The bombings that occurred in New York and New Jersey on Saturday caused a deal of pandemonium, along with a further debate on religious beliefs and links to terrorism.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, many Americans have easily linked terrorism to and caused mass fear toward the Islamic religion. Although there are news reports that state that Islam is a religion of peace, there is also the fear of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) groups that many people often link to Islam.
ISIS is on a mission to implement Sharia Law worldwide, including the mass murders of Christians and the abolition of the Judeo-Christian movement worldwide. ISIS often makes the carnage public, but there are lessons to be learned from these atrocities.
On the Huffington Post website, Omar Alnatour explained why Americans should not be completely afraid of Muslims.
“Muslims do not plan to take over America with our religion,” said Alnatour.
Alnatour also reveals that Muslims are wanting to adapt to American ways of life and help their fellow Americans.
“This nation we live in is a seen as a symbol of freedom and opportunity and Muslims lead the nation by example,” said Alnatour. “American Muslims not only hold more college degrees by proportion than the general U.S. population, but also make up the second-highest level of education among major religious groups. To add, American Muslim women hold more college or postgraduate degrees than Muslim men and are more likely to work in professional fields than women from most other U.S. religious groups.”
On CNN.com, Reza Aslan revealed how a recent convert to Islam carried out a mission to go on a shooting spree and offered his own argument.
“The notion that there is a one-to-one correlation between religious beliefs and behavior may seem obvious and self-evident to those unfamiliar with the study of religion,” said Aslan. “But it has been repeatedly debunked by social scientists who note that ‘beliefs do not causally explain behavior’ and that behavior is in fact the result of complex interplay among a host of social, political, cultural, ethical, emotional, and yes, religious factors.”
If religion is not related to terrorism, the problem would be related to culture, mental illness, family life, and peer pressure. It is a choice if that person decides to commit terrorism.
Islam is most commonly linked to terrorism besides Satanism. Americans will continue to link terrorism to the Islamic religion unless they are educated to inform themselves to investigate different religions and belief systems and to understand that extremism exists in each group. The best question is: will everyone get along one day?
