Tolrnc n plurism in islm

Asian Affairs, Vol. 25, No. 4 :57-66, October-December, 2003.

CDRB publication

TOLERANCE AND PLURALISM IN ISLAM SYED ASHRAF ALI

T

HE IDEA OF CREATION PRESUPPOSES THE THEME OF EQUALITY

of all men before the heavens and before every religious canon and law. It remains the one essential component of human life, indeed of human nature, that we have always and through the centuries regarded as sacrosanct. When therefore the question of tolerance insofar as it relates to pluralism, to multidimensional democracy as it were, makes its way to us today, we are but reminded once more of those original laws set for mankind by the Creator of the Worlds. You can be follower of any faith, you can be an activist for any sect, indeed you may not entertain any faith in the issue of faith itself. But the cardinal principle that people allover the world and across the ages have followed has remained unalterable and therefore universally accepted. It is that all matters of belief in a deity, or in a number of deities, come through the knowledge that those who do not believe or do not entertain any beliefs but their own yet recognize the plurality which defines people’s approach to God, to the mystery of creation.

It is this fundamental principle of religion we are being asked to consider today, in times when the danger to the peace and security of the world has never been greater, never been more pronounced.

It is our job, at this point in time when there are many men and women out there to tell us of an imminent or an already begun clash of civilizations that the idea of civilization itself precludes the idea of conflict. Civilization is generic; it comes to various men in various cultural climes in its various manifestations. And a common thread which these discrete aspects of the civilization, seeing that civilization is also a matter of continents and regions, is the thread which acknowledges the diversity of ideas. To that extent, CopyrightCDRB, ISSN 0254-4199

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the very idea of faith as it is practised in this many ways across the world is largely a matter of natural diversity. The Muslim, the Christian, the Jew pray to the gods they call their own. The Hindu thrives in the company of his multifarious deities; and the Buddhist constantly reflects on the theme of moksha or nirvana, of release from the pain of birth. Therein lies the beauty of faith. The sense of beauty, however, acquires a different, more enlightened character altogether when it is recognized that a single underpinning links all these roades of belief in a long, rhythmic chain punctuated by a cosmic pattern. The underpinning is tolerance. It is pluralism the core point of which remains a willingness on the part of the believer to remember his God without in any way infringing on the right of his neighbour to send up his prayer to his own God up there in the heavens. One of the most eloquent to bring these threads together was the great Ameriean Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their “Creator with certain alienable rights”.

As a Muslim, I firmly believe in Allah’s emphatic declaration in the Holy Quran : “This day have I perfected you religion for you, Completed my Favours upon you, And have Chosen for you Islam as your religion.”

[Surah Maida, 5:4] “By the Grace of Allah I have an unshakable faith in this perfect and only chosen Deen of Allah. It is a religion chosen for no particular age or time, for no particular race or clime. It is a religion for all ages, for all time to come. It is a religion of complete submission to the will of God. It is a religion which believes in peace and harmony. It is a religion which preaches and practises tolerance and pluralism. It is a religion which radiates liberty, establishes equality and breathes fraternity. A religion which upholds and promotes children’s rights, and champions the cause of women’s dignity and freedom. A religion which abolishes class distinction and apartheid. A religion which enjoins justice and 58

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righteousness in every walk of life and in every domain of thought.

A religion which abhors tyranny and terrorism, hatred and hostility. A faith which preaches in unambiguous terms that there in no compulsion in religion - “La Ikraha fid Deen”. [Surah Baqarah, 2 : 256].

today in the radiant glory and greatness of Islam, Hindhus, Christians and Buddhists live peacefully side by side with their Muslims and enjoy equal rights and privileges in every sphere of activity and in every domain of thought. And that testifies so eloquently to that concept of peace, harmony, tolerance, and pluralism that Islam firmly believes in. Islam indeed is a religion which propagates its own sublime excellence and unsurpassable greatness at all costs, and yet ordains its followers neither to force adherents of other religions to embrace Islam nor create any hindrance when they preach and practise their own faith.

Yes, I believe in Islam, the last of the celestial religions, which preaches and practises something unique in the annals of civilization. It not only declares unhesitatingly: “To every people was sent a Messenger of Allah.” [Sura Yunus, 10 : 47], but also ordains its followers to say: “We make no distinction between one and another of His Apostles.” [Sura Baqara, 2 : 285] As a sincere Muslim it is my duty to say: “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in the Books given to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between one and another among them.” [ Sura AI-iImran, 3: 84] Yes, Islam ordains us to bear in mind that Muslims must respect all Messengers of God equally, though Allah in His Wisdom sent them with degrees of rank. The Holy Quran even goes to the extent of warning us: (Those who say) : “ We believe in some (of the Prophets) but reject others ... they are in truth (equally) Unbelievers.” [Surah AI-Nisaa) 4 : 150-151] That is why a Muslim must invoke the Blessings of God and utter “peace be upon him,” whenever and wherever he mentions the name of a Prophet, be it Adam or Abraham, David or Solomon, Moses or Jesus (peace be upon them). No other religion shows such respect or reverence to the overall sacredness and pristine purity of Prophethood. What is more, no Muslim can dare to commit blasphemy or vilify the noble character of other religious leaders.

