Islam in Present Age -1

In its issue of June 15, 1992, Time magazine has made Islam its cover story with this title on the front page: ‘Islam: Should the World Be Afraid?’ another title inside the magazine reads: ‘The Sword of Islam.’

The aggressive picture of Islam as presented in the magazine articles is no exception. Such references to Islam are common occurrences in modern times. Once during a journey to a European country, I met a Muslim youth who told me of an experience he had had during an interview, which started as follows:

          ‘Are you a Muslim?’

          ‘Yes.’

          ‘The you are a terrorist.’

This is a clear indication of what the image of Islam has become in modern times – that of a terrorist religion. For this reason, people have come to regard Islam as a constant threat to universal peace, co-existence and solidarity. This, however, is a complete misunderstanding, and is totally unrelated to the actual state of affairs.

The only acceptable way to determine the real position of Islam is to find out first of all what Islam sets out to achieve. Its goal is very clearly expressed in this verse of the Qur’an: ‘O believers, be worshippers of the Lord.’ (3:79). The word used in this text is rabbani, i.e. devoting oneself to God and to no other. That is to say that, your love and your fear should all be for God and God alone. The true goal of Islam is thus to form such devout individuals. Obviously, a human being of this kind cannot be formed through violence and war. This is entirely a matter of intellectual revolution and of a change of heart. And such a change of heart and mind can be brought about only by advice, counseling and da‘wah, and not by recourse to violence.

If one were to speak of a ‘violence merchant,’ this would be a contradiction in terms. This is because no true businessman can afford to depart from the norms of peace. Commerce, by its very nature, makes one peaceable and willing to adjust. The same is true of Islam, by its very nature it is a wholly pacific and conciliatory faith. At atmosphere of strife and brutality is anathema of the performance of Islamic da‘wah, which can produce result only in an atmosphere of peace. How then could Islam possibly approve of war and violence?

When Islam is, in truth, a peace-loving religion, how has it come to be portrayed as the very opposite? This is a complete misapprehension which is traceable to two sources, one past and one present.

Let us first consider past contributory causes. It is a historical fact that certain battles against non-Muslims did take place during the Prophet’s lifetime. These wars, however, were in no way related to the principle of Islam. They resulted rather from the external circumstances prevailing in the world of that time. These wars did not break out because Islam wanted to fight, but because others, by waging war against the Muslims had forced Islam to defend itself.

Islam came to the world one thousand four hundred years ago, in an age marked by religious persecution. It is a matter of historical record that, in those days, a man considered it his birthright to suppress by force all religions other than his own, or that of the State.

That is why in ancient times each religion experienced violent reaction from the adherents of other faiths. For instance, for about fifteen hundred years from the time of its inception, Christianity was continuously subjected to persecution. Everywhere its followers met stiff opposition and were even subjected to torture or killed outright. Whereas today, the proponents of that same Christianity are engaged in all-out missionary work without the slightest risk of victimization.

If Christians were persecuted in ancient times, it was not because of their adherence to any militant ideology, the tenets of Christianity being the same in those days as they are today. The hostile reaction of the ancient world, as compared to the complaisance or even indifference of today, was conditioned rather by the age in which it took place – one in which religious persecution was the order of the day.

The modern age is totally different in that it is one of religious freedom. That is why proselytizers now meet, not with persecution, but with open-mindedness. All over the world, they are now presented with opportunities to carry on their religious work with complete impunity.

The same is true of Islamic history, in which all the incidents of armed conflict were due to the circumstances prevailing in that age, rather than to Islamic teachings. Islam had launched its missionary activities using completely peaceful means, but, it being an age of religious persecution, adherents of other religions opposed it tooth and nail. In this way, incidents of armed conflict became an unavoidable part of Islamic history. Nowadays, with this factor eliminated, the possibility of such wars has also, in principle, come to an end.

Those who are unaware of this aspect of Islamic development tend to attribute early conflicts, quite wrongly, of course, to tenets of Islam; they fail to appreciate that they resulted from external circumstances rather than from the internal features of Islam itself.

In modern times, Islam’s aggressive image can be traced to the circumstances now prevailing in Muslim countries. In all Muslim countries, Muslims are divided into two broad categories, one called Islamists, and the other secular, or liberal.

With non-religious ideologies dominating people’s minds today all over the world, it often happens that when elections are held in Muslim countries, they are won by a secular or liberal group. Now if democratic traditions are to be upheld, the Islamists group should bear with the liberals who have come into power until the expiry of their term in office. But Islamists groups in every country consider political power a right that they alone should enjoy.   As such, whenever a liberal group is in control, the Islamists group assumes the role of aggressive opposition. Furthermore, whatever the activities of this Islamist group, they are all engaged in under the banner of Islam. As a result, its aggressive stance, whether ideological or practical, is attributed to Islam per se.

In actual fact, it is the self-styled Islamists who believer in militancy. And due to their misrepresentation of their own religion, other have come to think of Islam as a militant religion. This is simply a misunderstanding. The facts are quite the opposite.

