In Islam, Boko is Halal (lawful)!...Killings & Kidnappings are Haram (unlawful)!



“Do not promote disorder in the earth after peace has been established!”



¬-- Qur'an Chapter 7(Nahal, the Bee) verse 56



“Oh my servants! I have forbidden oppression (persecution) on Myself (Allah speaking)and made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress each other!”

-- Narrated by Imam Muslim, Hadithul-Qudsii, (Sacred Wisdom of the Prophet )



Never in the history of terrorism in the world that kidnapping not killing had generated so much attention as it has with the recent kidnapping of the 276 Nigerian school girls by the boko haram, a phrase in huasa languages that means; western education is unlawful. This is by virtue of the hash tag created on social media; #Bring Back Our girls, which has gone viral-seeing both entertainment, religious, diplomatic and political celebrities(Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton inclusive) worldwide advocating strongly for the safety and security of these innocent girls.

But there is nowhere in the Qur'an or hadith(prophetic wisdom) that it was stated boko(secular/western education) is haram or unlawful. And for that matter, Islam never kicked against secular education for both men and women. It is a clear-cut irony that, the first revelation that was sent to the Prophet of Islam Muhammad was, "Iqrah", "Read", in Qur'an chapter 96 verses 1-5, which say: "Proclaim! (or Read!)In the name of your Lord and Cherisher, Who created. Created men, out of A leech-like clot. Proclaim! And your Lord Is Most Bountiful. He who taught by the Pen. Taught man that which he know not.". In his analysis of some parts of these verses, Yusuf Ali, the celebrated interpreter of the Qur'an stated in his, "THE QUR'AN-English Translation of the Meanings & Commentary" , that, "…"read", "teach", "pen"[which implies reading, writing, books, study, research], "knowledge" [including science, self knowledge, spiritual understanding…]" This means is about education, not necessarily religious education but western/secular education as well, without which the hypocritical boko haram could not have gotten those weapons they are using, because those were by-products of western education!. And it is only through education (especially secular/western) that we will know His(Allah) reality and the reality of His universal phenomenon!

History has it that, due to the importance the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad attached to education in general, he sent one of his companions, Zaid bin Thabit to the Jewish land to learn their Hebrew language, which was not a religious discipline but a secular course. Once when the Prophet observed his companions using cross-fertilization method to increase dates yield, he kicked against that in the beginning. However, later when the date harvest of that year was very low, he asked them why and they said; because they stopped cross-fertilization(which was then secular educational idea) that he advised them against. The Prophet then encouraged them to continue cross-fertilizing, since that was a knowledge they learnt in order to increase production of dates. And he used to say to his companions that, "Wisdom(hikmah) is a lost property of a believer, he should grab it where he finds it(even from non-believers).



Muslims contribution to the intellectual and academic world



In his forward to a book entitled, Reading the Muslim Mind, by Hassan Hathout, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, former Minister of Petrol and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who used to lecture(annually) in Islamic Shariah at the Harvard University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts wrote that, "The history of mankind has witnessed a number of civilizations: The Chinese, the Pharaonic, the Greek, the Persian and Roman. It has also witnessed the Islamic civilization. Each of the civilizations that preceded Islam became renowned for aspects that distinguished it from the others. Thus philosophy thrived in the Greek civilization whereas architecture was the strong point of the Romans. The Islamic civilization, on the other hand, is notable in that it saw the rise of all major fields of knowledge, such as medicine, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics and philosophy. As well as architecture.

