Mohamed Magid – War and Violence Islam’s Perspective
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AI: Transcript ©
All praise due to god, the creator, the
sustainer of the universe,
and peace and blessing be upon our beloved
prophet Muhammad on all the prophet and messenger
of God.
It made it easy for me to come
to Georgetown,
today
because somebody dropped me here. You do it.
I can't wait.
All all the events of Georgetown for the
traffic and so forth. I want to thank
people who come with me from Adams helping
me to get here.
This topic,
is important topic
because,
Islam had been associated these days, especially if
you turn on your
Fox News
or CNN sometimes even,
you'll hear a lot
about Islam and connection with violence and
and terrorism and and so forth.
And you hear a lot of experts,
quote unquote.
It is very interesting
for Georgetown,
student, I want to tell you that when
some of you in Islamic studies,
so we can get a little bit
of fair coverage of those experts.
It's the only religion that I see in
America. Most of their expert had nothing to
do with the religion itself.
But have you heard the you see somebody
said expert in Judaism
and has nothing to do with it? Most
of the people expressed in Judaism,
either a Jewish or have nothing have something
to do with it, you know, taught it,
you know,
all Christians,
expert in Christianity.
But expert in Islam
is always and most of them most of
them
well, I heard, maybe I'm wrong.
They are not really,
understanding Islam well and they come across very
negative about Islam.
And for this issue of
of war
and Islamic perspective of it, you have heard
many quotations. People have quoted Quran
and they become expert in the interpretation
of Quran as well. They tell you what
the Quran meant by those
verses. Before you heard how many of you
heard this verse that in the in the
news or some of this expert said, it
is in the Quran that killed them whenever
you find them.
You heard that before?
The people have quoted
this, and they said this is what Islam
teaches
and so forth. I would like to address
this issue first in the broader perspective.
War
is bad,
isn't it? That very simple. My daughter say
that, Mona.
Very simple state statement.
Because war bring destructions.
It means,
taking people life.
And I would like to refer you to
Arabic language of the word war. And can
I get some of my note here for
me?
Thank you. See.
The word war in Arabic, who knows Arabic
here? What the word war in Arabic?
Help.
And help
means literally to sell, means
to eliminate, to take something,
to vanish something.
And that's why,
the war,
the word harp is means to take life,
to eliminating life.
Sometimes used figuratively
meant to take eliminate evil.
You see it in the Quran also.
Therefore, this word
holy war, you heard of this before.
You cannot find it in Arabic language whether
in the Koranic text
or in the teaching of prophet Muhammad text.
Who knows Arabic here? What did the word
holy word will be in Arabic?
I
challenge all the expert
from the
I go with the alphabetical order. Was that
the same in their name? So it's okay.
To get us the word holy war from
the Quran.
Which chapter? Which passage say that holy war?
The word you hear
that being translated in the holy war is
the word jihad,
which I'm gonna really touch on it.
Also, the meaning of the word word jihad.
Humanity have went through many wars.
And if you would like to know
how bad Warat is is, you need to
visit the museum, the new museum on on
the mall, what that museum is.
World War 2. What's that? World War 2.
World War 2. That happened among Muslims? Muslim
did that?
This is the war
all
the wars get into the war. It started
in Europe and then it spread around the
world. It was started the civil war then
the colon the the colonist
and and the people who are colonizing different
countries to get them to join this war.
What Islam says about war.
First of all,
the norms
supposed to be salaam,
peace.
War is
really an
interruption of peace.
And that why
the
you see in the in the Quran, the
teacher of the Quran,
that
Muslims should advocate peace
and live with other people in peace. War
always been in the Quran as an exceptions.
The fight, I
mean. And
the Islamic scholars
have stated
the reason for
war. Only two reasons
if you're writing notes.
All the Samskaras
agreed on two reasons.
The first reason
is
to stop an aggression on him.
The second
is to defend someone cannot defend themselves.
And that can happen in the
individual
level.
I you walk into the
street, I hope that does not happen in
your town,
but walk into the street and see somebody
attacking a young lady.
You don't stare
you know, stand idle.
It's an obligation to do something about it
from Islamic perspective.
It is person is not attacking you personally,
but attack in someone else honor.