None, if he truly believes in Islam, can criticise Lord Khrisna, Lord Buddha or Lord Mahavir (peace be upon them). If we are true Muslims, we can never criticise or blaspheme noble characters of other faiths. The Holy Quran ordains very clearly: “Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance” (Surah An’am, 6 : 108]. A Muslim indeed has no right to blaspheme. No wonder, in Bangladesh, which basks 59

Faith is a matter of personal conviction. The Holy Quran defines the right attitude to those who reject Faith: in matters of Truth we make no compromise, but there is no need to persecute or abuse anyone for his faith or belief, however different or unacceptable it may be. A Muslim will never force or compel anyone to accept Islam. While propagating the sublime Message of Islam, the method which a Muslim follows is plain and simple: “ I am a worshipper of the One True God, the Lord of all, of you as well as of myself. I have shown you the Truth. It is up to you whether you accept it or not.

For your Ways the responsibility is yours, for my Ways the responsibility is mine. In the words of the Holy Quran : “Lakum Deenukum Walia Deen” - To you be your Way, to me mine [Sura Kafirun, 109 : 6].

It is really unfortunate that Islam is often reproached with having propagated its faith by the sword. “What is overlooked is that”, says Schuon Frithjof in Understanding Islam, “Persuasion played a much greater part than war in the expansion of Islam as a whole”. “The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Koran in the other is false”, testifies A.S. Tritton in his renowned work Islam [1951:21]. “We must acknowledge that the humanitarian spirit of Islam at its best”, says Samuel C. Chew in the Crescent and the Rose, “has also been a guiding force in treating these other Peoples of the Book with more forebearance than Jews enjoyed in Christian Europe or than Protestants in Catholic or Catholics in Protestant countries.” [1937: 374]. John Davenport’s comment in this regard in his Message of the Quran is 60

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brief but eloquent: “Islam has never interfered with the dogmas of any faith - never established an inquisition. It offered its religion, but never enforced it”. Mahatma Gandhi, the world - renowned exponent of non-violence, nails the canard more effectively: “I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self- effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission - these and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle” [Young India, 1924].

roof and at the same time right inside a mosque. That is true Islam!

No wonder, when a funeral procession passed by, the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) stood up. His companions informed him that it was a Jewish funeral. The Prophet of Islam (pbuh) replied: “Death is a fearful event. So when you see a funeral, stand up and show respect.” (Bukhari and Muslim). It is this doctrine of tolerance, co-existence and pluralism which prompted the holy Prophet (pbuh) to permit a Jew named Mukhairiq and Nadri to participate in the Battle of Uhud, the second Muslim Holy War against the infidels.

No wonder, the Holy Quran also declares very clearly: “Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians ... any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord: On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” [Surah Baqarah, 2:62].

The Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, edited by H.A.R. Gibb and J.H. Kramers, also corroborates it : “ Even down to the time of the Crusades there prevailed in Islam a tolerance towards the unbelievers, especially the Ahla - Kitab, such as is impossible to imagine in contemporary Christendom.” [1981:206]. Comte de Gobineau sums it up through a precise statement: “No religion is more tolerant than Islam to the followers of other Creeds.” [Les Religions et la Philosophies dans L ‘Asie Centrale, Paris, 1865].

The erudite exegetist Abdullah Yusuf Ali, in his world-renowned Translation and Commentary on the Holy Quran, even goes to the extent of claiming: “But I think in this matter (though many authorities would dissent) the term Sabiyin can be extended by analogy to cover earnest followers of Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius, and other Teachers of the Moral law.”

Even if we go back to history, we will find the same harmony, the same co-existence, the same pluralism, the same tolerance in Muslim countries. Above all, of course, shines with majestic brilliance the historic Medinah Charter of the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). No document in history can be a more eloquent testimony to coexistence, tolerance, pluralism and harmony between different faiths. No wonder, the holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) permitted the Christian delegation from Najran to say their evening prayers in his own mosque. When the Christian delegation met Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Medinah, the evening had already set in. The Christians sought permission to go outside the mosque and offer their prayers. The holy Prophet (pbuh) requested them to say their prayers right inside the Holy MasjidunNababi. The Apostle of Allah (pbuh) led the Maghrib prayers facing the Holy Ka’ba while the Christians said their prayers facing the opposite direction — two faiths offering their prayers under the same

