Genuine Islam Calls for Peace

Following the savage murder of its hero pilot Lt. Muath As-Kaseasbeh early this year, Jordan’s posture on the battlefield against extremism in general and the highly visible face of terrorism today that is Daesh is firm at the forefront. This is echoed in King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein’s recent address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 10th March 2015. The speech emphasized that contrary to the false ideology espoused by terrorists falsely hiding under the blanket of faith, Islam is a religion cored on peace and by consequence, opposed in the strongest possible way to actions that promote violence, destruction and death. King Abdullah defined the threat of Daesh and extremism in the dimension of faith removing the veil of religious pretense amongst terrorists and calling the crusade against extremism “a fight within Islam.” As such he cites the need for Jordan and other Arab and Muslim states to defend not only its people but its faith – a peace-loving faith tarnished by the blood of countless innocent victims of terrorists and extremists waving pseudo-ideological banner. While denying such murderers the cover of faith, King Abdullah places the same faith at the heart of the fight against Daesh. The King of Jordan puts on the shoulders of Muslim nations the primary responsibility of fighting back with the cooperation of the global community. In a powerful statement, he stated that the world’s Muslims are the terrorists’ greatest target and vows not to allow terrorists to “hijack our faith.” Drawing from vigilant memories of unimaginable suffering in history brought on by hate-based expansionist ideology, the Jordanian King strenuously extricated Islam from the extremists’ framework. He does so by purifying the image of Islam as he has done in many previous occasions of public address. The monarch posed a striking highlight on the essence of being a Muslim as a necessary counter step towards what he perceives as the alarm of rising Islamophobia. Such “poison” is brought on by false ideas portrayed by extremists’ action. Quoting Prophet Mohammad, King Abdullah banishes all violent notions of Islam. “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself.” Before and beyond security measures is a critical need for preventive mechanisms such as the nourishment of peaceful ideologies amongst the youth everywhere, and countering the flow of extremist propaganda by weeding out social and economic exclusivity that feed it. The global ramifications of extremism force everyone to be a stakeholder for peace. On one of the world’s key platforms, Jordan’s King manifested the very expression of the philosophy of mutual respect and inclusiveness by underscoring the inherent unity of Muslims with Christians. For this he gained deep appreciation from the Catholic Church and other Christian communities. His Majesty’s profound take on extremism as a crisis of faith gains relevance in light of the continuing dishonor terrorism brings to the religion of Islam. From the podium of the European Parliament – one of the pillars of the international community, this Arab, peace-seeking King from a small country that admits to often being outgunned and outnumbered, issued a call to battle; not in the sense of aggressive war but a profound re-education on Islam ideology to stop the perversion of Islam once and for all. His appeal is in defense of genuine Islamic faith. He spoke for the sake of peace for himself and every other human being he meets and greets Assalamu alaikum.