Therefore, you have to come between
or you have to call someone else to
bring them to help, a police or something.
For you have to do you have to
interfere.
You have really to come between to stop
the aggressions.
And that
why you read in the
Quran when Quran gave them permission even to
fight.
Said, I like your permission to those who
have been
wronged
to fight back.
Underline, they were wronged.
There is no verse in Halakhron.
And there is no teaching of prophet Mohammed
where he say
fighting or war can be used to,
commit an aggression
against anyone. There's none.
And even this verse that I mentioned in
the beginning of my speech, I'm gonna tell
you in which context would be news.
The second,
Quran
says
He said, why don't you fight in the
behalf of the oppressed
men, women and children?
Oh, Allah, get us out of this city
with the people being oppressing us. It's people
being oppressing us.
Don't you hear this a lot? Those two
reason for people today.
Whenever they go to war, they use they
cite those 2 reason, the Quranic Islamic reason.
Sometime wrongly, by the way. They're not true
in their in their judgment,
but
that's what Islam stated. Those two reasons.
What is the purpose
of people standing up
for
oppressions and aggressions?
Is to bring justice,
establish justice,
or
to
bring
about
fairness and equality.
When people
take other people rights,
people have to stand for them. Quran does
not accept people to be passive.
This is general philosophical principle of it,
but I want to talk about,
the Islamic concept of peace
and what and the value of life.
As Muslim, we believe that all people,
whether they're born in America or born in
Iraq or born Palestine or born in the
Middle East or born in India, whatever they
might be,
Their life
have the same value
in the eyes of God.
And Orhan specifically said,
Quran
said clearly
was no any second interpretation
for it. He said, whoever killed one life
and take one
life was no right to do so as
if have taken the life of all humanity.
Let me take you in a very philosophical
explanation of this verse.
In Islam,
we believe that life of individuals supplies all
humanity.
Our prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, he
have taught us this.
He have seen a man
beating a young person,
hitting him.
He said stop.
Stop like this. And he shouted in Arabic.
He said the voice was so angry,
you know, he said I could not know
who was calling me, the person who narrated
the story. He said, I look and it
was prophet Muhammad, and prophet Muhammad said to
him, don't ever do this.
You have to remember that
God have created Adam in the image of
this young man.
And then he said something very important.
He said,
remember
the power of God
over you, not your power
over him.
Because
I'm gonna tell you the reasons that people
go to war.
What people use now, what we call it
just war.
The war for for a cause,
you know, a good reason.
But
usually,
those war
that take place between in humanity because something
has gone wrong of the following
following reasons.
Either there's a grudge and hatred
among
particular groups
or belittling
other group. You know, my home country, Sudan.
British came
to Sudan,
colonized Sudan,
and they killed the Sudanese who are fighting
with the sword
in thousands of people.
And if you are as a Georgetown students,
I'm gonna ask you to examine history a
little bit about Sudan
and read the collapse of Khartoum.
When,
Gordon,
or Jordan,
he was in Sudan.
There's a thousands of people were die have
died,
and they killed them
with no mercy.
For what reason?
They want to Sudan to
really to, promote peace. They want there as
a colonist.
They're for belittling people, believing that they're better
race.
You would
deserve to conquer the world.
The second
or the third
is collect of wealth, fight for wealth, accumulation
of wealth.
And look what happened in colonels.
People have taken the wealth from a country
like Sudan, the cotton,
to enhance
the center
of the
the British Empire, for example.
Or look what happened in the French colonism.
We talk about freedom, justice, equality in France.
We cross the ocean
or the the water, and we killed 1,000,000
Algeria.
All war around ideology and belief that my
belief is better than news, therefore, I'm gonna
eliminate you.
Islam has an answer for all of these
reasons.
People go to war.
Islam
believed that he should not belittle any group
of people. He should not feel better than
them. And because this is really underlying
reason for people committing injustice and violence.
Look to the even the issue of domestic
violence, let us look to the concept of
big concept of war to the,
the the violence in the house, in the
family. As a person, an advocate to end
the massive violence in this country, I've sit
in many
board in the domestic violence. We've come to
know that the main reason of people to
abuse other is control.
They want to control them.