The Christian popular magazine, Awake of April 2012 edition carried an article dubbed, Medieval Masters of Astronomy. It says, "…The Arabs (Muslims)were one of many peoples who studied the night sky. The golden age of science in the Middle East began in the ninth century C.E. and the Arabic-speaking astronomers of that era were regarded as masters and pioneers of astronomy…During the seventh and eighth century C.E., Islam expanded west from Arabia across North Africa and into Spain and east as far as Afghanistan. Scholars in this vast area drew on a legacy of scientific research from Persia and Greece, which was largely influenced by Babylon and Egypt. Then, during the ninth century, important scientific texts were translated into Arabic, including the works of Greek astronomer Ptolemy…Islam prized knowledge of astronomy. Why? One reason was related to their worship. Muslims believe that they should face Mecca when they pray, and astronomers could pinpoint the direction of Mecca from any location. By the 13th Century, some mosques even employed a professional astronomer, or muwaqqit, who helped worshippers pray in what they considered to be the proper manner. With their data, astronomers could also determine the dates of religious events and practices, such as the period of fasting during the month of Ramadan. Additionally, they could help pilgrims traveling to Mecca ascertain the length of their journey and plan the most efficient route…As early as 1031, Abu Rayhan al-Biruni(who had exceptional expertise in dozens of scientific, intellectual and academic disciplines) mentioned the possibility that planets revolve in elliptical orbits rather than circular ones…They(Muslim astronomers) could pinpoint the positions of the sun, moon, and five visible planets at any time of the day or night-an invaluable aid in navigation. They could tell time and maintain a calendar by observing positions of the heavenly bodies findings…They charted star movements with unprecedented accuracy, and their findings proved invaluable to successive generations of astronomers." Without western/secular education(which they were the pioneers of), how could these early Muslims have chalked all these highly incredible and indelible achievements? Folks, let us ask boko haram guys, rhetorically!

Prophet Muhammad strongly advocated education of both men and women, as he said in one of his hadith, "Seeking knowledge is mandatory upon every Muslim male and female." Having seen the intellectual capacity of his wife Aisha, he advised his companions to seek part of the knowledge of Islam from her. And so they did and benefitted a lot from her expertise. Having narrated 2,210 ahadith of the Prophet(some of which were pregnant with scientific and medical prophesies), Aisha became the fourth in line among the leading narrators of ahadith-far ahead of thousands of narrators, mostly men, including her own father, Abubakar, who was the first khalif (successor) of the Prophet. The Prophet used to listen and apply to their views and opinions to solve critical issues in the religion. One of such instance was during the 6th century after the hijrah or migration to Medina, when he and his companions were on a journey to perform the lesser form of hajj, called umrah. They were stopped and prevented from entering into Mecca by the non-Muslim Meccans at a village called hudaibiyah, at the end of negotiation between the Prophet and the non-Muslims, he asked the companions in his entourage to shave off their hairs( part of the rites and rituals of hajj, signifying the end of the service), they were reluctant to do so, and the Prophet was not happy about that. However, one of his wives, Ummu Salamah,(who accompanied him on that journey) suggested to him that, he should get someone shave his hair first and see what would happen. So when he did, all the companions suddenly began to shave off their own, wanting to emulate him. This shows that he benefitted from the counsel and wisdom of a woman. Even Umar, his second successor was also once challenged by a woman, when he wanted to reduce their dowry, but this woman protested and referred him to what the shariah agreed as their due. He agreed with her and admitted he was wrong and she was right!

History is replete with stories of Muslim women who blazed the trail and became intellectual legendaries and luminaries, from the female sahabah (companions) to the tabieen (subsequent generations generation), who taught many men, and who in tend curved enviable niche for themselves by producing many scholars and writers of numerous books on several fields of knowledge.



Is hijab a symbol of oppression to Muslim woman?



Many are those people who still think that hijab, the Muslim veil for women is a symbol of oppression and relegation of Muslim women to the distance background, although the Qur'an and hadith have elaborated extensively on the wisdom behind it, but it is more expedient for readers to hear or read the view of a Roman Catholic nun(not a Muslim), Karen Armstrong, making sense of hijab, who is known to always render her analysis of Islamic issues through the lens of objectivity. She was even sarcastically and satirically christened by her contemporary western orientalist writers (who chose to always give Islam a bad press and lambast it), as the "fifth khalif" of Islam(after Ali, the fourth one), due to what they perceived as her, "excessive generosity" in elucidating Islam and Prophet Muhammad. Karen wrote in her, MUHAMMAD-A Biography of the Prophet that, "…The hijab or curtain was not intended to be an oppressive measure. It was designed to prevent a scandalous situation developing which Muhammad's enemies could used to discredit him…We should pause to consider the question of hijab, and the Muslim institutions of the veil. It is often seen in the West as a symbol of a male oppression, but in the Qur'an it was simply a piece of protocol that applied only to the Prophet's wives. (An later)Muslim women(since they follow the examples of the Prophet and his household) are required, like men to dress modestly…In fact the veil was not designed to degrade Muhammad wives but was a symbol of their superior status. After Muhammad's death, his wives became, very powerful people: they were respected authorities on religious matters and were frequently consulted about Muhammad's practice(sunnah) or opinions. Aisha became extremely important politically…Thus many of the Muslim women who first took the veil saw it as a symbol of power and influence, not as a badge of male oppression. Certainly, when the wives of the Crusaders saw the respect in which Muslim women were held, they took to wearing the veil in the hope of teaching their own men folks to treat them better…" The most interesting scenario is that, while some feminist and women right advocates in the western world are criticizing Islam and Muslims for imposing hijab on women, many Muslim women, especially the newly converted ones are so enthusiastic about wearing it. They even devoted a special day every year, as world hijab day, where they would encourage family and friends belonging to other faiths to wear hijab and experience the honor and dignity it represents for women.

