OVO

The above is a photograph recently taken in London. The bus has a banner advertisement on the side that reads “Proud to be a British Muslim / islamispeace.org.uk.” According to the photographer, this very bus was one on which a Muslim detonated a bomb in 2005. More than fifty people were killed that day. The Web site islamispeace.org.uk “invites you to challenge your ideas of Islam and Muslims.” It claims there are misconceptions about Islam, and seeks to correct them. The Web site makes the following claim: “Misconception 1: Jihad means holy war. In Arabic, the word jihad means to strive, struggle and exert effort. [...] The word ‘Jihad’ is generally misunderstood and consequently evokes strong reactions. It is a word frequently used in the press, directly or subtly, to mean holy war. In fact the term “holy war” was coined in Europe during the period of the Crusades. It is an alien concept to the Islamic framework. War is not ‘holy.’” If this is a misconception, then the organization does well to try and correct it.

They might want to focus their energies on fellow Muslims rather than the generally non-Muslim British public, though. Because it seems there is a widespread misunderstanding among Muslims about their religion of peace. Today, on 1 October 2007, Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov was shot by attackers in a car while walking from his home to his mosque in the Dagestani settlement of Gudben. He had spoken out against Islamic extremists the day before. Also occurring today was the bombing by Muslims of several Buddhist monks in Narathiwat, Thailand. Also occurring today was the bombing by a Muslim of people going to market in Bannu, Pakistan. Yesterday eight police were killed by Muslims in Ghazni, Afghanistan; a 15-year-old boy was hanged by the Taliban for having US dollars in his pocket (which they then stuffed into his mouth) in Helmand, Afghanistan; and two police officers were killed trying to defuse a bomb planted by Muslims in Kandahar, Afghanistan. That’s what happened today and yesterday. Two days ago, seventy-four killed by Muslims in Afganistan, Dagestan, India, Iraq, Maldives, Nigeria and Thailand. Three days ago, eighteen killed by Muslims in seven countries. Four days ago, twenty-two killed by Muslims in four countries. And it goes on and on and on. Someone should indeed let these people know they misunderstand the words of the Prophet. Someone should let them know that when Allah said to kill non-Muslims wherever you find them, what that really meant was to improve yourself through quiet contemplation and good deeds.

Alternately we could recognize that Islam, like Christianity and all religions, is a collection of mean-spirited superstitions invented by illiterate pre-scientific nobodies that we have no reason to heed. Letting go of religion is like letting go of a snake that has been biting your hand. You don’t replace it with a nicer snake that bites less. The problem isn’t a set of misconceptions about Islam. The problem is Islam.