And Islam
telling us in the verse in Quran in
Surah chapter 49,
Let not let the group of men
belittle other group of men. Don't let the,
a a group of women belittle other group
of women.
You should not belittle other people.
You should not look down to them.
When we do that, then it become easy
to abuse them.
Easy to take their life.
And by the way,
this is
an issue you can see in media today.
What makes you think
when you see it on TV today,
or what what make us think? Let us
put blame on all of us, that
there's every time they we say that somebody
died in Iraq
and there is no other people Iraqi I
mean, American soldier, there's no Iraqi have died,
civilians.
What the statistic? How many
how how many of you in political science
in this in this room? Any political science?
International
relations? Any kind of relations?
You know? Okay. Good.
Now I want you to check the facts.
I want you to bring
to to check how many civilians have died
since the Iraq war.
We need to have a calculation
because
every person matters. If we count a person
from one side, we have to count other
person. This also Middle East issues, middle and
India issue, in Pakistan.
We cannot
say that a human life is not worth
anything,
when it's not ours. Therefore,
what Islam is saying that we have to
value the life equally of every child, of
every human being.
And
the other,
issue that Quran address here, the issue
of controlling of,
issue of control
and the issue of wealth.
And it is very interesting
that if you really examine
the war took place,
all wars,
major wars,
you when you see the war, look for
the money. Seriously.
It it is most of the time is
around this issue, whether it's oil, whether it's
minerals, whatever you may call it.
Now I'm gonna tell you that there's so
many people,
Muslims,
non Muslims have misused religion
to justify violence.
We have to admit that.
Whether that Muslims or non Muslims have used
religion textbooks
to take innocent life.
I wanna read you something that I did
some exercise to some people in the car
with me. Let's go through this. I would
like to read to you some
passages.
And for the Muslim expert,
I want you to tell me what what
this passage from.
Then you must utterly destroy them.
You shall make no covenant
with them and show them no mercy.
What chapter?
What chapter is this?
What chapter in the Quran?
Is there anyone know here?
Have you heard this passage before?
Yeah.
Okay. What chapter in Quran? I don't think
It's not in the Quran where?
It's in the Bible. It's in the old
testament. It's in the Torah.
This is in the Torah.
Then
I will cut you cut you another one.
Says, when all the efforts to restore peace
prove useless
and
when all efforts to restore peace prove useless
and no words avail,
lawful is the flash of the steel.
Where is that from?
I think
I think I think that's Quran in the
way. There's Quran? I don't think so. What
that is?
New testament.
No. It's not the new testament.
Good child.
What book is this?
Is all people here are Muslims?
Who people of other faith?
Okay. Is anyone
sick
here?
This one, the seek seek
scriptures.
Okay.
Now
I'm gonna read another one.
May your weapons
be strong to drive away
the attackers.
May your name be powerful enough
to check the force the voice. Let your
army be glorious,
not the
evil.
What book is that?
From which scriptures? Which religion?
Hinduism.
Now from Quran,
whoever fights you in the cause of God
then gets
fight in the cause of God against those
who fight you,
but aggress not. Quran.
Now, I want all the expert in seek
religion,
in old testament,
and Christianity and Judaism
and Hinduism to be the same TV show,
Fox News, and interpret all the verses equally.
Hello?
You see what I'm you see what I'm
saying?
But it's the Quran that been been put
in the screen, like, this is the passage
of the people misinterpret
it. This is a Torah I'm reciting for
you. It's a book of Hinduism,
of Sikhs.
You want to tell me that it's only
religion of Islam that talk about fight?
No.
But look what what Islam teaches about
about about about war.
Prophet Mohammed,
peace above him. First, let's
me,
who how who know the word jihad here?
Meaning of it in Arabic. What is jihad?
Jihad to do what?
Struggle. The struggle.
If you go to the site, there's someone
I don't have to mention his name.
He been a lot using what Jihad to
advocate his
expert of tourism,
and he completely did not even take 101
Islam, I think.
And I invite him,
perhaps, maybe I send him an email and
offer him a class. I don't think he
will come.
I looked to his website
today,
and I want to see how interpret what
you have.
It's completely
a lie. It is not what is even
religious book says. He said jihad is the
violence fight, you know, that
Jewish and Christian and our world of other
people of the world.