I would request you once again to traverse through the pages of history. This will help all of us simply because, in the words of Winston Churchill, “the longer you can look back, the farther you can look ahead.” When the pages are turned over what one finds in the annals of Islam is tolerance at its best, pluralism at its zenith. The most pious Muslim emperor in Indian history is undoubtedly the Moghul emperor Aurangzeb who was, in the words of Stanley LanePoole, “first and last a stern puritan. Nothing in life - neither throne, nor love, nor ease —weighed for an instant in his mind against his fealty to the Principles of Islam.” But even this ‘stern Puritan,’ revered throughout the length and breadth of the subcontinent as Zinda Pir, “wedded to the Muslim orthodoxy of the day” (Encyclopedia Britannica), sanctioned the largest amount of grants in Indian history for the preservation and restoration of Hindu temples.

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This is no creation of my own fancy and may sound unbelievable to many of you, but renowned authorities like Jadunath Sircar (Vindication of Aurangzib), Sir P.C Roy, Rajendra Prasad (India Divided), Pundit Sunderlal (British Raj in India), T.w. Arnold (The Preaching of Islam), all testify to Aurangzeb Alamgir’s unsurpassable concept of tolerance and pluralism. The same is true for Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni who is denounced by many biased historians for his repeated attacks on India, especially on the great Somnath Temple. But you will certainly be surprised to know that this so-called Hindu-hater and plunderer has been hailed by no less a person than Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru as “a successful and brilliant soldier.” “Above every thing”, says Nehru, “he was soldier, and a brilliant soldier. He came to India to conquer and loot, as soldiers unfortunately do, and he would have done so to whatever religion he might have belonged. We must therefore not fall into the common error of considering Mahmud as anything more than a successful soldier.” (1985:155). And this ‘brilliant Soldier’, criticised vehemently for his so-called hatred of Hinduism, struck off the head of his nephew with his own hands only to save the chastity of a Hindu lady in India. Montstuart Elphinstone, the renowned historian, gives a vivid description of this unbelievable incident in his The History of India. Elphinstone also testifies: “ It is nowhere asserted that he (Sultan Mahmud) ever put a Hindu to death except in battle, or in the storm of a fort”. The same tolerance, the same sense of justice, the same concept of pluralism are vividly depicted when another Muslim emperor of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, is whipped publicly by an ordinary Hindu subject simply because he had beaten the Rajput without any valid reason a few days earlier.

The famous explorer Ibn Batuta describes in detail how the Qazi of Delhi gave a verdict empowering the aggrieved Rajput to lash the all-powerful Muslim emperor twenty-one times. Mahmud bin Tughlaq, denounced for his so-called madness by some misguided historians, did not utter a word against the Qazi’s verdict, accepted it smilingly, and allowed the Hindu commoner to whip him publicly right in his own capital! No wonder, Edmund Burke declaims unhesitatingly during the Impeachment of Warren Hastings: “The Muhammadan Law is binding upon all, from the crowned head to the meanest subject. It is a law interwoven with the system of the

wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that has ever existed in the world.” [The Impeachment of Warren Hastings, London, 1787].

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As regards terrorism, Islam is the scapegoat today. Due to age-old hatred and malice, ignorance and misconception, Islam has unfortunately been made synonymous with fundamentalism, militancy and terrorism. Nothing can be farther from the truth.

Islam, which has been hailed by Rev. Bosworth-Smith as “the most complete, the most sudden and the most extraordinary revolution that has ever come over any nation of earth” (1874: 105), has never in its chequered history incited or patronised terrorism in any form. Its Holy Book emphatically declares: “Whoever kills a soul, except for murder or for spreading mischief in the land, kills all humanity, whoever saves a soul, saves all humanity.” [Surah Maida, 5 : 32] . What is more, it ordains all its followers to try their level best to establish justice and righteousness in every sphere of activity and in every domain of thought. In the words of the Holy Quran : “And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and there prevail justice and faith in God altogether and everywhere.” [ Surah Anfal, 8:39]. Not a single word in the Holy Quran or the Holy Hadith encourages or promotes terrorism or militancy. On the contrary, numerous Quranic verses and sayings of the holy prophet of Islam (pbuh) are there which unhesitatingly denounce terrorism and hostility, militancy and fundamentalism. It can safely be claimed that the false aspersion of terrorism and militancy is the result of not only ignorance and misconception but also of the sinister design of some quarters who are bent upon maligning Islam in every possibles. But a man who banks on history, who is well-aquainted with the tenets of Islam, who believes in the unparalleled success of the Hilful Fuzul organized by the holy prophet (pbuh) will never hesitate to distance Islam from terrorism and fundamentalism. The evil and inauspicious designs of the conspirators who try to equate Islam with terrorism or militancy are nothing but “the works of dungeon cleaners”. In the words Mahatma Gandhi, “Those who attend to the dungeon smell only the foul odour of it. The delight and fragrance of Islamic foliage do not reach their sensibilities.” It won’t be an exaggeration if I say that to fight terrorism in every nook and

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corner of the world, Islam, the religion of peace and harmony, tolerance and co-existence, deserves to be given a chance to play in the resplendence of its full plumage.

