What Islam stands for

Allow me to reply to the letter Islamic Evangelism (August 11) by Joe Borg.

Non-Muslims are prone to believe that what a Muslim does is because his religion orders him to do it. Islam is not represented by its followers and especially not by those who claim to be Muslims and are only acting for their own personal interest.

The Taliban government never could be an ambassador of Islam to the world because its teachings were directly opposed to Islam. They do not represent Islam and they do not represent the Muslims. Their background and silly attitudes damaged the image of Islam and caused much harm to Muslims all over the world. The Talibans' system of imposing stupid, void laws led to many non-Muslims thinking that Islam was a void religion but this is not so.

Mr Borg has to rest assured, on the other hand, that Islam needs no apologies and no Muslim is offering one.

The suicide bombings mentioned by Mr Borg are a reaction to oppression and illegal occupation. They are triggered by the injustices committed all the time in the Muslim countries oppressed by Israeli and American forces in Palestine and Iraq. It is only human to want justice and since the world is turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed by these states, the people turn to extreme and violent ways by which to defend that which is their right to have.

Mr Borg does them an injustice because instead of condemning the oppressor and the aggressor, he is condemning the oppressed and those who are dying while defending their homes and families. He should be calling for the withdrawal of Israel and the United States forces from the occupied Arab lands once and for all and then he can rest assured that suicide bombings and "terrorism", as it is dubbed by all media, will stop.

Islam does not order Muslims to be aggressors but it does call on us to protect those who are oppressed and are not left in peace as is clear in this verse: "Fight for the sake of God those that fight you, but do not attack them first. God does not love the aggressors" (Holy Qur'an 2:191).

I ask myself: Are we so blinded by the media that we are shocked by someone killing by the sword and we are immune to the mass destruction brought about by sophisticated guns and machinery of all types? Is it because we are not shown the atrocities as they happened or is it that we are led to believe what the aggressors want us to believe?

People condemn suicide bombings and they fail to condemn atrocities committed by the powerful Apaches and F16s. The world has to realise that there is a difference between legal resistance and outright terrorism. Although America is advertising itself as the legal protector of the world, this is not the truth. It had no legal justification to enter Iraq and it is clear now that its main goal was to control the oil wells of the area and get its grip on those who might be the only real opposition to Israel's invasion of Palestine.

Israel is also shown as the innocent victim of the Palestinian violence but, in the end, it is the one that kills the most, attacking refugee camps, destroying homes and villages, orchards, schools and hospitals to satisfy its people's greed and whims.

Islam is a religion of peace, order and true freedom. It is the religion that teaches that to seek knowledge is a way to Heaven. Historians know well that it was because Islam places so much importance on knowledge and human values that the Muslim empire flourished so much in such a short time. Muslims gained a lot of crucial knowledge that has been the foundation of contemporary modern knowledge.

The West is indebted to many great Muslim minds, although most are too proud to acknowledge this. The scientific retardation of the current Islamic world is not due to Islam but is the fault of the oppressors that lead their countries to poverty and backwardness for their personal interests. It is these people who monopolise power in Muslim countries that are to be blamed for the sorry situations most Muslim countries are in.