Muslims Hope To Create Better Understanding

SAN DIEGO -- Before Sept. 11, 2001, Islam, despite its being the second most popular religion on earth (behind Christianity) remained a relatively foggy and seemingly far away religion for many Americans.

Since the attacks, believed to have been orchestrated by a group claiming to act in the name of Islam, a number of misconceptions have popped up. And those misconceptions have led to a number of American Muslims feeling persecuted for their belief.

As President Bush indicated in a speech on Monday, the acts of terrorism are "not what Islam is all about."

"Islam is peace," Bush said. "When we think of Islam, we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world."

Some 50 thousand San Diegans practice Islam in San Diego County.

Tracing its beginnings to the same God of Abraham that serves as the center of both Judaism and Christianity, Muslims pride themselves on being a peaceful and devoted people.

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Islam Teaches Peace, Leaders Say

"We hate violence," Alseyed Mohammad Alqazwini (picture, right), of the Lakeside Mosque told 10News. "We have many stories in our holy book showing that people should stop violence."

In speaking Monday, President Bush quoted from the Koran, the Islamic holy text, saying: "In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule."

At the very core of Islam lies an unyielding belief in Allah.

Also among the primary beliefs of Islam are:

Belief in angels

Belief in the holy books of the Koran

Belief in prophets

Belief in a day of judgment

Belief in predestination.

Like Christians and Jews, Muslims believe in only one God. And like most Judeo-Christian views of God, Allah is omnipotent, eternal and omniscient. However the God of Islam differs from Judeo-Christian interpretation in that Allah is has no shape or form and cannot be seen or heard.

While some have argued that the strict nature of Islam lends itself to fanaticism, Alqazwini points out that tolerance is a key part of the Islamic faith.

"We believe there is no difference between people, no difference between colors and races and language," he said.

Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Saudi Arabian Ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan pointed out that both Judaism and Christianity also suffer from extremist groups who commit acts of terrorism in the name of their religion.

San Diego State University religious studies professor Jesse Thomas says people confuse Islam with extremism because the "lunatic fringe" gets more attention.

"They get more publicity than people who are mild-mannered and more peaceful," he said. "(Terrorism) has nothing to do with religion, except in a very perverted way."

The term "Jihad" refers to the "holy war" -- or spiritual struggle -- within oneself, according to Alqazwini, and its meaning has been twisted by extremists like Osama bin Laden.

Now the main concern of Muslims in America is that fellow Americans will twist their understanding of Islam because of extremists.