Even many women who expose their nudity feel ashamed and embarrassed when men steal glances at them. Let us consider these two logical scenarios; Assuming one goes to a slaughter house or an abattoir, and sees beef, one part covered with plastic bag and another part uncovered, which one would attract flies? Obviously, the uncovered beef! Same thing applies to a situation where a woman dresses decently(the Muslim way), she commands respect, without anyone chasing and calling her, as against half-nude women, who would crowd-pull the human 'flies'!

I learnt in the late eighties, Hollywood did this experiment at Harlem, a suburb of New York to ascertain how men would react to a woman's different mode of dressing. They let a young lady dressed half-nude to walk along the busy street of Harlem. And she attracted many young men, chasing, stalking, touching and flirting with her, by virtue of exposing her 'vital statisitics'. However, within some few minutes, they let the same girl dressed in the typical Islamic mode-long and loosen robe with hijab and passed by the same street. She met the same guys and none of them even looked at her, nor behaved towards her in that disrespectful and embarrassing manner as she experienced with the earlier outfit.



How did the Prophet treat women and war captives(slaves)



“While according sanction to fighting in self-defence…[the Koran] enjoins concurrently, humanitarian rules of warfare to mitigate the human suffering it inflicts,”

--- Agha Shahi, Former Pakistani Foreign Minister in his book, The Role of Islam in Contemporary International Relations





Even in the real war situation, Muslims have to be careful and circumspect with the way they treat captives of war and slaves. In a Prophetic narration reported by Imam Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ahmed Bun Hanbal and Al-Tabarani , the prophet said, "Those who abuse their slaves cannot enter Paradise!"

In a hadith attributed to Imam Bukari and Muslim, the mercy of the Prophet toward the slaves reached such level that he refused to refer to them as "salves" or "maid", instead he advised and commanded Muslims to refer to them as "my son" or "my daughter".

A group came to the Prophet(peace be upon him) after the incident of Hunayn(war). They wanted him freedom for the captives of war. One of them said, "O Muhmmad! our tribe has milked-mothers and milk-sister!"[meaning women who are breast feeding babies]. The messenger of Allah replete with compassion, empathy and sympathy responded with great loyalty, "I free all the captives that belong to the sons of Abdulmuttalib." The Immigrants(muhajireen) and Helpers(ansar) who saw this refined behavior followed his action by saying, "We also free our captives for the sake of the Prophet!" As a result, on that day, thousands of captives were freed without any ransom. He used to advise regarding slaves, "They are your brother and sister, offer them what you eat and drink!"

Abu Dawud also narrated that, the Prophet used to advise the companions that, "…Pay great attention to salat (prayer)! Fear Allah for the salves you own!"

And slavery was eventually outlawed and abolished by the Prophet in Medina.

For the first time in human history, Islam introduced rules of engagement and serious limitations and principles concerning the matter of war. [And by the way, those wars the Prophet fought with his companions were defensive wars, because they were the victims of attack and Allah commended him to fight]. Orders like the following (by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad) that took humanitarian concern into consideration have gone down into history as the most humane way of avoiding collateral damages in war situation and had become an envy of our contemporary and civilized world:

“Do not let the fear of God go from your hearts, Do not forget that you can do nothing without the help of God, always remember that Islam is the religion of peace and love. The courage, the bravery of God’s Messenger and his keeping to the path that God has ordained should always be a model for you. Do not trespass cultivated land and orchards. Respect the priests and monks who live in temples and those who have given themselves to God; do not hurt them. Do not kill civilians, do not act in untoward (unpleasant) manner toward women, and do not injure the feelings of the defeated. Do not accept gift from the local population. Do not attempt to house your soldiers in the houses of the locals (by ejecting these locals)."

