Page 54 - Only Love Can Defeat Terrorism

Only Love Can Defeat Terrorism

whole of the Middle East, North Africa and even Spain,
drawing the attention of many in the West. In the words of the
famous Islamic expert John L. Esposito, "What is most striking

about the early expansion of Islam is its rapidity and success.
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Western scholars have marveled at it." Over the next centuries,
Islam reached all corners of the world, from Indonesia to
Latin America. Today, Islam is accepted as the fastest
growing religion, and its roughly one billion followers
represent about one-fifth of the world's population. Interest in
Islam particularly increased after the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001. (For more details, see The Rise of Islam by

Harun Yahya).
Looking at today's Islamic world, we see a wide range of
religious practices, depending on societies' different customs
and traditions, their cultural heritage and world views. This
has led some individuals researching or trying to understand
Islam to form mistaken impressions. Those differences may
symbolize only the traditional values of the society under
examination, not Islam itself. The only way of arriving at an
accurate opinion of Islam is to put aside these differences and

turn to the Qur'an, where the essence of Islamic morality is set
out, and to the actions of our Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace).
Even if Muslims comprise the majority in a community,
that does not mean that a community's behavior, views and
judgments will necessarily be Islamic, nor that they need be
defended in the name of Islam. When evaluating an

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