There is a hadith to guide us on this subject. It says” ‘As you will be, so will your rulers be.’ That is to say that  it is society which produces the type of people it wants as its rulers. This ruling class then represents society.

That is why Islam has very specifically given us this injunction that when the rot sets in the rulers, or ruling class, we should not directly clash with them. We should rather devote all our efforts to changing society in a constructive manner. The day society  changes, the rulers will certainly change on their own. It is society which determines what type of ruler it wants. That is why the actual problem lies in changing society rather than in launching militant campaigns directed towards the unseating of rulers.

The so-called Islamist groups in Muslim countries has been engaged in ideological or practical campaigns directed against the rulers for the last fifty years. With no positive gain to date what has happened is that the image of Islam has been gravely distorted to that of a religion with violence as part of its creed.

A further error committed by the Islamist group is to suppose the whole world to be their enemies. Then, in order to counter these ‘enemy’ nations, they are continuously engaged in ideological and military warfare, depending upon circumstances. Indulgence in violence is thus to be found both on an internal plane, against the Muslim liberals, and on an international plane, against non-Muslim nations.

This supposition that the whole world is the enemy of Islam is entirely without foundation. In the highly competitive world of today, one group or community is always trying to be ahead of the others. This is a state of affairs which has continued since man’s advent on earth and it will continue until Doomsday. As such, it should be taken as a human challenge, rather than as a matter if enmity or opposition towards Muslims.

If we eliminate the erroneous impressions created by circumstances both in the past and the present, in particular by the Islamist’s politics, unguided as they are by the Qur’an and Hadith, the image of Islam that will emerge will be that of a religion based wholly on peace and mercy, which, in reality, is what it is. This is the real image as it evolves from Islamic teachings.

Islam & Peace - Principle of Non Aggression

Another important Islamic principle calculated to guarantee a peaceful society is that of refraining from all offensive action. In Islam, war is to be waged only as a matter of defence, and that, too, when it is quite unavoidable. The Qur’an permits to fight only against attackers, so that we have no right to wage war against anyone who is not on the offensive.

The Prophet Muhammad himself engaged directly in warfare on only three occasions, at Badr, Uhud and Hunayn. In each case, he was forced into fighting. The Battle of Badr took place when the Meccan army advanced upon Medina with the avowed intention of slaying the Prophet and his Companions. Only then did the Prophet ready himself and his companions for defensive action. The battle of Uhud, which takes its name from a mountain on the periphery of Medina, was fought between the Meccans and the Muslims of Medina. The fact that the fighting took place on the borders of Medina, which is a 300-mile march from Mecca, is a clear indication of the defensive nature of the engagement as far as the Medinans were concerned. For the Prophet, there was no way out but to defend himself.

The third battle took place at Hunayn, when the Prophet was on his way from Mecca to Taif. The path to Taif lay between two mountains, and there, under cover of the Mountainous terrain, the enemy lay in wait. Finding themselves suddenly ambushed, the Prophet and his companions were forced to fight in self-defence.

Islam aims at fashioning souls which are God-oriented; which find God so great that everything else pales into insignificances; which comes to possess such boundless peace of mind that nothing can disturb it; which is totally free of negative reaction; which can turn everything in this world, whether far or near, into food for more profound thought which, finally can never become a prey to worldliness. This truth is aptly illustrated by this hadith of the Prophet Muhammad:

Nine things the Lord has commanded me:

Fear of God in private and in public;

Justness, whether in anger or in calmness;

Moderation in both poverty and affluence;

That I should join hands with those who break away from me;

And give to those who deprive me;

And forgive those who wrong me;

And that my silence should be meditation;

And my words remembrance of God;

And my vision keen observation.

                                                                      (Razin)

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Islam & Peace - Principle of Conversion

In a certain verse of the Qur’an, true believers are stated to be willing to forgive when they are angered, or, to put it in another way, they convert their anger into forgiveness. This is an important part of the teachings of Islam, and it has been described in the Qur’an in different ways. For instance, at one place, it is stated that ‘good and evil are not equal.’

If we reflect upon the whole complex system according to which our world functions, we shall come to the conclusion that it is essentially one of conversion. Through the conversion of matter, energy is created. Through the conversion of soil’s nutrients, trees are grown. The cow eats grass and the grass is converted by it into milk. Indeed, all kinds of progress depend upon this principle of conversion in the universe.

Man likewise is subject to these very processes, the lives of individuals as well as the cohesion of society being dependent upon this universal principle. In the case of true believers, the conversion is of anger into forgiveness. This is achieved by extinguishing the fire of revenge within themselves. Their hatred is then converted into love. In short, on all occasions when one reacts negatively to the misdeeds to one’s fellow-men, one must make every endeavor to take this negative reaction and convert it into positive action.

This principle was exemplified in many ways throughout the life of the Prophet Muhammad. For instance, he had good reason to regard the Meccans as objects of his vengeance, for they had stubbornly opposed his message, forced him to leave the city and subsequently had waged was with the Muslims without there having been any provocation on the part of himself or his companions. But when Mecca was conquered, he did not treat them as war criminals which is, in effect, what they were, but, instead, forgave them unconditionally and unilaterally. The Prophet did not wreak his revenge on a single one of them.