According to Dr. Aslam Abdullah, in an article dubbed, “Did Prophet Muhammad spread Islam with a Sword?” in the January-February 2013 edition of The Message International magazine, entitled, “Clearing the Air & Knowing Muhammad”, that, “The best and most direct evidence for the way Islam was propagated are the words of Prophet Muhammad to St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai, during a time in history when no one was talking about freedom of religion, cultural pluralism and tolerance, or protection of human life. Prophet Muhammad wrote to the monks the following:

“This is a message from Muhammad bin Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily, the servants, the helpers, my followers, and I defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they [the Christians] are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval[have the boko haram rebels sought the approval of those girls or their parents?]. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the Ummah [Muslim nation] is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day !!![end of the world].”

Abu Bakar Siddiq, the first khalif (successor)of the Prophet also carried quite similar rules when he told his military commander: “Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for guidance on the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies; do not kill a woman, a child, or an aged man; do not cut down fruitful trees; do not destroy inhabited areas; do not slaughter any of the enemies’ sheep, cow or camel except for food; do not burn date palms, nor inundate them; do not embezzle (e.g. no misappropriation of booty or spoils of war) nor be guilty of cowardliness…You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone." Before departing for the conquest of the Levant, He(Abu Bakar) told his warriors: "When you meet your enemies in the fight, behave yourself as befits good Muslims…If Allah gives you victory, do not abuse your advantages and beware not to stain your swords with the blood of one who yields, neither you touch the children, the women, nor the infirm, also men, whom you may find among your enemies.”

The above quote by Dr. Aslam clearly crystallizes yet another statement by the Prophet, cautioning the Muslim fighters to consider human interest, discouraging and despising an act of violence, radicalism, extremism and terrorism against non-Muslims. It rather advises and advocates mutual co-operation, religious tolerance and social shielding towards the non-Muslims.

Alas, these golden rules and regulations in war situations have been buried in the dustbin of history, but one could just imagine how we could avoid heavy collateral damages to civilians and the venerable groups that the Prophet mentioned above if mankind was to apply the above instructions by both Prophet Muhammad and his khalif, Abu Bakar in physical engagement with their enemies.



The status of women under ancient civilizations



During the Jahiliyah period, or era of ignorance, pagan Arabs used to treat women as properties. Sons would inherit their fathers other wives and have sexual intercourse with them. Men would always sleep with their sisters and daughters, in fact, morality and decency were thrown to the dogs!

The role of women in different civilizations, even though on different spectrums of the world, had many similarities and only a few differences. Women in these four civilizations: Greece, Egypt, China, and India faced many of the same hardships, struggles, and prejudices. Some of this treatment of women didn't even end until present day (1920's). In some of these civilizations women were able to rise up somewhat in their communities but it didn't come without some kind of interference. When it came to the rights of these women, they really didn't have any at all. In Greece women were considered to be second class citizens at best. All women were forbidden to own property, inherit their own name, vote, or attend political debate. Men viewed them as nothing of real importance. To them they were irrational, fearful, and only to be used for their physical desires. They were considered to be the ward of a man (Sacks 263)…In India the rights of women have barely changed since ancient times. Women in this country are not allowed to own property, show their faces in public, and are the complete property of a man (www.geocities.com/hinduism/hindu_women.html). The women of china were also inferior to men. For around two thousand years they lived under the rules and laws set by Confucius. The Confucius doctrine said that women weren't equal to men because they (were inferior to men). Under Napoleon's Civil Code women were declared to be inferior to men and children had no rights at all. It recognized civil marriage and divorce but left the wife with restricted powers over property. Minor children had absolutely no rights; the father had absolute control over them. Napoleon said, "The husband must possess the absolute power and right to say to his wife: Madame, you shall not go out, you shall not go to the theater, you shall not visit such and such a person: for the children you bear…"



