Friday, March 19, 2010

Ignorance is Dangerous

Over the last few weeks the news has been full of stories of Muslims doing crazy things. I am sure I don't need to mention any of the specifically for you to know what I am talking about.

Sometimes I wish I could stop the news broadcast and just explain that these people do not represent the true Islam. That they are acting on ignorance and misguidance, and that the majority of Muslims do not hold the same twisted views as these people in the story.

Ignorance is Dangerous. This statement, while at first may seem to apply to only those who act out violently, can also apply to those ignorant to their religion who are not violent. The same ignorance that can cause someone to think they should kill themselves to destroy and enemy, can also cause someone to deny a part of Islam. So while one is more physically dangerous than the other, they both have the same emotional and mental dangers.

If you meet a Muslim who does not pray, does not fast, does not follow sunnah, but yet thinks its their place in life to tell others to do the act like they do, you have met someone who is very dangerous. There are always going to be people that struggle with their deen, but know what is right and strive to get there. Then there are those who revel in their defiance and lash out at those who are doing their best to obey their creator. They not only spread the wrong message to other Muslims, but to non Muslims as well.

What is the solution to this dangerous ignorance? Knowledge. Not the kind of knowledge that we make up ourselves to fit out desires, but the kind that we can learn from the Quran and Sunnah. May Allah guide us all.