Too often in recent years, the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world—including 5 to 7 million Muslims in the United States— have been pressed to answer for the actions of small groups of extremists. The rise of these groups and their claims to act in the name of Allah and his Messenger (peace be upon him) have caused many to question where exactly Islam stands on issues of violence, freedom, and equality.
The Indiana-based project Reclamation Studios, headed by Evansville imam Omar Atia, has launched a series of “webisodes” that aim to address those issues. The “not in HIS name” series answers questions such as “Does Islam sanction violence?”, “Does Islam devalue women?”, and “Why don’t Muslims denounce ISIS?”, backing up their positions with citations from the Quran and Sunnah.
These videos are a resource not only for non-Muslim Americans who have questions about Islam, but also for Muslims themselves who are seeking to better understand their own faith. As the series continually stresses, both groups have more in common than they may think, with the principles of Islam aligning closely with the principles of America and other faiths.
For too long, both Islamophobes and Islamic extremists have taken advantage of social media networks to spread misinformation about Islam and recruit others to their cause. The Muslim Alliance of Indiana commends Reclamation Studios and their partners for using those same channels to counter misinterpretations of the faith and promote the Islam that most Muslims practice.
MAI shares Reclamation Studios’ goals of celebrating the universality of faith and elevating the human family. We too know that education is the strongest weapon we have against extremism and hatred, and we join these Muslim Hoosiers in stating unequivocally that the actions of extremists are #notinHISname.
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