Islam & Peace - Principle of Avoidance

One of Islam’s most important principles is that of avoidance, that is, the keeping of oneself aloof from avoidable confrontations. A good analogy is our obedience to the traffic control system, which prevents accidents by ruling that vehicles must keep to their own side of the road, never speed head-on towards each other, nor suddenly cross the path of another, allowing him no time to brake. Even far off the ground, collisions could occur if the principle of avoidance were not invoked. Imagine two jet-airlines approaching each other at an altitude of 30,000 feet. Unless one of them received instructions to fly at, say, 35,000 feet, disaster would be inevitable.

The safety rules which apply to traffic embody the very principle which, if implemented, would relieve our everyday existence of so many unnecessary clashes. But before this can happen, this principle should have to be universally recognized and adopt.

There is no gainsaying the fact that our present world is one of competition, with everyone relentlessly pursuing his own ends. This being so, the only safe onward journey will be one on which people steer clear of one another whenever a clash of interests seem imminent. It is not in our hands to put an end to all such rivalry with its evitable confrontations, for that is all part of the divine scheme of things. The sole remedy human beings themselves can offer is the scrupulous avoidance of a path which is directly confrontational. That is the only way in which disaster may be averted.

In the life of the Prophet Muhammad, we find a number of salutary examples, such as the decision he made when he learned that the great warrior Khalid ibn al-Walid was advancing upon him with his army. There seemed nothing for it but a pitched battle, but the Prophet, who was at that point approaching Hudaybiyyah on his way to Mecca from Medina, promptly took his men by a different route, choosing an unfamiliar path well away from the main thoroughfare along which Khalid and his troops were advancing. By this simple stratagem, he avoided what would certainly have been disastrous confrontations. We would do well, in the highly competitive world of today, to follow the Prophet’s example, in order to secure a safe and peaceful existence of all mankind.

Islam and Peace - Non Interference

In the tenth chapter of the Qur’an, there is a verse which says, ‘And God calls you to the home of peace and guides whosoever He wills to the straight path’ (10:25). This and other similar verses tell us that the final goal of Islam is peace in this world as well as in the next. Those who continue to strive for peace, along with those who finally, attain it, are of the elect, and will be welcomed in the perfect ‘home of peace’ that is, the world to come.

The real basis of that peace, which Islam is so anxious to foster, is monotheism. In the Islamic context, this concept emphasizes not only the singleness of the deity, but also God’s central position as the Creator and Sustainer of mankind and the universe. Islam sees all human beings as the creatures of the Almighty – a concept which brings them all on to one level. It is only when we do not connect God with man’s existence that some appear great and others small.

When God is given His rightful place in the world, people are at once divested of those features which distinguish one individual from another, placing them higher or lower in the human hierarchy. Then all greatness is God’s and all human being become His servants on a plane of equality.

In this way, the concept of monotheism pulls out by the roots all human differences and discrepancies. In the absence of such a concept, the scheme of divine peace becomes impossible. There is, in fact, no other basis upon which it may be achieved.

Non Interference

Another Islamic principle to promote peace is that of non-interference. This principle, if universally applied, can produce the same divine order as is evident in the furthest reaches of the universe, where the stars revolve eternally in their orbits, no star ever encroaches upon the orbit of another. What holds good at the astronomical level also holds good at the level of human society. That is, order prevails when everyone functions within his own sphere, taking care never to trespass upon the domains of his fellow-men.

This, unfortunately, is a principle which is no sufficiently adhered to. A case in point is the behavior of a newly liberated American who went out to celebrate hos country’s freedom from foreign domination in his own particular way. He strutted exuberantly down the street, swinging his arms in a carefree manner and totally ignoring all other pedestrians. Eventually, he hit a passer-by on the nose.

The passer-by was enraged and said: ‘What is this foolhardiness? What makes you walk in this frivolous manner, swinging your hands about in this way?’ ‘America is free,’ the man replied. ‘I’m free to do what I want and walk as I wish. ‘Well’ replied the passer-by, ‘your freedom ends where my nose begins.’

The passerby’s response was, in fact, the voice of man’s true nature reasserting universal norms and calling out for an end to man’s deviation from them. The law of nature is such that the universe has functioned impeccably for billion of years, no star or planet ever having left its orbit to enter that of another. It is man’s instinctive wish that he should be guided by such a law. The remonstrance of the American passer-by was simply an expression of this desire.

In a universe which has been forcibly subjugated to the will of God, only man is privileged to have a will of his own. But while the entire universe conforms to God’s will, each part functioning in exemplary harmony with all other parts, man misuse his freedom, straying from the path that God has laid down from him. The problem which he encounters in life is part of the price, in fact, which he has to pay for his God-given freedom. All his trials and tribulations are ultimately traceable to his own willful deviations.