:salam2: Brothers and Sisters,
In the Commentary section of my newspaper, taking up one half of the lower section was the following article:
I remember very clearly the sad morning of Sept. 11, 2001. It was certainly a sad and dark day. As an American and a Muslim my grief was twofold.
On one hand thousands of my fellow countrymen were mercilessly killed in a barbaric act of terrorism, and on the other hand the perpetrators of this inhuman crime claimed affiliation to my religion, a religion whose teachings are completely contrary to the heinous deed they had committed.
Last Monday morning, when I saw the headlines declaring that Osama bin Laden-mastermind behind al-Qaida-had been killed, I felt a sense of relief. The American in me was satisfied that justice had been served to this evil man who slautered hundreds and thousands of innocent Americans 10 years ago.
The Muslim in me was glad that this man will no longer be able to malign and exploit my religion for his own personal and political gains. He manipulated some Muslims, used religion to stoke their emotions, fed them lies, and recruited them to do his dirty deeds. He did a lot of damage to the image of Islam. Because of that, many innocent Muslims in the West who don't even share his ideologies have to suffer mistreatment and mistrust by their neighbors. Because of him they have a guilt thrust upon them for a crime they didn't even commit.
There is a big misunderstanding among some people that bin Laden was a spiritual or religious leader of Muslims. He certainly wasn't. He was only a political leader with a dangerous political agenda. His ideologies, which he attributed to Islam, are completely unfounded in the teachings of Islam, which forbids shedding the blood of innocent people and condemns those who spread chaos and disorder in the world.
As it was expected, bin Laden's supporters are now trying to paint his death as an attack on Islam and glorifying him as a martyred Muslim hero-which he is absolutely not. I hope that their venom does not poison the minds of more naive Muslims around the world. I also hope that Muslims, especially American Muslims, wil shun bin Laden's perverted version of Islam, and keep his demented ideas out of their communities. Let his evil die with him.
As far as my Muslim community (Ahmadiyya ) is concerned, not only are we busy as ever in rooting out extremist innovations from within Islam and educating outsiders about the true peaceful nature of Islam, but we are also busy praying.
We are praying that this will be the beginning of the end of 'Islamic" terrorists. They are an abomination that has caused immense pain and suffering to thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims alike all over the world; they are a disgrace to Islam and humanity.
May God bring an end to their reign of terror and may peace prevail. Amen.
Aamna Bhatti
writes from Frederick.
In the Commentary section of my newspaper, taking up one half of the lower section was the following article:
I remember very clearly the sad morning of Sept. 11, 2001. It was certainly a sad and dark day. As an American and a Muslim my grief was twofold.
On one hand thousands of my fellow countrymen were mercilessly killed in a barbaric act of terrorism, and on the other hand the perpetrators of this inhuman crime claimed affiliation to my religion, a religion whose teachings are completely contrary to the heinous deed they had committed.
Last Monday morning, when I saw the headlines declaring that Osama bin Laden-mastermind behind al-Qaida-had been killed, I felt a sense of relief. The American in me was satisfied that justice had been served to this evil man who slautered hundreds and thousands of innocent Americans 10 years ago.
The Muslim in me was glad that this man will no longer be able to malign and exploit my religion for his own personal and political gains. He manipulated some Muslims, used religion to stoke their emotions, fed them lies, and recruited them to do his dirty deeds. He did a lot of damage to the image of Islam. Because of that, many innocent Muslims in the West who don't even share his ideologies have to suffer mistreatment and mistrust by their neighbors. Because of him they have a guilt thrust upon them for a crime they didn't even commit.
There is a big misunderstanding among some people that bin Laden was a spiritual or religious leader of Muslims. He certainly wasn't. He was only a political leader with a dangerous political agenda. His ideologies, which he attributed to Islam, are completely unfounded in the teachings of Islam, which forbids shedding the blood of innocent people and condemns those who spread chaos and disorder in the world.
As it was expected, bin Laden's supporters are now trying to paint his death as an attack on Islam and glorifying him as a martyred Muslim hero-which he is absolutely not. I hope that their venom does not poison the minds of more naive Muslims around the world. I also hope that Muslims, especially American Muslims, wil shun bin Laden's perverted version of Islam, and keep his demented ideas out of their communities. Let his evil die with him.
As far as my Muslim community (Ahmadiyya ) is concerned, not only are we busy as ever in rooting out extremist innovations from within Islam and educating outsiders about the true peaceful nature of Islam, but we are also busy praying.
We are praying that this will be the beginning of the end of 'Islamic" terrorists. They are an abomination that has caused immense pain and suffering to thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims alike all over the world; they are a disgrace to Islam and humanity.
May God bring an end to their reign of terror and may peace prevail. Amen.
Aamna Bhatti
writes from Frederick.
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