Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

Islamophobia and Militant Islam:

The Fear and Misunderstanding of the Teachings
of the prophet Muhammad

Austin J. Williams
University of Kentucky

Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

Abstract
Ever since September 11th, 2001 (herein referred to as 9/11), many Americans
have felt a bitter resentment towards Islam and the Muslims who practice it. This
resentment resulted in a large amount of hate-related crimes, and is absolutely based upon
scapegoating and not the make up of the religion itself. Through analysis of the Quran
and investigating the faith of practicing Muslims, this article seeks to clarify that groups
such as ISIS as AlQaeda are in fact an extreme minority in a peace-preaching, widely
diverse religion. In order to counter misgivings, I look into the meaning of the Five
Pillars of Islam in order to show the nature of true Muslim faith and prove that, in fact,
Muslims seek to be the best people they can be while looking for salvation and eternal
life. In order to counter any remarks on the Quran taken out of context, I explore a
passage of the Quran commonly used by anti-Muslim groups to prove that Islam is
violent, and seek to show that when it is put in to context, it is not at all what they take it
to mean. These investigations are demonstrated with accounts of practicing Muslims, as
well as previous studies.

Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

Islam, especially in American culture, is a misunderstood religion. With

organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and the
Taliban causing severe destruction and horrible acts of violence in the name of Islam,
many people have come to believe that Islam itself calls for believers to cause mayhem,
kill anyone that they cannot convert, and hate women. This attitude has led to vast
amounts of resentment for the Muslim and, in part, South Asian culture, especially in the
United States of America as in Chicago, more than 100 hate crimes against Arabs and
Muslims, as well as persons mistaken for them, were reported to the Chicago
Commission on Human Relations by the end of December 2001. (Cainkar, 2002).
Many of these people do not know that organizations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda have the
support of less than a two percent of the Muslim community. It is sometimes difficult to
analyze a religion intellectually based solely upon its texts and testimonials from
practicing members, but in doing so it becomes clear that Islam is very much a religion of
peace. These ideas and standards come through very clearly in the Five Pillars of Islam,
which include Shahaba, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj. Each represents a different very
important aspect of Islam, however many would consider the first, Shahadah, to be the
most basic.
Shahada, literally meaning saw or sight, is the declaration of faith in only one
God, and that the prophet Muhammad was his last messenger. This, to many practicing
Muslims, is the base of what defines Islam. The belief in Allah and the prophet
Muhammad are at the absolute core of Islam. There is a recitation, the actual declaration
of faith in Arabic in order to proclaim faith for God. As recited by Saif Chowdhury,
president of the NYU Muslim Students Association, it says Ahadu an l ilha ill-llh
wadahu l arka lahu, wa ahadu anna muammadan abduhu wa rasluhu (S.

Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

Chowdhury, Personal Communication, September 24th, 2014). To translate: I believe in

the one and only god, and in Muhammad his last and final messenger. It states that
Muhammad was his last messenger, but there were many before him. Muslims believe
Usef, Moses, and even Jesus were all truly prophets sent from God and each brought a
different portion of the greater message of Islam (The Noble Quran, 2:87). Salat,
literally translating to prayer, dictates how, when, and how often to pray. Contrary to
many other religions, prayer in Islam is very structured, providing a guide to the day.

Figure 1
Author unknown, (An untitled photo of a Muslim man performing Asr), Retrieved: OCT,
12, 2014 URL: http://www.norwichmuslims.org.uk/images/islam_prayer.jpg

The first prayer of the day is the Fajr, or the sunrise prayer. This prayer is
typically given fifteen minutes to one hour before sunrise. There is a noon prayer, Zuhr,
which is given when the sun is midway through the sky, an afternoon prayer Asr (see

Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

Figure 1), which is given when ones shadow is exactly their actual height, and a sunset
prayer Maghrib. The fifth, and final, prayer is one given at night. This night prayer is
given after dark, but before midnight. If it is performed after midnight it is considered
not only taboo, but also extremely disrespectful, as that is time believed to have been set
aside by god to be sleeping. All of these prayers are performed facing in the direction of
the Kaba, where Muhammad is buried in Mecca (See Figure 2). Hajj, translating to
pilgrim, dictates the optional pilgrimage to Mecca. There are several components that
must be fulfilled during this pilgrimage, including walking clockwise a specified number
of times around the Kaba, and a number of other ceremonial tasks. However, this pillar,
unlike the others, is not absolutely necessary. While highly encouraged, it is understood
that many Muslims of faith do not have the financial means to make such a long
pilgrimage, and thus it is not absolutely necessary for those who cannot participate (S.
Chowdhury, Personal Communication, September 24th, 2014). Then there is Zakat,
which is charity. Islam is one of few, if not the only, religions that explicitly requires the
giving of material wealth to charity. The Quran even goes on to specify a specific
amount, 2.5% of your annual income, to be given each year. Given the large amount of
practicing Muslims in the world, this should theoretically add up to quit a bit of wealth
donated per year. The last of the Five Pillars of Islam is Fasting, or Sawm. This part of
Islam is very highly structured. Taking place from Fajr to Maghrib on every day of
Ramadan, fasting is one of the few aspects of Islam that is commonly known to those
who do not practice it. While those outside the religion may know that those who
participate are not allowed to eat or drink, often times they do not know why, and they
most likely do not know that there are many rules regarding who can and/or must fast, as
well as other things that participants are not allowed to partake in. To begin, not all

Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

practicing Muslims must fast. For instance, if a Muslim woman is pregnant she is
exempt from the fast with no foul. This also goes for girls on their menstrual cycle, all
children who have not yet reached puberty, as well as those who have an illness, such as
diabetes, or a condition that requires medication. All those exempt are for obvious
health reasons such as nourishing an unborn child, blood loss, or general weakness of the
body. There are other things besides food and drink that cannot be taken, however.
Any fasting Muslim must not participate in sexual activities including self pleasures, no
alcohol or drugs may be taken, unless medication is explicitly required for an illness.
Often times this is one of the most misunderstood and thus most heavily judged aspects
of Islam, because in normal conditions people do not starve themselves from dawn
until dusk. (S. Chowdhury, Personal Communication, September 24th, 2014).
However, there is a deep-rooted purpose for the fast that dates back to Muhammad
himself. During the prophets time on earth, poverty was even more rampant than it is
today. Thus, according to the Quran, the prophet himself took on the fast in order to
better understand the suffering of those surrounding him. This understanding would not
only provide context for Zakat, the donation, but would also allow Muslims to better
know and love those less fortunate. Through fasting, Muslims seek to gain a heightened
understanding of the blessings they possess, and what truly matters in life. (S.
Chowdhury, Personal Communication, September 24th, 2014)

Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

Figure 2
Author unknown, The Kaba, The Great Mosque, Mecca Retrieved: OCT, 13,
2014 URL: http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/saudi_arabia/mecca.html

Those Five Pillars define Islam as a whole. True worshippers of Allah and
Muhammad take adherence to the Five Pillars very seriously, thus it becomes rather clear
that there is no room for violence or hatred of infidelity in Islam. Simply looking at the
act of fasting, which is done almost exclusively to better the mind and make followers
more humane, Islam is clearly a religion of peace and simply a way to explain the world
around us. However, within Islam there are many denominations. Sunnis make up about
90% of the Muslim population of the world, Shias are 8% and the remaining 2% are other
obscure and miscellaneous denominations, says Canberk Oguz, a Muslim researcher and

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scholar (C. Oguz, Personal Communication, September 23rd, 2014). The groups have
been known to wage civil war on each other at least in the small scale, however in
analysis the two sides seemingly are not very different. (S. Chowdhury, Personal
Communication, September 24th, 2014). It is believed that shortly after the prophets
death, there was a rift in Islam over who then should be the spiritual leader, or Khalifa.
It is understood that the group to become known as the Sunni wanted the best and most
qualified person to lead them, while the group to become known as the Shia wanted the
leader to come from the prophets bloodline. (S. Chowdhury, Personal Communication,
September 24th, 2014). This is, seemingly, the primary difference between the two.
There are also, however, some minor differences notable in each denominations
respective call to prayer, as well as the ritual of prayer itself. Within each of these
separate denominations there are also separate schools of thought, however these schools
do not conflict with each other and have in fact agreed that the other schools are true in
Islam as well (C. Oguz, Personal Communication, September 23rd, 2014).
There are two primary sources of knowledge for Muslims. The Quran is an
actual text, this is the book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those
conscious of Allah (The Noble Quran, 2:2, quran.com). The Hadith are sayings of the
prophets that have been passed down through the schools of thought and shared with
those of faith (S. Chowdhury, Personal Communication, September 24th, 2014). There
is a Hadith that is particularly interesting in that it says when youre looking at
something you can find good in it, and when youre also looking at something, youll
find good in it when youre looking for good. And you can also find bad in something,
if you have the intention to make it bad (S. Chowdhury, Personal Communication,
September 24th, 2014). It is interesting in that it fits so perfectly to many topics, but fits

