Salam, Peter.

The meaning of this greeting is 'peace'. We Muslims believe that it is the most beautiful greeting you can offer anybody: namely 'peace' from God. The word Islam also means peace; simultaneously it means submission to the will of God.

As for the name of the religion itself, here the word 'Islam' means "the peace you attain in this world and in the Hereafter through submitting to God."

Muslims believe that all prophets, including Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all) were prophets of Islam. That is to say prophets of peace through submitting to God.

A person who submits to God is called a Muslim. All things or beings in the universe are somehow 'Muslims'. This is in the sense that they necessarily obey God's laws, known as the laws of nature.

As for humans, they are the special creation of God and they are gifted with reason and other faculties, which other creatures do not possess.

God has granted humans with freedom. Here God was probably taking a risk, (may God forgive me in saying so; but I am trying to make things clear in my own way); since it is due to this freedom, humans are indulging in all those terrorist acts.

By committing acts of terror, man is acting against the commands of God; he is acting against the will of God. Here he does not submit to God; on the contrary, he tries to overtake God's decree, imagining that he can on his own attain his goals through violence.

Islam teaches that man should have good objectives in life and should adopt good means to attain such objectives. That is to say Islam does not agree with Machiavelli's view that the end justifies the means. Both ends and means must be good in Islam.

We humans will stand before God one day to be judged for all our actions. God is the Judge and He will judge us on the basis of our actions. This is as well as the intentions behind them.

Hopefully, from the foregoing, you can understand the Islamic position on terrorism. The Shariah is the law of Islam as given in the Quran and the example of the Prophet himself. Neither the sources of Islam, nor the Shariah approves terrorism. Anyone who commits an act of terror simply violates the basic principles of Islam.

Still, as reasonable beings living in this world, we have to observe and rightly evaluate the current events. You know, people are being killed in various parts of the world in the name of different ideas and concepts.

If a person with a Muslim identity commits an atrocity, can we say that Islam is at fault? We have all seen what happened on September 11th. Thousands of innocent people were killed. Since then, in the name of a 'War on Terror", thousands of innocent people were being killed.

Ironically, nobody is worried about the cold-blooded killing of innocent people as a supposed revenge for the killing of innocents on September 11th. Thermo baric bombs, daisy cutters, laser bombs, cluster bombs, etc. are being used extensively in Afghanistan, killing and injuring people who already live in stone age conditions.

Islam puts a great deal of emphasis on justice. Somehow this sense of justice has got into so many Muslims. This is despite the fact that in many so-called Muslim countries, justice is at a premium.

When people are oppressed, or when their birthright to their homeland is denied, they protest. And when the exploiters or oppressors react violently, the victims too may desperately resist such violence as strongly as they can. This leads to bloodshed and battles. This has happened in many places; but the media may support those who are at the helm, not those who have a grievance.

Since ultimately it is a question of power and resources. Those who lack resources are often branded as the wrong doers and even as terrorists. This has been the case in many countries, where the cycle of violence is a continuous feature.

I wish you would make an objective study of the religion of Islam, along with the root causes of the violence and terror in areas where Muslims are held guilty - though often quite unjustly.

I hope this gives an answer to your query. Please keep in touch.

Salam.

Useful Links:

Forgiving Terrorism: The Prophet and the Men of `Uraynah

A Time to Define Terrorism

Supporting Terrorism?

Any Teachings to Justify Terror?

The Propaganda of Terrorism

Islam Teaches Peace

The Bible, the Quran and Violence

Violence in the Quran