Indica, the Bo-tree unGer which Lord Buddha (peace be upon him) obtained his Nirvana, has been referred to in Sura Tin (Chapter 95) in the Holy Ouran. The renowned exegetist Abdullah Yusuf Ali even goes to the extent of claiming: “If accepted it (the suggestion that Tin refers to the Ficus Indica) would cover pristine Buddhism and the ancient Vedic religions from which it was an offshoot. In this way all the great religious would be indicated.”

Naturally, therefore, ladies and gentlemen, it remains our task, in these extremely fraught times, to consider anew the alleys and lanes where we have pushed faith into a straitjacket, to rethink the entire question of giving religion a push that will take it back to an elevated plain of thought, free from narrowness and bigotry and sectarianism. What we are concerned with today is a reclaiming of our souls for ourselves, a search for the Creator, for the Omnipresent, that, in the words of Ibn Rushed (Averroes), “sleeps in the stone, dreams in the animal, wakes in the man.”

There are the clear beatings of the heart to remind us that humanity is home to tolerance. In our souls has always been heard the music which soothes the minds and sensibilities of generations down the ages. The vibrant and scintillating universal message from time immemorial has always remained effective and inspiring, has always been as refreshing as the first flowers of springtime, as enchanting as the music of moonlit streams. And this enchanting music speaks of the plurality of thought and ideas. The bottomline is simple enough: faith by definition is a propagation of the theme of God. Such sublimity cannot but come strengthened through the feeling that all faiths go into the creation of the world’s patterns of aesthetics and reality. We call that Pluralism!

May it be mentioned in this connection that there are a huge number of issues which are strikingly similar in all the major scriptures of different faiths. It is a pity, however, that very few are aware of what the other religions preach. For example, not a good many Christians know that there is a full chapter devoted to Virgin Mary (peace be upon her) in the Holy Quran, and the Holy Book of the Muslims declares in unequivocal terms: “ 0 Mary! God hath chosen thee and purified thee .... chosen thee above the women of all nations”, (Sura AI.i.lmran, 3 : 42)

None present here will disagree when I claim that no faith on earth promotes or supports terrorism. Every faith discourages hatred and hostility and aggression. Every faith denounces adultery and lechery and moral degradation. Every faith loves peace and tranquility. Every faith loves the children and the women. But although there are so many issues in common, it is a cruel irony of fate that the followers of different faiths keep themselves confined to the walls of their own religions. Shrouded by the ignorance or misconception about other faiths, they prefer to nourish hatred and malice and hostility towards one another. Now that the vicious terrorism has spread its hood menacingly against humanity and co-existence, we must make concerted efforts at this crucial hour to silence the hissing of the devil-incarnates and the howls of the werewolves in human shape.

The need of the day indeed in pluralism imbued with the serene and sublime hue of tolerance and harmony as is very effectively practised in Islam. Let all of us reject and forget the so-called inevitability of the Clash of Civilizations. Let the representatives from different faiths sit together with a view to weeding out the man-made differences and antagonism that have unfortunately cropped up among various religions due to sheer ignorance, misconception and distortion of the sublime ideals conveyed by the Messages emanating form the Great Unknown. The task is challenging and arduous. We have miles to go before we sleep. Let us rise to the occasion and accept the challenge in right earnest and turn the small step taken today into a great leap for mankind.

Very few know that the supernatural powers of Jesus (peace be upon him) and Moses (peace be upon him) have been explicitly described in the Holy Quran. Buddhists also do not know that a good number of Exegetists and Commentators opine that the Ficus 65

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NOTES FOR THE CONTRIBUTORS Scholarly manuscripts that fall within the aims and scope of Asian Affairs will be accepted. Interdisciplinary, international, and/or intercultural studies are preferred. The author should submit two copies of the manuscript.

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Endnotes : These should be numbered consecutively and placed at the end of the manuscript.

Samples Entries L. C. B. Seaman, From Vienna to Versailles (London : Methuen & Co., 1976), p. 5.

Willan G. Moulton, A Linguistic Guide to Language Learning, 2nd. ed.

(New York : MLA, 1969), pp. 5-55.

W. P. Ker, Epic and Romance (1909; rpt, New York : Dover, 1957), p. 16.

Asen Kozharov, “On Ideological and Political Pluralism�. World Marxist Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1977, p. 125.

The editor retains the right to edit the article to make it consistent with the style of the journal.