The distinction between ISIS and Islam

By Donia Zaky | Published March 1, 2018

Let’s get one thing straight: it is safe to say that ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, unfortunately took advantage of Islam, as a label—just a label. But it is not a sect, nor is it a level of extremism, simply because it is not Islam. Majority of Muslims genuinely do not acknowledge ISIS as Islamic, because everything they believe contradicts the religions mores; its values.

If truth be told, Muslim majority countries such as Syria, profoundly suffer more from the effects of ISIS. This is not to take away from the impact terroristic incidents have had on Western countries.

But, it is the question of the unknown in Western countries that causes ignorance. Many know nothing about Islam, so with ISIS as their immediate example, it is assumed that this is the way of Islam.

On the topic of ISIS, Najiba Syed, President of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at Kean University, stated “we have to be careful of what we do in our actions because of what someone else does in another country, and we have to represent Islam to the best of our ability.”

“It’s sad because people don’t trust us,” Syed continued.

In fact, Muslim comedian and frequent writer for The Huffington Post, Dean Obeidallah, emphasizes in his article titled, “No One Wants to See ISIS Defeated More Than Muslims,” that “ISIS is not about submitting to Islam. Rather, ISIS is of the persuasion that you must either solely submit to ISIS, or die.”

By saying this, Obeidallah clearly expresses a point that many Muslims stress: the distinction between ISIS and the religion of Islam. ISIS and Islam are as juxtaposed as black and white, modern and classic, young and old. The two are on such opposite spectrums that it is ridiculous to equate both.

Based on data collected through research conducted by the Pew Research Center, senior editor Michael Lipka, who focuses on religion, said “Muslims mostly say that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians in the name of Islam are rarely or never justified.”

The classic, logical argument of Christians in difference to the Ku Klux Klan, also called the KKK, who claim Christian ways, was introduced by Engie Elboghdady, a member of the MSA at Kean University.

“ISIS to Islam is what the KKK is to Christianity, and if we can differentiate between the two, then it shouldn’t be that hard to differentiate between us and ISIS,” Elboghdady said.

A shadow is a disposition of reality. Meaning, before we get the actual image, there is this figure of what we think we know it to be. Unfortunately to many in society, the shadow of Islam consists of violence, misogyny, oppression, inequality and the list goes on and on. However, the worst part is the fact that this shadow is their lament reality.

But in front of a shadow is the true image, and behind this true image is light. It is disheartening to think many Americans are just a turn away from enlightenment, but are all too accustomed to this shadow of reality.

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