In the last part we tried to deal with the 'Fear of Islam' in strict geopolitical terms and the substantial role that 'Oil', plays in it. Here we will delve a bit into the theological aspects of Islam before attempting to find answers to placate these unfounded fears.

"What's this ideology that calls itself Islam?"

Such or similar question might have passed through both unaware Muslims and non-Muslim minds and answers might have been provided by unending media articles and TV debates being aired these days. Self appointed western scholars of Islamic studies are in the forefront but they seldom provide the right answers. The answers that are provided tend to rather exacerbate the fear that I mentioned in my previous article, than dispel it. Some quote the verse of Quran 66:9: " O Prophet! Strive hard against the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge (indeed). " Striving is made to appear as fighting. Concepts of Bin Laden pass through our minds instantly.

But then, what is Islam?

At the core of it lies the basic ideology which can be summarized in one line of an Arabic sentence. "La-ilaha il 'Allah, Muhammadur' Rasool-Allah." A simple English translation of this sentence will read like: " There is NO god(diety) but Allah and Mohammed is His (slave) and a messenger".

Quite Simple...Right! No.

There is more to this sentence than meets the eye. The theory of Double negation in this sentence is what forms the core of it. There is no god BUT Allah. A Muslim should not worship or revere anything but this supreme being. The name of this God called Allah(swt) was also not an invention by Prophet Mohammed as the name of his father who was a pagan and worshipped many gods was 'Abdullah" which literally translates to 'Slave of Allah'. A little variant of the same name for English language 'God', i.e Quranic Allah is found in various old Jewish(eloh), Christian(Jehovah) and Hindu(ilah) scriptures. The second part of the above mentioned Arabic sentence "...Muhammed is His (slave) and a messenger" is equally important for it confirms the supreme position of God (Allah) and establishes that Mohammed was nothing but a man chosen by this supreme being to deliver His message to it's creation, the mankind. It's relevance can be more appreciated when we see that many earlier Prophets of God sent all over the world and to all the nations in different times, went on to be revered as God's incarnations or Avatars or as in Christianity, a part of God (Holy Trinity) themselves. This part of the sentence absolves Mohammed of all or any supernatural berth for all times to come. He was just a mere mortal man. Also, by acknowledging that Muhammed was chosen to be God's messenger, a Muslim has to obey the commands of the Prophet (PBUH), to believe him in what he has said, to practice his teachings, to avoid what he has forbidden, and to worship Allah alone according to the message revealed to him, for all the teachings of the Prophet were in fact revelations and inspirations conveyed to him by Allah.

You say this sentence with conviction orally, in Private or in Public and you get into the fold of Islam...for this is the core belief of this religion.

So what's there to fear in this seemingly innocent ideology? Why is the Muslim world at odds with Hindus, Christians and Jew? Is it political or ideological? To me, it's part of both but I'll discuss the political aspect later.

To talk of the ideological aspect of Islam, it is the unchanging belief and solid conviction amongst Muslims that Quran is indeed divine and verbatim final word of God, revealed in series after Torah and Injeel (Bible). (*Some Scholars even consider Vedas amongst such revealed texts*). Opposition to this belief of Quran being the final word, is present from the time Mohammed (pbuh) declared that he is a Prophet whom God has chosen to reveal His final message. The same opposition continues after a thousand years too. When the social boycott of early converted Muslims happened and their houses demolished or ransacked, were left to fend for themselves in the extreme heat of the desert with no food or water, were tortured to an extreme for believing in only One God and debunking the religion of their forefathers, then, one of the conditions for respite put before Mohammed by the Pagan authorities of Mecca was, "Ask your God to Delete or Edit some of the sentences which He tells you. We will give you money, power and authority along with us. We'll also install a huge idol of Allah besides 300 others inside the Kaaba but not ONLY of Allah." This offer was made to Mohammed at a time when he was living in constant danger for his life and that of his family. An offer, he chose to decline. He replied, "Even if you put Sun in my Right and Moon in left hand, I have no power to change or renounce my message as it is indeed from God." A hundred Muslims believed him then. A Billion Muslims believe him now, 1400 years later. All the might of unbelievers in ONE God couldn't change it then...all the might won't change it now. Some people argue that Muslims all over the world should place Islam under the same kind of scrutiny and examination as was done by Christians or Hindus or Jew and make amendments to Quran accordingly. The point that the era of revealed religions is over and its time to re write religious doctrines doesn't cut ice with Muslims. Mohammed himself said that He is the last messenger to have come on Earth and Quran is the last book to be followed till eternity.

The point is, it's only Muslims who oppose any change or amendment to Quranic teachings, for a text is no more divine if it becomes time, place and community specific as God Himself is free of such Time and Space constraints. For this belief, Muslims are being labeled as fundamentalists, fanatics, dogmatics etc., and Here lies the main problem.

Agreed Islam is not privileged and above scrutiny. It needs to address the same questions that are asked of all other doctrines. Muslims are not averse to judge Quran on the basis of Modern scientific knowledge or social ettiquettes, personal well being of humans, society etc. Some people even exhort Muslims to undertake this activity without caring to involve in any kind of debate sometimes (mis) quoting or partly quoting verses from the Quran to prove their point. A reverted sister named, Shariffa Carlo mentioned this aspect in her story. She was a women’s rights advocate living in the West but had studied International Relations with an emphasis on the Middle East. She wanted to eventually go to Egypt as a Diplomat of her country and use her position in there to talk to Muslim women and encourage the fledgling women’s rights movement. With this intention in mind, she went to college and began her education. There, she studied Quraan, hadith and Islamic history. She also studied the ways she could use this information. She learned how to twist the words to say what she wanted them to say. She found this to be a valuable tool too. She says that once she had started learning Quran however, she began to be intrigued by it's message. It made sense to her.

She confesses, "That was very scary."

And this is the real fear. Once someone sits to study the message of Quran with even an hostile and a prejudiced mindset, it ends up making sense. Some people know that people need to stay away or made to stay away from it.