As Ramadan Ends, So Must Falsely Labeled 'Jihad'

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Another horrifying trait of extremists is their attempt to discredit moral, humanitarian and Islamic principles as they grapple for power. Before becoming the leader of Iran, Khomeini in his book titled The Islamic Statedeemed as permissible mass killings in order to ensure the survival of the state or, as he put it, in order to “uproot many of the corrupt races that are harmful to society.”

Is it not true that monotheistic religions were revealed in order to imbue human beings with moral codes and humanitarian principles? Were the Ten Commandments of Moses or everything that Jesus and Mohammad said not intended to contain the aggressive, greedy and oppressive tendencies of human beings in order to inaugurate a path toward freedom?

It brings me deep sorrow that extremists of all stripes portray themselves as defenders of Islamic and moral standards. In order to implement unjustified violence, which they falsely describe as “Islamic punishments,” they have amputated limbs, gouged out eyes and stoned women to death with indescribable barbarity.

No one has trampled upon Islamic law more than this bunch. As the Quran says, “And of men is he whose speech about the life of this world pleases thee, and he calls Allah to witness as to that which is in his heart, yet he is the most violent of adversaries. And when he holds authority, he makes effort in the land to cause mischief in it and destroy tilth and offspring; and Allah loves not mischief” (Quran 2:204-205).

The spirit of goodwill

It is critical for true followers of Islam to stand up against perversions of our faith. And there are many groups who seek to do this, one of which is the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the main component of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Since its founding in 1965, the group has embarked on a theoretical effort to understand the truth of Islam and wipe away dogmatic and static readings of the Quran. The NCRI succeeded in promoting in Iranian society the credible views of Islam on freedom, human rights, social justice, gender equality and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and other matters.

Muslims worldwide must come together to reject sectarianism and religious conflicts. We must declare that the struggle is not between Shiites and Sunnis, or Muslims and Christians, or the people and culture of the Middle East against the people and culture of the West. Rather, the main struggle is between tyranny and extremism on the one hand, and democracy and freedom on the other. And as this month of Ramadan comes to an end, we must not allow the spirit of goodwill to leave with it.