‘Kalima as Passcode or Die’ – Where Is Islam Heading?

"La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah" — There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah — is the First Kalima (Kalima Tayyib) in Islam. 

This sacred declaration is not a slogan to be shouted in violence but a profound affirmation of faith, a personal compass meant to guide the believer toward peace, compassion, and righteousness. It was never meant to be used as a password to spare one’s life in a moment of terror.

And yet, that’s precisely what we’re witnessing.

Reports of terrorists in Pahalgam targeting civilians, asking them to declare their religion, and demanding that hostages recite the Kalima to "prove" their identity, is beyond cruelty. It is a twisted perversion of Islam. The Kalima is not a test to distinguish the worthy from the unworthy — it is a private oath, not a public spectacle or a weaponised chant.

To reduce Islam to such violence is to betray it.

Let us be brutally honest. A small faction within the Muslim world sees everyone else in shades of darkness — infidels, enemies, others. They may not always admit it, but their actions reveal their worldview. And in their hands, religion becomes not a force for unity or healing, but a sharp blade dividing “us” from “them.” These individuals, driven by hate and ideology, have hijacked the faith for their own ends.

But they do not speak for all of us.

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Islam, like every major religion, is a complex and multifaceted tradition rooted in mercy, justice, and coexistence. Its misuse to justify violence is a desecration of its principles. Those who kill in the name of God are not acting out of faith — they are betraying it. Their motivations are often not religious but political, economic, or personal. The Kalima, in its true form, demands a life of reflection, humility, and moral integrity — not coercion or terror.

The attacks in Pahalgam are not just tragic, they are terrifying in what they represent: a complete erosion of humanity under the guise of religious purity. Targeting innocents based on their faith or inability to recite a prayer is a crime against both man and God. And such acts don’t just wound the victims — they stain the conscience of the Muslim world, casting doubt and fear even among those who uphold the faith peacefully.

We must make a choice.

We can either allow a violent minority to define what it means to be Muslim in the 21st century, or we can reclaim the narrative — not just with words, but with action. We must condemn terror unequivocally, defend the dignity of all lives, and live by the values of Islam that call for compassion, not cruelty.

To those who still believe the Kalima is theirs to wield as a weapon — you’ve lost the plot. You do not represent Islam. You represent its distortion. And it’s time the world, and especially the Muslim community, stood united to say: Not in our name.