that verse be applied to this form of the Quran?
What God was implying to say by that verse was to safeguard the exoteric version of the Holy Book revealed unto the heart of Prophet Mohammad. The protection was that, from the heart of the Prophet, it would be transmitted to the hearts of his chosen followers.
This is how through spiritual transmission of the Quran, the religion of Islam expanded in the form of Sufism.
Whoever tried to find out what Islam is through the help of books including the Quran, somehow or other, they did not get the full picture of Islam. The most important parts of the religion were missing.
The way the Quran was put into order was not chronological.
The first verse that was revealed is found not at the beginning of the Quran, but in chapter 96, verse 1. We have to admit that a gross mistake was committed by the early Companions of the Prophet who tried to give a form of the book to the Quran. They did not manage to keep the order of the verses in the same way as it was revealed. They even named the chapters incorrectly. This Quran is not trustworthy.
If the Quran had been trustworthy, how come all Muslims claim to follow the Quran but are divided into 73 different schools of thought? The problem is, every single Muslim has developed this thought that the Quran is still in its original form. They don’t want to accept that anything can happen to the Quran.
If you ask some Muslims, ‘Christians and Jews are also People of the Book. Why don’t you extend love and respect to these people?’ They say, ‘Their books have been adulterated. They are not the true Christians and Jews, that is why we don’t respect them.’ At the same time, if the Quran is from God, then the Bible and Torah are also from God. When Quran cannot be adulterated, then why do they say that the Bible has been adulterated? The truth is that all three books — the Torah, Bible and the Quran — have been adulterated.
Different Understandings of the Quran
The way people understand the Quran differs. When a Sufi understands the Quran, he does not see any form of violence in the Quran. When a Barelvi Sunni Muslim wants to understand the Quran, he thinks that the Quran is all praise for Prophet Mohammad.
When
a Wahhabi wants to understand the Quran, he thinks the Quran is all about Oneness of God (Tauheed). He understands that extending love to Prophet Mohammad is not allowed according to the Quran. He thinks Prophet Mohammad has no value other than that of a postman, somebody who was chosen by God to deliver the book to people.
Even if the Quran hadn’t been adulterated, the way one understands the Quran is playing a very sensitive role in a Muslim’s life today.
When a moderate Muslim wants to understand the Quran, his findings are different. According to a moderate Muslim, even if somebody doesn’t visit the mosque five times a day, it is acceptable. Even if someone doesn’t adopt an ‘Islamic style’ of dressing, it doesn’t really matter. What matters to them according to their understanding of the Quran is that as long as someone believes in God, accepts Prophet Mohammad to be their prophet and messenger, and as long as they take care of their parents, sons and daughters, that is enough.
The understanding of the Quran is the main issue, but there are many factors, which combined, are playing havoc with Islam today.
Inauthenticity of Prophetic Traditions
More than 300 000 Prophetic Traditions have been fabricated and mixed with the original ones. Now we do not know which are true and which ones are fabricated.
There are Prophetic Traditions according to which Umar bin Khattab (the second caliph in Islam) allegedly used to break his fast by having intercourse with his wife.
In another Prophetic Tradition, somebody came to the wife of Prophet Mohammad, Aisha, and asked her, ‘What is Ghusl?’ Allegedly again, she put a sheer white sheet between her and the man and then she started taking a shower in front of him. I don’t believe that is true. There are so many Prophetic Traditions that if you read, you will ask yourself, ‘What kind of Islam is this?’
The Motivation for Terrorists
The reason why these terrorist organisations are on the rampage is because they have one thing in their mind. They think that towards the end times, a caliph will come and turn everybody into Muslims. Those who do not convert, he will kill them and Islam will rule the world.
These are the apocalyptic pages of Islam, but I want to tell you that what terrorists project about the end times is not entirely true. These are made up stories. There is no such thing as a caliph coming towards the end of the world.
I say this to the world leaders: bear this in your mind. It is incorrect to say that this is temporary or a geopolitical issue, or that this is because they were suffering from poverty or lack of education.
The only reason behind this is that they have a plan: the return of the Islamic Golden Age.
ISIS, Taliban Boko Haram, Al-Shahbab or any other terrorist-affiliated organisation all have one thing in their mind: that they will eventually rule the world. They think the entire world will become subject to Islamic caliphate. If you know what is the target of your enemy, only then you can make a workable plan.
There is one true issue behind it: wrong interpretation of the holy text.