What is this about? What jihad is means
to strive and struggle.
Who study
economics here?
Okay. Have you read the book by jihad?
Recently in
show about talking about jihad,
but the book is not about Muslim jihad.
He used jihad talking about Wall Street, talking
about stock markets and so forth. And she
asked him why you use the word jihad?
He said because I find it very interesting
word means to struggle, to strive,
to have the maximum effort and he used
the word jihad. And but his book was
buying like that because he was thinking that
they're not talking about jihad of Islam, which
is good. He made money out of it,
I think. But,
there were a jihad from jihad and jihad.
Jud means to strive to struggle, to do
something, and have different levels.
Part of it is to strive
to convince someone who's in argument, for example.
Quran says use the Quran to make jihad
with people. You need to argue with them
and to express to express
you know, your opinion and to be able
to clarify your belief.
The word also jihad
had been used to strive to clean oneself
and to fight the weaknesses of oneself
called jihadunas,
And also being used to defend oneself physically.
Therefore, I have three
levels
of the word or jihad.
Now
even in in the time there was a
war and and and and fight,
Islam has set his rules.
Those who also set international
relationship,
I would like you to go to United
Nation website
and go to the human rights,
and the the the issue of,
engagement on war
and download
the Islamic perspective.
They're saying that Islam has stated
from the
time of
Muhammad, being prophet Muhammad peace be upon him,
that even if you have to defend yourself
and engage in war,
you should not kill civilian.
What do you call killing of civilian disease?
Carrotal damage.
What that about?
How comes you're killing children and
say sorry for them? You know? What can
we do? You know?
Every person that you person being killed is
a family.
Can someone take my daughter life and be
to convince me this collateral damage? Do you
think I'll accept
that? If someone can take a life or
some people who kill other civilians and somebody
take their life of the children, you would
throw them collateral damage, you accept that? How
comes when other people family, when other people
children, when other people women,
we call them clatter damage?
He said, prophet Muhammad,
do not kill civilians.
Don't attack anyone who do not attack you.
Don't cut trees.
Don't attack space of worshiping.
Those who isolate themselves away, don't engage with
them in law.
He prohibit them from doing that. He agreed
that in the United Nation website,
a quotation from Islam
on this issue.
The other issue that he said,
so
deep,
one of the great
Muslims
leaders,
the first Muslim
leader after prophet Muhammad, peace, he said to
his army general,
he said do not attack
and take the life of children.
Don't cut trees.
Don't poison water. Don't destroy water.
And we see
just done every day.
When the Soviet Union was in Afghanistan,
they were used to drop poison water, on
the water, drinking water so that they kill
Afghanis
I want to conclude by saying this because
as members, it's very good to keep in
time.
How can you avoid wars? How can you
promote peace?
This university, I think people are very active.
Am I saying the right thing? I think
so. Very active in promoting,
political awareness. Therefore, I'm gonna give suggest something.
First,
in order to have peace, we have to
promote justice
across the globe.
Justice for all.
White, black, Muslims, Hindu, Jewish, Christians,
everyone. Justice for all.
We have to fight
bigotry
and racism
and self interest
against other people interest.
We have to make
our belief in values of freedom and justice
universal.
I cannot
be in the United States. A personal belief
that I should not abuse others.
People in the prison shall not been abused,
but across the ocean, I do that.
I cannot
believe that
I have to live life of prosperity
here, but
across the world, I see hunger and I
see fight and I don't do anything about
it.
And we should stop
this greed for power
of creating all of this nuclear weapons around
the world,
which is you're gonna come back and hunt
all humanity.
People have to stand strongly against such a
thing.
And I would like to really conclude by
saying this,
that there's 2 areas. There's area of
we call concern,
and then the area of influence.
You heard what I said?
2 areas. What are they?
The concern is that
the
there's no regard for human lives. Tourism,
taking people
life, people,
disregarding
a war, disregarding civilians,
killing them around the world. Is a area
of concern.
The area of influence is here.
What you can do as a Georgetown
student.
Creating awareness,
making people to understand,
as as a Muslim also for the Muslim
student, what Islam stand for.
