Is
Islam Misrepresented?
By: Amil Imani
Decades ago Marshall Mcluhan observed, "The medium is the
message." As the print and electronic media penetrate more and more every
aspect of life, their influence increases greatly in shaping views and behavior
of the public. The power of
the media is a mixed blessing. On one hand it can serve to expose injustices,
wrongdoings, and flaws. On the other it is able to propagate misinformation and
outright disinformation.
Manipulation and control of the
media is of critical importance to the rule of totalitarian states. Free
societies, although less subject to laundered information, are still at
considerable risk of being selectively informed or misinformed outright. The
public can be deceived more easily by the overlords of the media when political
correctness is used as subterfuge for promotion of certain ideas.
A case in point is the media's
portrayal of Islam, articulated by politicians and pundits, the talking heads
on television and radio, as well as the analysts who write for newspapers and
magazines. Time and again we hear and read that Islam is religion of peace, in
spite of the fact that Islam has been a religion of violence from its inception
to the present. This mantra, "Islam is religion of peace", is
repeated so often that it has become an undisputable statement of fact in the
minds of many.
Even President George W. Bush on
several occasions has repeated the mantra and attributed the horrific violence
committed under the banner of Islam to a small band of extremists. The
President's assertion is either based on ignorance of the facts about Islam or
his attempt at political correctness. Perhaps the President's reticence to
speak on the true nature of Islam was due to his desire to avoid inflaming the
already charged feelings of many about Islam. In any event, truth is sacrificed
and the public continues to cling to the false notion that Islam is a peaceful
religion. People who dare to disclose the true nature of Islam run the risk of
being castigated as bigots and hatemongers.
Even a cursory examination of
Islam's history and Islamic texts conclusively proves the exact opposite of
peacefulness. Islam was and continues to be a movement of unbridled violence.
The Arabs who sallied out of the
Arabian deserts did not fan out to the outside world with the Quran in one hand
and flowers in the other, preaching love and peace from street corner to street
corner, thereby capturing the hearts and minds of the people. Islam was forced
on every people at the point of the sword and the imposition of backbreaking
jazyyeh (special taxes) levied on those who were spared death and allowed to
retain their religious beliefs. In spite of paying heavy Jazyyeh, the
non-Muslims were treated, at best, as second class citizens in their own
homelands.
The abominable persecution of
non-Muslims in Islamic countries is a standard operating procedure. In many
Islamic countries non-Muslim marriages are not recognized as legal unions and
the children of the couples are stigmatized as bastards. Never mind Saudi
Arabia, the cradle of barbarism, even Egypt, the more civilized Islamic country
and recipient of billions of dollars in U.S. aid, treats non-Muslims as second
class citizens and deprives them of their legitimate human rights.
The pundits, the analysts and
the politicians are doing a great disservice to the public, each segment for
its own expedient reasons, by parroting the mantra regarding the peaceful
nature of Islam. As a matter of fact, the so called small band of Islamic
extremists is the true face of Islam. Admittedly, from time to time and place
to place, Muslims have shown a degree of tolerance for non-Muslims. This
tolerance dates back to the very early years of Muhammad himself. Early on
Muhammad was meek and proclaimed, "For you, your religion, and for me my
religion". This assertion lasted but a few years until Muhammad's movement
gathered strength and Islam became the only alternative to death or heavy
taxation. The imposition of Jazyyeh was a clever ploy for filling the Islamic
coffer to support its armies and to finance its further conquests.
A longstanding Islamic practice
is to be meek while weak and assume despotic intolerant power as it gains
strength. Recent migration of Muslims to non-Islamic lands began as a seemingly
harmless, even useful, trickle of cheap needed labor. Before long, greater and
greater numbers of Muslims deluged the new territories and as they gained in
numbers -- by high birth rate as well as new arrivals -- Muslims began
reverting to their intolerant ways by, for instance, demanding legal status for
shariah (Islamic laws). The type of draconian laws that for most parts resemble
those of humanity's barbaric past.
Islam is indeed misrepresented.
Islam is not misrepresented by its "detractors". It is misrepresented
by Islamic mercenaries: organizations and individuals generously funded by
states as well as wealthy believers who are making billions of dollars pumping
and selling oil at astronomical prices. Prestigious universities in the West,
always looking for handouts, are tripping over one another to establish Islamic
studies programs staffed by professors who sing the praise of Islam. Newspapers
are routinely intimidated by Islamic associations if they dare to print the
truth about Islam. Legions of lawyers, both Muslims as well as hired guns, are
on the look out to intimidate and silence any voice speaking the truth about
Islam. The media that fall in line may receive generous advertising and other
incentives from Islamic lobbyists.
Hence, it is a fact that Islam
is misrepresented. It is misrepresented very effectively by non-Muslim
individuals and institutions who are generously rewarded by the modern day
Islamic conquerors. This time around the Muslims are using the immense
petrodollar they extract from the addicted non-Muslims. The sword is
temporarily replaced by just as deadly a weapon -- the petrodollar. Before
long, the Muslims aim to add a more deadly modern version of the sword -- the
Islamic bomb. With the bomb in one hand and the other hand on the oil spigot,
the non-Muslim world will be brought to its knees by the religion of peace and
brotherhood.
Amil Imani is an Iranian
born American citizen and pro-democracy activist who resides in the United
States of America. Imani is a poet, writer, literary translator, novelist and
an essayist who has been writing and speaking out for the struggling people of
his native land, Iran. He maintains a website at www.amilimani.com