The status of women under Islamic civilization



In the pre-Islamic era, women had been treated in such a way that their womanly pride was offended. Concubines were seen as an instrument of amusement and were treated in a degrading way. Fearing that they would grow up to become prostitutes, little girls were buried alive by their parents, without any mercy. With petrified hearts, even worse crimes were committed in order to protect them from calamity; all of this was the result of ignorance. Allah described their behavior as follows in Qur'an, chapter, 16 verse 58-59,"When news is brought to them, of the (birth of) a female (child), his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief. With shame does he hide himself from people, because of the bad news he has received! Shall he retain it on (sufferance and) contempt or bury it in the dust? Ah! What an evil (choice) they decided on." Hence upon reveling this verse to the Prophet, he totally abolished female infanticide, a practice of burying female infants alive by the Arab pagans. By the order of the Prophet, women's rights were established. Women became examples of modesty and virtue in society. The institution of motherhood gained honor, with the hadith that, "Paradise lies under the feet of the mothers," (the title of my first book) [reported by Ahmed Bun Hanbal, Ibn Majah]. The Prophet went the extra mile in his feminist advocacy, when one of his companion approached him with a question, "Who should rightly deserve my companionship (and compassion)? The Prophet answered; "Your Mother!" The man asked; "Then who else?" The Prophet repeated; "Your Mother!", He asked again; "Who else?" The Prophet emphasized; "Your Mother!", three times, and he said; "Then your Father!" only once. With this powerful command, mothers earned the status they deserve by kind courtesy of Prophet Muhammad. This is due to the daunting parental role they play. It finds expression in a wisdom by late Sheikh Ibn Salihul Uthameen of Saudi Arabia that, "A child comes out from his father through pleasure and comes out from his mother through pain."

The following example of the kindness extended by the Prophet to women is a beautiful one. "During the a journey, a slave named Anjasha caused the camels to run by singing. Prophet Muhammad, thinking of the possibility that, the delicate bodies of the ladies on the camels might get hurt, he said in hadith reported by Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmed that,: "O Anjasha! Be mindful(gentle)) with the crystal! Be mindful(gentle) with crystals!" The Prophet in his wisdom described women as crystal, because as beautiful as they are, if they are not treated gently and humanly, they would get hurt, for their natural frame is not as strong as that of men. Hence, in Islam, mothers are the creatures who have been granted the highest amount of divine mercy from the creator Allah Al-mighty!

Western orientalist/historians also documented copiously on how women in Egypt were treated fairly well compared to the others(by virtue of the Islamic law that would always protects their interest). They shared the same legal and economic rights as men, they were capable of owning land, slaves, and could acquire possessions for themselves in many ways. Elite women did have more rights and opportunities than the non-elite but they were both very fortunate. Regardless of class though, all women had only a few main concerns and expectations. They were all expected to get married and raise a family, maintain the management of the household, and bearing and rearing children (Harrison 510). Under Islamic civilization women have been given the right to own and inherit property over 1400 centuries ago, while in Britain, women were given the right to own property only in 1899. Women in Islam had the right to vote, while it took women under other civilizations many centuries before they were given the right to vote. The command by Allah and his Prophet not to always go away from their homes without a brother, father or husband shows how Islam is "over protective of them", in order to avoid coming in contact with strange men of no shame, who would not hesitate to dishonor or defile them. There are many verses of the Qur'an that would always address both men and women, without any distinction. Specific verses were revealed on the punishment of people who slander and falsely accused women of adultery and fornication. Allah had revealed a whole verse to the Prophet to rescue his wife Aisha, during the incident of necklace episode- where she was alleged to have committed adultery. Allah considers piety as a factor for any gender to rise above the other. So if women are more pious than men, they are more superior in the sight of Allah! better still, a whole chapter(4) had been titled in the Qur'an, as the chapter of Nisah, "Women", which dilates and deals at length with their socio-economic and legal welfare. But there was no chapter exclusively devoted for men as such. Hence, if you like, call the Qur'an a feminist literature!



Specific Qur'anic & Prophetic advocacy against terrorism & radicalism



“They (Muslims) created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any society had ever been in the world before.”

