The image of a God is what Islam misses.

The Renaissance not only taught Europe the profitability of travel and trade but also unleashed the violence of colonization upon the earth and its civilizations. As businessmen embarked on their conquests, they carried the cross, symbolizing their faith, to the lands they conquered. Centuries earlier, Islamic businessmen had been on similar missions. However, a notable difference emerged in the processes of these two colonizations and the violence associated with trade. Europeans, with a sympathetic image of Crucified Jesus, used it to conceal the memories of their violence, while the Islamic invaders, lacking an image of their God, Allah, left behind lasting memories of gruesome violence and destruction wherever they went. Throughout human history, trade and greed have caused immense tragedies, often veiled by religious justifications. Visual narratives played a pivotal role in the war of propaganda, where those with an image of a compassionate and empathetic God successfully swayed public opinion in their favor. In contrast, those without such an image struggled to conceal their crimes. By using a crucified Jesus as their facade, Christianity fashioned itself as a religion of compassion, making its traders appear relatively less sinister. On the other hand, Islam's prohibition on depicting God led to a loss in the game of perception, with images of violence and destruction becoming ingrained in the memory of Islamic invaders. This pattern of using images as facades extends beyond Christianity and Islam to Hinduism and its traders. Images play various roles, evoking emotions and attracting different groups. From images depicting the Childhood of the Gods to evoke motherly and paternal love, to images of God's family to evoke a sense of responsibility and social structure, each has a purpose. Additionally, images portraying interactions between male and female love and sacrifice attract young adults, while prophetic saviour postures confirm the holiness and larger-than-life stature of the Gods. Images of animals with the Gods tell stories of compassion for animal lovers, while images of singing, dancing, and playing Gods create a sense of ease in the association. Lastly, images of tragedy or meditation invoke sympathy, peace, or sacrifice, reaffirming responsibility, God's grace, and worship. These images are not arbitrary but carefully chosen, funded, created, and promoted as facades for business purposes. Throughout history, faith has proven to be an effective icebreaker to intrude into societies, fostering easy associations and lasting bonds. Additionally, it serves as a cover for guilt and crime, as penance and repentance are integral facets of every religion. Regarding images of consensus manufacturing, Judaism, like Islam, lacks images of Gods to cover up their deeds. Instead, they have faced challenges using images of one of the worst human atrocities, like the Holocaust, for similar purposes. These haunting images hold symbolic power, akin to the crucified Jesus, meditating Shiva, Buddha, Mahavira, or flute-playing Krishna next to a cow and calf. In conclusion, in the game of perception and consensus manufacturing, Islam needs to consider flexibility and allow an image of its God. Without such adaptation, it risks losing the battle of perception among other religious communities and, particularly in the age of information dissemination, among its own members. While the rest of the world's businessmen project compassionate, merciful, and tragic images of their deities, Islam may inadvertently leave space for images of barbarism, violence, and terrorism to dominate. Instead of blaming Islamophobia, addressing the absence of a compassionate image of their God becomes crucial for reshaping public perception and understanding. Until Islam embraces this need, it may be remembered for the actions of figures like bin Laden, Mullah Omar, ISIS, and the Taliban whenever its name is mentioned.