Letter: Students need support in face of misconceptions about Islam

Editor,

It has come to my attention that many negative and misleading things about Islam are being published in the Daily Lobo. As per my right to freedom of speech granted to me in the American Constitution, I would like to now respond to these attacks from the American Muslim point of view.

First of all, I’d like to point out that lecturing people on what their religion teaches when you are not even a part of that religion is as if I went to a lawyer asking for a medical diagnosis. In Islam we have many different sects and schools of thought. In addition to the Sunni and Shi’a — the two main sects — in Sunni Islam we have four primary schools of thought, or madhebs. These schools of thought are set up to interpret Islamic jurisprudence.

We also have many other different interpretations of Islam. So the idea that you can group everyone under “one” Islam is an ignorant attempt to paint all Muslims the same. Similarly, this type of language is actually utilized by terrorist groups in an attempt to make Muslims feel alienated from their societies and recruit them to join these organizations.

In addressing the opposition to Resolution 6S, I remind the readers of the Daily Lobo that the definition of resolution, as per dictionary.com, is: “a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club or other group.” In no way is this resolution enforcing anything on the student body of UNM. It is merely standing in support of a group of people who are acting under their constitutional right to freedom of religion.

On that note, I would like to address some things that were insinuated by the writer of “Letter: Resolution 6S ignores violent history and bigotry of Islam.” For one thing, the concept of using religion to justify violence is not unique to Islam. In fact, many of the world’s oldest religions in the past have resorted to this model as an excuse for conquering nations or mass genocide.

It is not fair to judge a religion by the acts of its followers. Finally, I would like to leave this Quranic quote: in Surah Al-Maidah, “Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land — it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one — it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.”

Sincerely,

Sarah Hassan

UNM student