The Qur’an states: “Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those who ponder who have understanding.” In the midst of the violence that has plagued our world, we ponder upon these words in trying to understand the elements of hatred, extremism and what Robert F. Kennedy phrased as the Mindless Menace of Violence. As the witnesses of the horrific events that have plagued our world we are left with this question. How with all our accomplishments as human beings throughout our civilization, we continue to deal with the perpetual crisis of violence in our societies.
Some say that the problem is the teachings of Islam and that religious teaching has brought so much division to our world. Contrary to that understanding, we believe that the values within religion are the solution to our human problems. It is only misinterpretation by misguided individuals that are cocooning their political and selfish views under the banner of religion, where in fact, the blame should be placed on the person committing the act and not an entire people or teaching.
We must come to the REAL problem in our society that is causing these acts of hate and terrorism to take place. The main cause is pride and the illusion of knowledge. Our world has become so complex due to the overload of information we receive but with the challenge of distinguishing what is fact from what is fiction.
The “Get Real, Get Islam” Campaign is focused on bringing the REAL back into REALity through the identification of accurate information and setting up a platform for critical thinking in-order to focus on the REAL problems in our society that include poverty, human trafficking and the environment to name a few. It is time for us as a global community to Get REAL.
Perspectives
Islam Part I
Introduction: “If you live, live free or die like the trees, standing up.” - Mahmoud Darwish The quote above was written by the Palestinian national poet, Mahmoud Darwish. Seventy-three years have passed since the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, and to this day, the death...
Islam Part II
“Flying while Muslim is nerve-racking in itself. Every time I prepare to fly, I have to make sure the anxiety I feel from all the stares I get from the moment I walk into the airport doesn't show on my face. This is what every woman in a hijab or bearded Muslim man...
The Dangers of Nuclear Weapons
In our modern nuclear era, it has become extremely important for all religions to publicly respond to the moral questions of the use of nuclear weapons, using religious texts that were written in a time when nuclear weapons did not exist. Most Muslim scholars agree...
ISIS Beheadings of Journalists Are Nothing Short of Barbaric
When a couple of weeks ago I heard about the barbaric beheading of American photojournalist James Foley, strong-but-inadequate words rushed through my mind — words such as “despicable,” “diabolical,” “deplorable.” Yet I recognized immediately that even such strong...