At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Egyptian judoka Islam el-Shehaby declined to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent after their match — a moment that drew significant attention and criticism. The host of The Deen Show openly states that el-Shehaby should have shaken hands, pointing to the Quranic principle in chapter 41, verse 34: that good and evil are not equal, and that repelling evil with goodness can transform an adversary into a friend. That moment of poor sportsmanship, however regrettable, was quickly eclipsed by something far more troubling — a social media post from a Jiu-Jitsu instructor within the martial arts community that swept away all nuance and launched a wholesale attack on the faith, character, and humanity of over 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide. The irony was inescapable: this same instructor had previously competed against Professor Idris, a Muslim black belt who, as the match footage confirms, shook his opponent’s hand afterward with full respect and dignity — and was photographed wearing a Muhammad Ali t-shirt. Ali was not only the greatest boxer of his era but one of the most celebrated Muslim Americans in history, a man whose faith shaped his legendary stand against injustice, whose charity touched the lives of over a quarter of a million people, and who helped free American hostages through the moral authority his Islam gave him.
Islam and Its Relationship With Jews and Christians: What History and Scripture Actually Show
The instructor’s post claimed that Islam inherently promotes hatred of Jews and Christians — a claim that Islamic scripture, history, and lived experience all directly contradict. Islamic law explicitly permits a Muslim man to marry a Jewish or Christian woman, making the notion of institutionalised religious hatred logically impossible at its most basic level. The historical record tells the same story: when Jews were expelled from Catholic Spain in 1492 and Portugal shortly after, it was the Muslim Ottoman Empire that opened its doors and gave them refuge — Jewish communities that trace their origins to that moment of Islamic hospitality still exist in Istanbul to this day, a fact acknowledged by Jewish scholars and historians. During genocidal campaigns in the 20th century, Muslims risked their own lives to give headscarves to Christian women and disguise them from those seeking to kill them. Perhaps the most powerful rebuttal came from a Jewish man named Walter, who was attacked with violent antisemitic slurs on a New York City subway. Of all the passengers in the car, the only one who stepped in to defend him was Hassan Askari — a Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim — while every other passenger fled to the back. As Walter testified, Islam teaches you to be helpful to your fellow man, to be kind, and it was a Muslim who saved his life when no one else moved. This is not the behaviour of a faith built on hatred; it is the behaviour of a faith built on guidance, compassion, and brotherhood with all of humanity.
- Islam permits Muslim men to marry Jewish or Christian women — institutionalised hatred of other faiths is theologically incoherent within Islamic law
- During the Spanish Inquisition of 1492, Muslim rulers gave shelter to expelled Jews, whose communities remain in Istanbul to this day
- Muslims risked their lives to protect Christian minorities from genocide, giving them headscarves to disguise their identity from aggressors
- Hassan Askari, a Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim, was the only passenger to defend Jewish commuters during a violent antisemitic attack on a New York City subway
- Muhammad Ali — a proud, practising Muslim — is one of America’s most beloved figures, whose faith drove his humanitarian work, courage, and service to humanity
- The Islamophobia industry generates an estimated $200 million annually by deliberately manufacturing fear and distorting Islam for profit
“Killing one innocent human being is as if you kill the entire world. Saving one innocent life is as if you saved the entire world.” — Quran, Chapter 5, Verse 32
Facts, Data, and Expert Research That Dismantle the Islam-Terrorism Myth
The instructor’s post also invoked the false association between Islam and terrorism — a claim that data, academic research, and Islamic theology all firmly refute. FBI statistics show that 95% of terrorist attacks on US soil were carried out by non-Muslims. A University of North Carolina study found that less than 0.002% of Americans killed since 9/11 were killed by Muslim terrorists. Across over 140,000 documented terrorist attacks globally since 1970, the proportion attributed to individuals claiming a Muslim background amounts to approximately 0.009% — a fringe of a fringe. Dr. Robert Pape, whose team compiled the first complete global database of suicide terrorism from 1980 to 2003, found that the primary driver of such attacks is foreign military occupation, not religious faith. During that period, the world leader in suicide terrorism was not an Islamic group at all but the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka — a secular, Marxist, predominantly Hindu organisation. Islam itself explicitly forbids suicide; the Quran prohibits throwing oneself into destruction, and Muslim scholars are unanimous that taking one’s own life is forbidden. The pattern across every claim in that bigoted post is consistent: they are produced by a $200 million annual Islamophobia industry built on stripping Islamic texts of context, feeding audiences distorted fragments, and manufacturing an enemy. The host makes a crucial distinction: we do not blame a car manufacturer for a drunk driver. Every tradition has individuals who act in contradiction to its teachings — and those who carried out acts of violence while claiming Islamic identity were, in virtually every case, documented to have been living lives entirely at odds with Islamic practice, full of the very behaviours Islam explicitly prohibits. As the Quran itself states and Muslim scholars affirm: harming innocent men, women, and children is not a teaching of Islam — it is a violation of it.
- 95% of terrorist attacks on US soil were carried out by non-Muslims, per FBI statistics
- Less than 0.002% of Americans killed since 9/11 were killed by Muslim terrorists (University of North Carolina study)
- Of 140,000+ terrorist attacks globally since 1970, only 0.009% are linked to individuals claiming Muslim identity
- Dr. Robert Pape’s database proves the main cause of suicide terrorism is foreign military occupation, not Islamic spirituality or guidance
- The world leader in suicide attacks from 1980–2003 was the Tamil Tigers — a secular Marxist group, not a Muslim organisation
- Suicide bombing is explicitly forbidden in Islam; Quran and scholarly consensus alike prohibit self-destruction
- Muslim Nobel Peace Prize winners in recent years outnumber the proportion of Muslim terrorists by the same statistical logic used to demonise — meaning, by that measure, all Muslims should be called peacemakers
“People are not born hating. They are taught to hate. And if they can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love.” — Nelson Mandela
Martial arts, at its finest, is a tradition of discipline, character, and human dignity — the kind of mentorship represented by Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid, who trained his student not merely in technique but in the principles that shape a person of integrity. When a teacher within that tradition uses their platform to spread Islamophobic bigotry — insulting the faith, purpose, and humanity of 1.7 billion people — it is not a minor lapse; it is a failure of everything martial arts leadership is meant to represent. The call here is not one of anger but of accountability, education, and genuine hope: the broader Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts community is asked to unequivocally condemn this kind of hate speech, and the instructor himself is sincerely invited to reflect, seek knowledge from credible and primary sources, and make a public apology to those he has offended. History shows transformation is possible — a man who once arrived at a mosque in Arizona wearing a derogatory t-shirt, full of hostility, left it having made real human connections that changed his perspective entirely. Islam, at its core, is a complete way of life rooted in peace — peace with the Creator, peace within oneself, and peace with all of humanity — and its guidance calls its followers to repel hatred with goodness, to build bridges where others would burn them, and to remember that every human being, regardless of faith, carries a dignity that no platform, no post, and no moment of anger can legitimately strip away.
