Muslim or Humans?

One of the Emails I received and I thought I should further elaborate on it, are we Muslims and is it right to judge people by its race, religion and nationality? Do people like these which are mentioned below link represent Islam?

Ellie saw this story on the BBC News website and thought I
should see it.

She Asked me : ** Message **
Does this really go on? It's the 2nd article I hear n it's pretty sick,
especially when the court orders it. Aren't u guys supposed to be Muslims?

** Six arrested over Pakistan rape **
Police in southern Pakistan arrest six men in connection with the kidnap and rape of a 16-year-old girl.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6316631.stm

I was wondering should we judge people of Americas, Europe, and other non Muslim nations for the crime their governments or certain individuals commit or have commited against people of this world….If I sit here and give a list of crimes which were committed during wars of Vietnam, Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Occupation of the subcontinent by Britain, Hitler, use of nuclear weapons against Japan, Crimes by earlier crusaders of Christianity, Bosnian genocide of Muslims, child molesting by certain Priests, Immorality of the western Society, High crime rate in Americas and Europe regarding murders, rape, adultery, theft, Sexual harassment of Women, I can go on and on forever with the list…..

Then I ask myself a question, should I judge Ellie according to what her government or certain individuals do or think? This debate can go on and on forever if we sit and point fingers at each other. So I wont point fingers at her instead I would want to focus on what Muslims are and what muslims should be according to the Holy Quran and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The purpose of our creation was to Worship One Lord and do righteous deeds on Earth. When Adam and Eve were made by Allah, there wasn’t any religion Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism or Islam - they were made to worship One God and given the intellectual power to think what is right or wrong. They were asked to choose their own destiny and stay away from bad and the Devil. From that time onwards, Prophets were sent to different nations to lead them to the straight path. Moses was sent to people of Israel as their guide against the Pharaoh, Jesus (Isaa Pbuh) was sent to people of Israel when they deviated from the path of Mosses, Muhammad (Pbuh) was sent to the whole of humanity because by then every religion and nation had deviated from Worshipping one God to Multiple Gods and Creating Havoc on earth. After Muhammad (Pbuh) even Muslims deviated from the right path and created different sects amongst themselves.

By this brief history we can see that all through time people have deviated from the right path of the same One God. then how Muslims can be different when they are also the children of Adam as everyone else is? As humans they are no different than anyone else in committing sins. This is the main reason why all the books were sent to humanity to lead them to straight path. Being Muslims does not mean that they are programmed to do good only just because they are Muslims, Quran and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) mainly talk about the believers to follow a certain guideline and if they deviate they are not the believers of that one true God. Difference between a believer and a non Believer (Kafirs) it that a believer believes and follows the law of that One God, and the non Believer is the One who breaks that Law, unlike, people of different faiths portray that they are called Kafirs by Muslim, the word in general can be used by any faith and their followers if they don’t believe in their laws and revelations. Quran, Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Commandments of Moses, Scriptures of Jesus(ISAA Pbuh) all talk about believers and non believers in general be it Muslims, Jews, Christians or any other human being of any faith.

Being a Muslim does not mean that we are perfect and everyone else is wrong. If all humans were perfect then there would be no Muhammad (Pbuh), Jesus or Moses.. Muslims or People of other faith have to follow a certain Law and come to terms with right or wrong. Choose for themselves a right path that leads us to the paradise as promised by Allah Himself.

On the other hand western society and people, who get influenced by media, should work on studying the real Islam and the personalities of good Muslims rather than people who do not practice or follow what has been revealed to them. And Muslims should work on their own to correct their faith and character according to the Law of Allah and characters of The Prophet (Pbuh) Himself and His righteous followers, instead of getting influenced by something which a human has misinterpreted and has changed according to their own convenience and needs.

I hope I get the message across in a simple way to both Muslims and people of other religions that as a Muslim I am to prone to commit errors and mistakes but that does not mean I represent all the Muslims of this world past, present and future, nor do you.

I pray to the One who is the Most Merciful and the Most Gracious, to guide Muslims and people of other faiths who have deviated from the path of One God and righteous deeds to the path of the All Mighty. Ameen

How can Islam be called the religion of peace when it was spread by the sword?

It is a common complaint among some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force. The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

1. Islaam means peace. Islam comes from the root word ‘salaam’, which means peace. It also means submitting one’s will to Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one’s will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt).

2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. Each and every human being in this world is not in favour of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice.

3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O’Leary. The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted historian De Lacy O’Leary in the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page 8): "History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated."

4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years. Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the adhan, that is the call for prayers.

5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians. Muslims were the lords of Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian.

6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India. The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the sword.

7. Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, "Which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?"

8. East Coast of Africa. Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, "Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?"
9. Thomas Carlyle. The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: "The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."

10. No compulsion in religion. With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Qur'ân says in the following verse: "Let there be no compulsion in religion, Truth stands out clear from error" [Al-Qur'ân 2:256]

11. Sword of the Intellect. It is the sword of intellect. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur'ân says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125: "Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." [Al-Qur'ân 16:125]

12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984. An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’ magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this century which converted millions of people to Islam?

13. Today the fastest growing religion in America is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe in Islam. Which sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large numbers?

14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says, "People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day Muhammad (pbuh) was born".