Defining the Muslim identity

Christopher has been reading about ‘Islamic terrorism.’ When he met his Muslim friend Zubeida, he had many doubts that he wanted to clarify. Zubeida told him that though some terrorists may have Muslim names, they are not Muslims. The following is a fictional conversation between Zubeida and her friend Christopher.

Christopher: Who is a Muslim then?

Zubeida: A person who bows to the will of Almighty God. The word Islam means peaceful submission to the will of Almighty God. By this definition, many people who call themselves Christians or Hindus or Jews could be true Muslims, while many who have Muslim names are not.

Christopher: But how can a Christian or Hindu be a Muslim?

Zubeida: The Quran teaches us that only Almighty God can judge who really submits to his will. All people who believe in Him and live a righteous life are Muslims. For us Quran is not the only holy book. It is only the last of many sent out by Almighty God to instruct man on how to seek Him.

Christopher: Does this mean you have read scriptures of other religions?

Zubeida: Yes, but first of all, there is only one religion.

Christopher (Incredulous): What?

Zubeida: Submission to God might be called by different names but from the beginning Almighty God has taught us the same thing—to worship Him alone and be righteous. This message can be found in the teachings of Jesus-Peace be upon him-, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, etc. and all the scriptures brought out through different messengers of God. In fact, Allah is only the Arabic word for Almighty God. It is not a name of a new God.

Christopher: But ..

Zubeida: One sec, let me give you an example. Say there is an author who has been writing countless books on a particular subject over several years. His knowledge, originally perfect, has not changed over the years and he writes the same things, sometimes in different languages, sometimes published by different companies, sometimes received by people in only one part of the world, sometimes released all over the world, etc.

Christopher: How is this relevant?

Zubeida: Messengers of Allah are like different publishers and scriptures are the books! So same message, same author, different messengers, different languages, different readers.

Christopher: Then why do people fight in the name of religion saying that their religion is the best?

Zubeida: The Quran explicitly warns against divisiveness. It says mankind is one and that people only differ amidst themselves due to selfishness. It emphasises the brotherhood of all those who believe and are righteous. This is the Muslim brotherhood. It includes righteous believers among those who call themselves Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, etc. as well. From now on when I use the words Allah and Muslim, you must remember its true meaning.

Christopher: Terrorists call themselves Muslims and all their outfits have Muslim-sounding names like Mujahideen, Jihadi, Islami etc. etc.

Zubeida: Terrorists bring destruction to themselves and those around them. Their violent actions are anything but righteous and hence they are not Muslims! Quran says that if you kill one person unjustly, it is akin to killing the whole of mankind. So, are you convinced now that terrorists are not Muslims and Muslims are not terrorists?