Running head: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND MILITANT ISLAM

exceptionally well on the topic of religion. Regardless of what religion you belong to
this message could not possibly hold more truth. People like members of the Westboro
Baptist Church abuse Christianity in order to belittle and verbally assault members of the
gay community and often times it gets written off as belligerent ignorance and bigotry.
Why, then, is it different when mysterious masked men across the sea decapitate
reporters in the name of an even more diverse and developed religion? Perhaps one
major reason is a tactic very similar to that which Atheists use in order to attempt to
disprove the bible. That idea of intent is present not just in Islam, but through all
religions. Not just religion, but politics, or anything. Where a person intends to find bad,
it will be found. Excerpts from holy texts like the Quran and the bible are taken and
used for hate nearly every day. Often times sections of the Quran are taken in small
snippets, and can then be interpreted to mean that the Quran is calling for killing and
violence. Someone might take a passage such as:
And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they
have expelled you, and fitnah [distress] is worse than killing. And do not fight
them at al-Masjid al- Haram [the holy mosque in mecca] until they fight you
there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the
disbelievers. (The Noble Quran, 2:191, quran.com)
Reading this alone, and out of context, it would be easy to take it to mean that Allah
intends for Muslims to kill anyone who does not believe. However, if you read the
passage immediately before it: Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not
transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors (The Noble Quran, 2:190,
quran.com). It is now clear that these are not words of hate and active vengeance, but
rather terms for how one should defend him or her self when attacked. It is not attack

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10

and abuse infidels until they convert or die, as many non-Muslims have used it to mean in
anti-Muslim slander, but rather a statement that should someone attack you because of
your beliefs Allah shall not judge someone for returning the damage until they submit.
Even four passages later it is said to spend in the way of Allah and do not throw
[yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good;
indeed, Allah loves the doers of good. (The Noble Quran, 2:195, quran.com). This
goes shows Islam as a religion not of violence but rather of self-betterment.
Oftentimes, the separate denominations within Islam are individually blamed for
organizations such as Al Qaeda and attacks like 9/11. Unsurprisingly, as they hold the
largest portion of the population, many of them, such as AlQaeda, identify with Sunni
(Atkins, 2011), but these organizations span nearly all of the denominations. However,
even with their multi-denominational spread, ISIS, Al Qaeda, the Taliban et al. receive
very little support from the rest of the Muslim community:
All throughout the Quran, if you think about it, the verses talk about how God is
merciful, how God showers grace upon us. I had a teacher once that told me, God
isnt an angry old man in the sky, God is really real and he is there for you to go
to when youre times arent really great so, honestly for me its really weird when
I hear about these organizations overseas, you know, theyre in the name of God
theyre doing whatever the hell they want. It makes me sad to say that they also
believe in the same thing I believe in. (S. Chowdhury, September 24th, 2014).
Neither Islam nor any of its denominations is to blame for such horrifying acts of
violence. Saif is a Sunni Muslim. The noble, beautiful words he has to say about the
world and all those who inhabit it cannot possibly be part of anything that would wish

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11

harm upon it. Sunni, Shia, and Islam as a whole are not to blame for the actions of their
militant minorities.
Overall, Americans in the last decade have tended to view Islam, and those who
practice it, in a very negative light. However, if more people would take the time to
research the Quran, and understand, not necessarily believe, the teachings of the Muslim
prophet Muhammad , they may take a different perspective. It is unreasonable to view
ISIS and AlQaeda as the norm for those who practice Islam because, like so many other
religions, Islam intends to aid the disciple to become a morally decent person. When
those who decide to practice Islam place themselves under the strict structure involved
with faith in order to understand and aid the less fortunate, it is in fact intended for selfbetterment, not to resent those who do not do so as well. Perhaps with greater knowledge
of the culture of Islam, those people who believe that being a Muslim is synonymous
with being a terrorist or murderer may gain a greater appreciation for those who practice
it and realize that Islam, in its basic, textual and intellectual form, truly is attempting to
spread a message of peace.

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