Islamic group plans evening of lectures at UAB
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
GREG GARRISON
News staff writer
In an effort to dispel misconceptions about their faith, Muslims have organized an evening of presentations on Islam, to be held Thursday at UAB.
"It is my belief that ignorance is the biggest source of fear, and we are here to remove ignorance and build bridges between the diverse communities that live in the greater Birmingham area," said Ashfaq Taufique, president of the Birmingham Islamic Society.
Three guest speakers who are Muslim experts on the history and culture of Islam will speak on "The Legacy of Prophet Muhammad," Thursday at 6 p.m., in UAB Cudworth Hall, at 19th Street and Eighth Avenue South.
Zulfiqar Ali Shah, chairman of the Universal Heritage Foundation, will speak on Muhammad being a "brother in faith" to Jesus and Moses.
Ex-Methodist Muslim convert Jerald Dirks, author of "The Cross and the Crescent," will speak on "Muhammad: a champion of women's rights."
Saiful-Islam Abdul-Ahad, a professor of history at the University of Central Florida who is known to his students as just "Saif," said he plans to speak on Muhammad's military and political career.
Saif said Muhammad was an unusual prophet in that he was also a military leader who fought battles. "When he fought, he fought under the rules of jihad," Saif said. "He wasn't just a prophet; he was a political leader and commander of an Islamic state."
There were cases in which, to punish those who committed heinous crimes, Muhammad ordered executions or the cutting off of hands and feet.
"He rendered it as being chief justice, political leader of the Islamic state," Saif said.
Jihad, or holy war, comes with strict ethical rules, Saif said.
"Jihad is truly defensive," he said. "In the rule of jihad, there is to be no killing indiscriminately of non-combatants, women, children, the elderly, or injured. Non-combatants are not to be harmed intentionally, under any circumstances. Arable land was not to be confiscated. Trees were not to be cut down. People were not forced to be Muslim."
Suicide is clearly against Islamic law, he said.
"There's no instance in jihad when suicide bombing is justified," he said. "The Koran clearly states the killing of oneself is forbidden. The penalty in hellfire is to constantly repeat that act over again."
Saif said some teachings can be twisted. There are situations in which martyrdom is noble.
"If a Muslim gives his or her life for the cause of Islam, they will achieve paradise," he said. "But suicide is not one of them."
Saif said he believes many suicide bombers, especially young people, have been led astray by people they consider spiritual leaders who twist theology for political purposes.
"It's like anything else," he said. "They're easily impressionable."
In the past, political leaders such as Saddam Hussein have offered the surviving families of suicide bombers financial rewards for carrying out attacks.
"That's a heavy drawing card, especially if the person doesn't know any better," Saif said.
Saif said the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia had declared Osama bin Laden to be in violation of Islamic teaching and practice after the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa.
"An edict was passed on him before 9/11 took place," Saif said. "It's the idea of wanton killing of non-combatants and suicide bombing. None of this is condoned by Islam. He went off on his own tangent with an ideology that is totally foreign to Islam."
Saif, who lived in Saudi Arabia for eight years, said those who envision western-style democracies in the heart of the Muslim world need to recognize the significant religious and cultural differences, he said. "There is no separation of church and state in Islam," Saif said.