A Muslim woman who spoke to about 150 people Sunday night in Salisbury condemned the Sept. 11 terrorists, the Taliban and Osama bin Laden as un-Islamic.
Dr. Ghazala Sadiq, an engineer from Pakistan who lives in Raleigh, told the crowd at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church that people who fly airplanes into buildings, leaders who force women to cover themselves or suffer beatings and the man who apparently masterminded the terrorist attacks distort Islam, a word which actually means “peace” or “surrender.”
“The Taliban’s treatment of women is so horrible and so un-Islamic, there is no way we can defend it,” Sadiq said of the rulers in Afghanistan. “Osama, the way he’s fighting is wrong. It’s un-Islamic.”
She spoke at the church after leaders there sought an expert to explain true Islam after the terrorist attacks. Her visit was coordinated by the Interfaith Alliance of Wake County, a nonprofit group that promotes harmony among people of different faiths.
Islamic extremists abuse and misinterpret the term “jihad” to justify war, Sadiq said. Jihad actually means to strive or struggle, and the words “holy war” are not found anywhere in the Quran, the Islamic holy book.
Under Islamic rules, Muslims may fight only in self-defense or on behalf of an oppressed people, she said. War is a last resort, and rules of combat do not allow the killing of women, children or any other noncombatant or the destruction of property.
“Oppression is worse than war, but war is already bad,” she said.
Extremists also distort the Quran’s teachings on the treatment of women, Sadiq said.
While one passage in the book mentions a head dress, many Muslim women, like her, do not cover their hair. And forcing women to cover themselves head-to-toe and denying them education and employment, as in Afghanistan, clearly violate the Quran, she said.
The Quran does assign roles within Muslim families: Men should provide, and women should raise the children, she said.
“This is highly abused by some Muslims and even more misunderstood by non-Muslims,” she said. “Men and women are equal in the eyes of God.”
Several important women in Islamic tradition were strong and independent, she said. The first wife of the Prophet Muhammad, whom Muslims believe was God’s messenger, was a rich business woman who hired Muhammad and proposed marriage to him.
His second wife was a judge and very politically active, Sadiq said.
“These are strong examples,” she said.
Islamic law states that women have the right to vote, own property, inherit wealth, earn money and keep their identity. Many do not change their names when they marry, she said.
Islam elevates motherhood above fatherhood, due to all a woman endures in pregnancy and childbirth, she said.
Like Christians, Muslims believe in one God. They respect and revere Jesus and consider him one of God’s greatest prophets, although not a savior. The Quran dedicates a special chapter to the Virgin Mary and tells of miracles performed by Jesus.
But Muslims make no division between the sacred and the secular, Sadiq said.
Islam is not just part of their life, it is a way of life.
The 1.2 billion Muslims in the world live by these Five Pillars:
1. Faith in God.
2. Prayer. Muslims pray five times a day, facing east toward Mecca. They pray in Arabic, and any Muslim may lead the worship. There are no clergy.
3. Fasting. During Ramadan, which starts next month, Muslims fast for a month from sunrise to sunset for self-purification and self-restraint.
4. Purification of wealth. All Muslims must give a percentage of their income to charity. The money can go only for basic human needs, not buildings or bills.
5. Pilgrimage. Once in their lifetime, all able Muslims must journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims wear special, simple clothes that strip away distinctions of class and culture.
Sadiq made her pilgrimage last year and said she was profoundly moved.
“There is an intrinsic change when people go,” she said. For example, militant civil rights leader Malcolm X broke with the extreme Nation of Islam after his pilgrimage and became a mainstream Muslim, Sadiq said. The pilgrimage reinforces their belief that everyone is equal, regardless of race or class, she said.
While Sadiq stopped short of criticizing the United States government, she said that U.S. policies in the Middle East have “created much tension.”
“There are two sides to the story,” she said.
Alan Neely, president of the Interfaith Alliance, who accompanied Sadiq, went further. Bombing Afghanistan is “highly questionable,” he said, because it won’t “punish Osama or endanger him,” while civilian causalities mount.
If the United States wants to end terrorism, it must “get to the root of the cancer and get it out,” he said.
“Unless we are willing to look at the roots of the anger, hatred and mistrust that explain the deep-seeded hostility toward our nation, I don’t see any prospect for the survival of Israel or perhaps our own survival,” he said.
Our military assault in Afghanistan could do more harm than good, he said.
“We risk a response that is much more deadly” than the Sept. 11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, he said. Terrorists may respond with biochemical or nuclear weapons, he said.
The United States must look honestly at why so many people hate this country, he said. The Gulf War, a slaughter in Lebanon in 1981, the creation of Palestinian refugee camps in 1948, colonial exploitation of the Middle East and Africa and even the crusades all have built anger and resentment toward America, he said.
“We can’t undo history, but we can certainly start writing some new history,” he said.
Sadiq, who appeared with her husband, Dr. Jonathan Simonson, said she was pleased with an “excellent turnout.” It was the largest group she has spoken to since Sept. 11.
Although her son had to put up with some name-calling at school, people’s response to Sadiq and her family after the tragedy overwhelmed them, she said after the program.
“We were so surprised by the outpouring of kindness,” she said. “People brought flowers to the mosque, and churches called, offering us protection. I’d never seen it before.
“Something has changed. People have realized that they need to learn more about other faiths.”
Contact Emily Ford at 704-797-4245 or news@salisburypost.com
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