People of Pakistan have rejected the terrorists’ agenda, and disapproved their actions. They have immensely suffered from the vile acts of the militants; however armed forces of Pakistan have defeated them and destroyed their infrastructure and networks. By now terrorists must have realized that zeal and fervor in the hearts of Pakistani nation cannot be subdued with violence or threats to their lives. Islam is indeed religion of peace; it exhorts to live in peace with followers of other religions. Terrorists that resort to violence in fact negate the Islamic teachings, as they are working on external agenda. Their actions are true specimen of people identified by our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as Khwarij.
“In the last days of the world, there will appear people with foolish ideas. They will give good talk but will go out of Islam as arrows go out of bow; their faith will not exceed their throats. So wherever you find them, kill them, for there will be reward on the day of resurrection”. (Bukhari Volume 6, book 61, Hadith 577). Anyone who has studied religion Islam with deep understanding and unbiased mind must give the answer in the negative. The problem is that Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions of the world whose real spirit is being intentionally concealed and distorted. It is a deplorable fact that some Muslims are also contributing to the flawed perception of Islam due to their ignorance and limited knowledge.
To begin with, a general misconception in the West about Islam is that it is the religion revealed for Muslims, belongs to Muslims and articulates for Muslims’ rights ignoring the rest of the world. Going through the Holy Qur’an, one can observe that Islam is revealed for the guidance and betterment of humanity, which stands for safeguarding the rights of all human beings. But terrorists groups have been misinterpreting Quran and Hadith in order to justify jihad against infidels, whereas there are certain conditions when jihad can be waged. More than fourteen hundred years ago, Islam gave the message of peace, justice, human dignity, reason and light. Its rejection of outdated customs and traditions is enough evidence that Islam is an active and progressive religion.
Those who misinterpret Islam as a dogmatic, conservative, upholder of obscurantism in fact deviate from the simple, rational and humane spirit of Islam, and thus are enemies of Islam. Unfortunately, Islam has not been depicted in proper perspective for about thousand years so as to appeal to the intellect of contemporary leaders or to attract the raw senses of the masses. Its dogmatic aspects and rights of Allah have been emphasized to the neglect of haqooq-ul-ibad (rights of people) with the result that its followers lost the exuberance to receive conscious guidance, though Islam is embedded in their souls and thoughts.