International Terrorism and the Meaning of Islam Essay

International Terrorism and the Meaning of Islam - Essay Example According to Rashid (2002), Muslim militants have been known to engage in a variety of terror acts ranging from beheadings, bombings, kidnappings, suicide attacks, hijackings and spree killings. Such incidences of terror have been witnessed in numerous places around the world such as America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, and Middle East. The Muslim militants commonly referred to as Jihadists, usually net out violence to non-Muslims, terming it Jihad. Many people in different parts of the world who have been hard hit by these acts of terror are usually left wondering whether Islam is a religion of piece, violence, or both. The social meaning of Islam has been to inculcate peace and love for one another. Muslims claim that Islam teaches them to be compassionate and to care for everyone in society. However, confusion is brought about by Islamic teachings which propagate that Muslims should wrestle all those who do not trust or worship Allah, and those who do not adopt the religion of Islam. This has been one religious teaching that they have used to justify their acts of terror. This has been the main reason why the Western mind has a skewed meaning about the social meaning of Islam because it is not clear what they stand for. On one hand, they purport to teach and preach peace and love among one another, yet, on the other hand, they continuously engage in acts of terrorism, mostly against non-Muslims, which lead to mass deaths, loss of life, and destruction of property (Avner, 2008).