Muslims: Judge Us Not By Un-Islamic Acts of Few

In the following article, two Muslim scholars associated with the Washington based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) argue that the American led war in Iraq is becoming defined by brutality, torture and humiliation by both, American soldiers and Iraqis. According to these scholars, the humiliation and the torture of prisoners at the Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison, and the subsequent beheading of an American in Iraq by militant Iraqis belies liberal democratic principles of American society, and religious injunctions in Islam. It is a mistake, they argue, to judge America by its “often misguided” foreign policy and the actions of a handful of American soldiers. It is equally erroneous to judge a highly diverse Muslim World through the actions of a few militant Iraqi Muslims. In fact, the beheading of an American goes entirely against the tenants of Islam and is not condoned by the majority of the Muslim world. Finally, these scholars emphasize that acts of brutality, torture and humiliation are neither religious nor patriotic. They are “deplored by all spiritual, caring and decent human beings.“ – YaleGlobal