--- H.C. Wells, The Outline of History



There are many Quranic verses to this effect, but these are few of them: “If you behave tolerantly, overlook, and forgive (their faults), then verily God is Forgiving and Merciful.” --- Qur’an [64: 14]

“But if the (perceived) enemy inclines toward peace, do you (also) incline toward peace, and trust in God…” --- Qur’an [8:61]

“And if you have to respond to any wrong, respond to the extent of the wrong done to you; but if you endure patiently, this is indeed better for he who endures.”

--- Qur’an [16:126]

There are many ahadith of the prophet promoting tolerance, and prohibiting terrorism, radicalism, violence and here are few of them:

“God is gentle and loves gentleness in all things.” -Bukhari & Muslim

"A Muslim is he from whose tongue and hands other Muslims are safe." - Bukhari

"God is merciful towards the tolerant…" – Bukhari & Muslim

“Gentleness adorns everything and its absence leaves everything defective.”—Muslim “That one will not enter Paradise whose neighbor is not secure against his mischief (harm or terror).” –Muslim

“He who believes in God and the Last Day must not put his neighbor to inconvenience.” -Bukhari & Muslim

“Faith (imam) is to restrain oneself against all violence, let no believer commit any violence” –Abu Dawud

“He who killed a Zimmiyan (Jew or Christian), will not be granted the privilege to drink from Al-Kauthar (A fountain in Paradise), [by implication he will not enter Paradise, because, having the opportunity to enter Paradise means, one will enjoy every luxury in it]. -Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Hiban In one of his prediction of the future of man’s inhumanity to man, he envisaged that, “(I swear)By the One who controls my soul(God), this world will not end until when a murderer(assassin, killer or terrorist) cannot figure the reasons why he murdered(his victim(s)). And the murdered (killed) person will not know why he was killed…” –Muslim

In a narration by Abdullah bin Masud, one of the Prophet's companions, On the authority of the Prophet, Muhammad, "A man will come[on the day of judgment] holding the hand of another man and say: O Lord! It is he who killed me. Allah will say: Why did you kill him? He will say: I killed him so that glory may be established for you(or even Islamize the world). Allah will say: Indeed glory is mine. Then another one will come taking hold of another fellow's hand and say: It is he who killed me. Allah will ask him: Why did you kill him? He will say: I killed him so that glory may be established for so-and-so person. Allah will say: Indeed glory is not his. (So the killer will bear the sin). [And that will be hell fire!] "¬¬- Annasa'i, secred hadith.

The Prophet was the first person to ever established inter-faith relationship toward the rest of the two Abrahamic faiths (Jews and Christians). He used to allowed Jews and Christians to pray their own form of prayer in his mosque. There was an instance when the Christians left their cross (symbol of Christ crucifixion) in front of the kiblah (eastern direction Muslims face for prayer). When it was time for prayer, and the companions were worried about praying in front of the cross and wanted to move it away from the kiblah, the prophet ordered for a curtain and covered the cross and assured them that they could still pray in front of it, since their intention is not to worship the cross, that veil served as a demarcation between them and the cross. The Prophet did that out of caution in order not to allow them to touch the cross of Christians in their absence.

Base on the above indepth analysis, we at the cmpi (Center for Media & Peace Initiative) hope that, from now on, the main stream media reportage on Islamic related issues (especially over here in the Western world), will be characterized by sense of objectivity to enable readers and viewers change their perceptions, by disregarding the popular narrative being propounded and propagated by the boko haram militants that, western education is haram(unlawful) in Islam, a faith whose first divine revelation was about seeking knowledge. And the religion also endorses killings, kidnappings and enslavement of young girls, a fallacy and fantasy of the highest order!





Husseini Yushau BabalWaiz, Research & Outreach Coordinator, Center for Media & Peace Initiatives Inc.(cmpi), Author of, Islam Promotes Tolerance & Prohibits Terrorism-Reviving the Islamic Advocacy of Mercy & Magnanimity to Mankind (forthcoming) and a Private Tutor in Arabic & Islamic Studies in New York. Babalwaiz@cmpimedia.org





Sources Cited:

Muhammad-The Prophet of Mercy, by Osman Nuri Tobas,

110 Ahadith Qudsi, Secret Sayings of the Prophet, Darussalam

http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/womneg.htm

http://www.youbetiam.com/index_files/Page4196.htm

Series of Articles on Islam & Humanitarian Laws, by Heba Aly on IRIN website.