Jenna Bouchard, Brian McKay, Alejandra Faella

URI WRT 104

Mrs. Girasole
Investigative Report

A streak of terrorist attacks over the past decade has sparked more news stories,
reports, and investigations on Islamic terrorists and the religion itself, especially after the
recent media stories of terrorist related attacks over the last year. This topic has
become even more relevant in the 2016 Presidential race, where candidates are
debating their policies concerning these terrorists and the terror group ISIS. Despite all
of the focus this subject is getting, many people still do not know the basis of the Islamic
religion, which makes it easier to blame the religion itself for the terrorist attacks instead.
After the attacks of 9/11, Islamic leaders in the U.S. and other parts of the world, even
from the ultra-conservative Islamic state of Iran, have condemned the attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon as unrepresentative of their faith. Islam teaches
that life is sacred, and forbids the killing of innocents, as well as suicide (MTV News).
Echoing the Old Testament, the Koran says, If anyone slew a person unless it be for
murder or for spreading mischief in the land it would be as if he slew the whole
people: And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole
people. (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 1p).
The only information people have about Islam is what the media feeds them
which include news articles, television programs, and reports surrounding terrorism.
Regardless of how the media may portray Islam, the religion itself really has no
relevance to any act of terrorism. Affiliates to Islam religion are a whole separate division
to the radicals that call themselves ISIS and any of its followers; whereas genuine Islam
practice is as peaceful as any ordinary religion. ISIS, a misguided group with a corrupt

form of Islam religion, carried out a brutal attack on Paris. Shootings and bomb blasts
left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded, with more than 100 in a critical condition.
One of the attackers was said to have shouted, "God is great" in Arabic. One witness
heard a gunman blaming President Hollande for intervening in Syria. It was the first clear
evidence that Paris was once again being targeted by Islamists (BBC News). For
whatever reason, the attacker shouted in accordance to God before committing
brutality, but this is not the real story to Islam religion.
It is rare to see Muslims or Arabs represented in situations that are unrelated to
terrorism. We never see the true story to their religion; while the media tends to focus on
the violence of their people. TV shows such as NCIS, Sleeper Cell, The Grid, The
Agency, LAX, and Threat Matrix are examples of programs that help support anti-Arab
and anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States. Since so many programs focus on the
negative of Islamists, and the fact that the end goal for any production must be financial;
this urges as many viewers to continue watching the programs. Portrayal of Islamists as
dangerous and acts of terrorism obviously helps TV producers to reach that goal, as well
as supporting the governments Middle East policies (Smith 221-234).It is rare to see a
program that focuses on other aspects of Islam that doesnt include some form of
violence. An individual should become more familiar of the Islam religion to draw
conclusions of their real story rather than using the media.
Islam is a religion based on the teaching of Muhammad, known as the prophet,
and consists of two sources known as the Koran and the Sunna, which are the two
fundamental doctrines of Islam. Muslims regard the Koran as the speech of God to
Muhammad; they believe that God himself, not Muhammad, is the author and therefore
that the Koran is infallible. The Sunna, or example of the Prophet, is known through
Hadith and is the body of traditions based on what the Prophet said or did regarding
various issues. Similar to most religions, Islam religions consists of a day of judgment; all

humanity will be gathered, and individuals will be judged solely according to their deeds.
The successful ones will go to the Garden (heaven), and the losers, or the evil ones,
will go to hell. However, the Koran recognizes another kind of divine judgment which is
meted out in history to nations, peoples, and communities. Nations, like individuals, may
be corrupted by wealth, power, and pride, and unless they reform, these nations are
punished by being destroyed or subjugated by the more virtuous nations. A motive to
mis-interpreters of the Koran, may come from their divine judgment to cleanse the
nations that they feel are corrupted which is what brings out terrorism (Funk & Wagnalls
New World Encyclopedia 1p).
A follower of Islam religion is considered a Muslim. Judaism, Christianity, and
Muslims all have the their roots in Judaism. Muslims follow the same readings as
Christians. As a Muslim, there are five duties that one must fulfil which are profession of
faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage. The first duty, profession of faith, is the
absolute agreement to being monotheistic and believing Allah is your God. What
defines a person as a Muslim is this promise, and they must say this once publicly in
their lifetime. The second duty is prayer. One must pray five times per day. The third of
the five duties is to pay zakat. Zakat is a tax that was first placed by Muhammad to help
the poor and to try to convert people, but is still used today. Today it is a voluntary
donation/charity that all Muslims give. The fourth duty of Muslims is to fast. During the
month of Ramadan, from dawn until dusk, one may not be able to eat, drink, or smoke.
Lastly, the fifth duty is pilgrimage. If one is financially able to do so, they must travel to
the Kabba at Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Here, they wear a white seamless
garment. These are the five duties of a Muslim that they must do from day to day and
over their lifetime. All of these duties are peaceful and do not condone the acts of
terrorism. (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 1p).

The Koran declares that reforming the earth is the ideal of human endeavor.
Man is by nature timid, says the Koran. When evil befalls him, he panics, but when
good things come to him he prevents them from reaching others. The term jihad,
usually translated holy war, designates the struggle toward the Islamic goal of
reforming the earth, which may include the use of armed force if necessary. The
prescribed purpose of jihad, however, is not territorial expansion or the forcible
conversion of people to Islam, but the assumption of political power in order to
implement the principles of Islam through public institutions. Since there is a loophole in
the ethics of Islam religion, some radicals use the notion of jihad to justify terrorism. One
such radical was Osama bin Laden who declared jihad on the United States. (Funk &
Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 1p).
Osama bin Laden, described by the U.S. government as the mastermind behind
the 9/11 attacks, used the ancient Islamic belief that the world is divided into the world
of Islam and the world of war to justify violence against non-believers. The terrorism
we practice is of the commendable kind, Bin Laden said in a 1998 conversation with his
followers, recorded by ABC News journalist John Miller. For it is directed at the tyrants
and the aggressors and the enemies of Allah, the tyrants, the traitors who commit acts of
treason against their own countries and their own faith and their own prophet and their
own nation. Mainstream Islamic leaders have rejected such views (MTV News).
However, the term jihad means much more than this even though this is what is
often focused on by the media. Jihad is literally the struggle on behalf of Islam. Greater
jihad is the internal struggle in a person to live a moral life. This is the more important
aspect of jihad. Lesser jihad is the struggle to convert every person into a Muslim.
Lesser jihad is based on three main principles according to the Prophet. The first part is
that Islam is a universal community. Secondly, God and Muhammad have commanded
all Muslim men to spread their faith, even if it means waging war. Lastly, Muslims must

spread their religion until everyone has converted or everyone is living under an Islamic
state. Today, most Muslim philosophers and practitioners agree that lesser jihad is a
peaceful struggle and that Islamic states and non-Islamic states can coexist peacefully
(Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 1p).

This charts shows how less than one percent of the total Muslim population take
active part in violent lesser jihad. While the numbers may be constantly changing this
shows how Muslims are peaceful people (15 Minute History).
Despite the focus on the radicals that use armed force, Islam itself is a relatively
peaceful religion. Some people blame the religion as a whole for all acts of terror. As
one takes a closer look into the religion, it shows the major purpose for Muslims which is
to take part in the internal struggle and to live a moral life. In this way, Islam is similar to
many other religions, including Christianity. Before listening to the media and viewing

what less than one percent of the radical Muslim religion does, one must learn about the
true Islam religion to judge for oneself.