For the our friends who are not Muslims
to convey what Islam is about so people
don't stereotype us and to put our hand
together to establish
this global justice.
But it start with with within us.
The area of influence.
This is my,
ending of my,
remarks,
and I'm quite sure
that he might
if he especially if you don't like what
I said, he may have some questions,
and they can entertain those questions.
We're gonna be taking written questions now. So
if you have any, we'll be around to
collect a couple.
Okay.
Can you address
the phenomena
of suicide bombers
And the
the,
with the other things?
Okay. In Islam,
first of all, that a person should commit
suicide to begin with.
But it's very important that Islam does not
allow killing of civilians,
period.
Whether f 16,
whether in the,
was suicide bombing,
period.
Yeah. What other there's a question here, didn't
it?
Somebody asked about Sudan.
Okay. In Sudan, what is the main reason
for the conflict?
Is it religious,
political, tribal?
Okay. What conflict? There's 2 kinds of conflict
in Sudan. 1 of them, southerns, first northern
Sudanese.
That conflict now is ending,
and there's a peace treaty.
It was always been
had been
political because in the south, there's Muslims and
Christian as well,
and that since the before the British left
Sudan.
The issue now take place in Darfur
is tribal.
There's a 2 tribe, and by the way,
the,
the p the word Arabs
verse
black African is a myth.
I want to refer you to 2 reports
done by African Americans
who went to Sudan
and
go and check sudan.net.
Recently,
a delegation from African Americans went to Sudan
and come back and said, we do not
find this Arabs against black, but there's 2
tribe fighting one another really, and there's a
tragedy to Sudan
because of that fight.
But
the word Arabs
been misused.
Both of them are black.
The word Arab in Sudan being used and
forgive me if you are an Arab sitting
here.
Mean, by the ones, people have no homes,
no mats.
We call them Arabs.
Arab like Arab.
And then for the media use the word
Arabs to indicate as Arabic and as black.
This is not this is not
true. All of those people are are Muslims.
That that for region is considered the Quranic
region. More people memorize Quran in that region
than any place in Sudan.
That place used to be an an an
independent
long time ago Islamic Kingdom.
The the the the person who used to
rule that, part of Sudan
before colonism, before British called Aledinar.
And Aledinar who does want how many of
you want to pilgrimage, want to Hajj?
Okay. When you go to Madinah
and there's something called Abar Ali.
Abar Ali, those are the wells that dig
by the money of Alidinar
from Sudan.
That's how they used to,
to rule that region.
Unfortunately, these are farmers,
and some of them are shepherd. The farmers,
the shepherd come always when the drought,
there's a drought, they come to the farmer's
area,
and the fight always take place over the
land, but it used to be resolved with
the head of tribe sitting together and resolve
the issue. But this time, it become very
political.
Something very stunning, very interesting.
War of the south
and the north,
they said claimed 1,000,000 people life.
Being going there for 50 years, never made
it to United Nation.
There's no United Nation resolution by the war
of of the south and north.
Therefore
issue, the United Nation
representative Khortoum said,
it's not 50 southern died. Although I said
life matters. If one person is too many
for me. They say about 5,000 people died.
I think somebody just made a mistake, put
a 0 there. No problem. But,
what happened in in this issue here
is that things won't escalated, and the people
call it genocide.
There's a fight.
Many people have been displaced.
People lost their homes,
and they need of help.
But at the same time, I want to
say there's some kind of exaggeration
of some of the problem, but there's a
lot of people are suffering. And if you
can do anything with your town to help
the humanitarian
relief, I know that Islamic relief is doing
something about it, please do so.
We'll eliminate the suffering and help the suffering
of the people of Sudan.
You mentioned at at sometime maybe I'm looking
all the it's
Do you want me to read it? Yes,
please. Alright.
Imam Majid, you mentioned two reasons Islam allows
for war. During the time of the prophet
when he marched on Mecca, how can that
be seen as self defense or protection of
people who are being attacked?
Excellent.
There's no enough time for me to address
all of the issue. If you study the
Islamic history, the life of the prophet Muhammad
peace above him, you will find that in
every case that's being confronted with war, he
wanted peace.
Even in Badr. Badr or Badr, he said
to the there's a man who's riding in
a red camo. He said, let us know
to fight Mohammed.
