2008 Woodie Awards
Islamic speaker advocates peace
By: Trish Wallace
Issue date: 10/13/05 Section: News
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"Islam and the West: Dialogue and Cooperation versus Conflict and Confrontation" was held in the Emerson Library Conference Room. The lecture was part of the International Studies Symposium Series. A Q-and-A session followed the talk.
Nur is a director of the Islamic foundation of St. Louis and president of the Islamic Society of North America.
"I wish you peace," Nur said to open his talk.
He said peace is an important theme in Islam. The goal of Muslims is to be at peace with the creator and the whole universe. He said this is the message of all of the prophets.
"We need each other," Nur said, clasping his hands together. "Our interests are like this."
Nur said every religion has extremists. The Muslim extremists shown in western media are the ones who damage the reputation of those who practice Islam. People in western cultures immediately associate Muslims with Arab terrorists, he said. In reality, he said, less than 20 percent of Muslims are Arabs. More Muslims live in Indonesia alone than in all of the Arab countries combined. As the largest Muslim nation, Indonesia has almost 300 million citizens who practice Islam. Muslims there belong to every race, ethnicity and class.
Nur said westerners often forget people in the East belong to completely different cultures.
Muslims are supposed to help those in need, not fight them, Nur said.
"I'm not a real Muslim if I have a full stomach and my neighbor - who is a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu - is starving," Nur said.
Nur said the term "holy war" is not found in the Qur'an. In fact, he said war is viewed as evil in Islam and not holy at all. Instead, jihad is a physical, spiritual and personal struggle to find peace. Nur said charity can be jihad, but force cannot. Despite common misconceptions, he said, the Muslim struggle is not with Christians.
That is why "We have to be very careful what language we use," Nur said.
In the Islam religion, the mother has the highest rank in the family, Nur said, clarifying another myth. Women are believed to have a special care, a special sense that men do not. Their rights are to be protected by their male family members.
According to Nur, the key to the East and West getting along is to eliminate fear.