There is a lot of violence committed in the name of religion or the lack thereof. The atheist that allegedly killed three Muslims in Chapel Hill, N.C., was seemingly motivated by an animus to their faith.
Extremist political organizations in the Middle East commit atrocities they claim are justified by their reading of the faith of Islam. Recently, commendably, President Barack Obama refused to give the extremists the recognition they wanted. the legitimacy is recognition of the extremists’ claim that they are committing terrible atrocities in the name of the faith of 1.6 billion people who are indeed overwhelmingly peaceful.
We at the Islamic Center of Murray and the Muslim Students Organization of Murray State condemn all acts of violence against noncombatants as ungodly.
Certainly, terror attacks do not portray Islam as a religion because no religion, as a system of values and civilization, is responsible for the acts of the few who are motivated by political grievances dressed up as religious causes.
Islam, the religion and civilization, considers all life forms as God’s creation. However, the sanctity of human life is special. The first and foremost basic right of a human being is the right to life. The Holy Quran deems the killing of one innocent person as the harming of all humanity and whoever saves one innocent life has saved all humanity.
Islam is not what one person on YouTube alleges or claims, even if that person spoke English with a British accent. Islam cannot be understood until we go back to the two sources that Islam is based upon: the Quran and the Sunnah (the tradition of prophet Muhammad).
The Muslim students of Murray wish to thank all who attended the lecture by Imam Wood and express support to the hundreds of Muslim students who appreciate Murray State and the city of Murray.
We promise more events to help the good people of Murray State and Murray understand our religion and traditions.
Letter from Naif Alotaibi, Graduate student from Saudi Arabia