Prophet Mohammed said, I wish they can listen
to this man and then call it
off. No war.
In battle of Uhud, prophet Mohammed, he wanted
to stay in Mecca.
Makkan people have attacked him.
In hand up, Muslim were attacked. They were
staying in Medina. People come on them.
In in conqueror of Mecca, opener of Mecca,
prophet Muhammad, he went to Mecca to do
what?
To do what?
Pilgrimage. Umrah, small pilgrimage.
He went there and people of Mecca said
you cannot enter Mecca.
Although he's his own
town, and they said to him, we're not
allowed this year. They signed a treaty with
him for 10 years. The treaty looked as
if Muslim have given in
some of their rights. Prophet Muhammad went with
it because one piece. And he said,
He said, by god, if they ask me
for any matters that keep this
having us to from fighting
and to save lives, I will accept it.
I will I will,
go for it. And then he went for
it
and that why
Muslims went back to Medina.
It called Hudayba Treaty.
And I heard
some people
that saying that prophet Mohammed broke his treaty.
He did not.
Madcap people broke the treaty. Let me explain
to you one thing about the verse that
I mentioned earlier.
If I can have 2 10 minutes actually
or 3 minutes explain that. There's 2 tribes
become alliances.
One of them was prophet Muhammad, one of
them was Makan.
One of them called Bani Baq, one of
them called Huzah.
Bani Baq went to
Makan people at the time,
and Huzah went to prophet Muhammad. Huzah are
not all of them are Muslims, that tribe.
Bani Bak, all of them are not
Muslims. The 2 tribes who made alliances with
with Makan and prophet Mohammed fought one another.
A matter of fact, many Bakri killed Khuzah
while they're doing their pilgrimage on the cover.
They come back to prophet Muhammad said, we
are your allies. We were being killed.
Prophet Muhammad came to Makkah
to protect them because Makkah have broken the
treaty.
And when that happened,
the people who killed them,
they run away about 15 or 20 men
have run away
to Taif.
That why Quran say go after them of
those terrorist
who terrorize
the Huzah.
The Huzah in in Mecca,
said, kill them whenever you find them. They
talk about this group of people,
not all of them. Otherwise, prophet Muhammad entered
Mecca. What did he do?
When he inter Mecca all all Mecca all
Muslims?
No. He said to them, go. You are
free people.
If he's the first meant to kill people,
he could have wind and slaughter all of
them.
He said, peace.
Free. You commit aggression against us?
No revenge.
Do you see what happens sometime in war
where people have revenge and eliminating the whole
race on the face of the earth?
You know what happened in Muslim when Muslim
were attacked in Spain?
Muslim were forced in Europe to change their
names, was eliminated, were killed.
But prophet Mohammed did not do that.
And that's why this this verse had taken
out of context.
Is address particular issue
of Hudavia,
time.
Why is it that even though a lot
of religions
address violence in their religious texts, you see
almost exclusively Muslims using their ideology to justify
their violent behavior?
It's true that you hear that a lot
in the news, of course.
I'm can still tell you that myself,
I troubled I'm troubled with
the issue I see sometime on TV, whether
it's beheading
or,
people killing civilians.
There's no justifications.
No justification was severed
from the Quran
and teaching the prophet Muhammad killing innocent people.
But at the same time, I would like
to explain
that many people have misused
their text as well.
You can see what's happening
that now in the Middle East. You can
see what happened in Northern Ireland. You can
see what happened in India, between Hindus, and
other. People have used their religion all the
time
to justify
violence,
but I want to say that it's not
the what the Islam teaches, and that's what
the majority Muslim believe.
And,
I think that's all your questions.
Can you elaborate on what constitutes jihad and
give examples?
I thought I'd address that in my speech.
Jihad has 3 logos, to strive, to struggle,
to defend
your values, your belief,
your honor, your property.
Also, Jihad
meant to strive and struggle fighting your own,
your own whims and desires.
Therefore, it will not
consider Jihad
to attack people
property. It's not considered jihad
to go and commit aggression, against people.
It will not consider jihad killing innocent people.
It's gonna consider jihad blowing buildings and civil
civilians,
if not considered jihad.
Yeah. That's it.