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History books taught at the Hungarian schools present Islamic culture at the Middle Ages as a great culture. But the image of the religion of Islam is presented negatively in the books. It is well known that Middle Ages Islamic culture was based on the principles of the religion of Islam. This means that Islam has great values and principles like freedom, equality, co-operation, interrelatedness, tolerance and use of reason and science. These principles are emphasized in the Qur'an and in the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.

This study is based on a translation of the History books taught at the Hungarian schools. The Egyptian Embassy in Hungary has kindly taken care of the translation of the pages related to the Islamic culture in the books. I did my best to get the documentary and publication details of these books, but I could not. I do not even know at which term these books are taught. I am looking forward to the Hungarians in charge of the educational system to provide us with these details.

Some of these history books taught at the Hungarian schools inform students that Islam is a barbarian and a savage culture. These books present Jihad, as a holy war, which emphasizes aggression on non-Muslims to spread Islam. This topic of Jihad is presented under the general topics of "Islam" and "The Beginning of the Religion of Islam". Students, and readers in general read some verses and parts of verses taken out of their contexts without any explanation or interpretation of the meaning of these verses. For example, readers come across verses like "kill them whenever you find them". The writer of the book should have explained that the pronoun 'them' in the verse refers to the people of Mecca in the seventh century. Students should know that these people of Mecca dismissed Muslims form their home city and attacked them more than once. They tried to kill Muslims and destroy them.

It is worth noting here that the lexical and contextual meaning of the word "Jihad" in Arabic and in Islam is "fighting evil in oneself so as to be a good citizen in a Muslim community. Islam allows Muslims to fight others only in the case of self-defense. Allah says: "And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allah likes not the transgressors" (2: 190). Verse 32 of sura 5 (Al-Ma'idah, The Table) emphasizes the importance of protecting human lives and the horror of killing human beings. The verse says that "if anyone killed a person not in relation of murder, or to spread mischief in the land, it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the lives of all mankind". The Qur'an, the Muslims' revealed book, stresses the fact that no one can force another to believe in Islam: "No compulsion in Islam" (2: 256). Verses 21 and 22 of Chapter 88 of the Qur'an point out that the job of the prophet Muhammad is to tell the Message of Allah without using any force or authority to compel others to believe in the religion of Islam. The verses read: "So remind them (O Muhammad) you are only a one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them." Muslims did not know the term 'Holy War' which was used by the Crusades. A reader of the verses of the Qur'an should know the context of the verse. This, context might have historical, cultural, geographical, religious, social economic or political grounds. A verse should be read in the light of the Islamic principles and of the rules of the Arabic Language and rhetoric. A reader of the Qur'an should also have some knowledge of the sayings of the prophet Muhammad for so many of them explain verses of the Qur'an. It seems that the writers of the Hungarian schoolbooks mix the principles of Islam with historical facts. Writing about wars and battles of Muslims should not ignore the historical, cultural, social and political grounds. Prophet Muhammad and his companions fought defensive wars and they entered Mecca only when the Meccans disrespected the truce with Muslims. Meccans attacked Muslims several times in the battles of Badr, Ohud and the battle of the Ditch. Muslims should ask: why do the Hungarian schoolbooks present the prophet Muhammad as an aggressive man of war? This unfair presentation of the prophet appears in the books under the title "Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam''.

Hungarian students should know that Islam is the religion of peace. The Arabic root of the word 'Islam' is ,sa. la. ma' which means peace and security. One of the names of Allah in Islam as mentioned in the Qur'an is 'As-Salam'. The Muslim greeting is 'Peace be upon you'. The word /salam/ or 'peace' is repeated many times in a Muslim's prayer.

Writers of Hungarian schoolbooks also misrepresent some of the major concepts in Islam. Polygamy in Islam is misrepresented in these books. Under the title "Principles of Islam," Hungarian students read that a Muslim can marry up to four wives without any reference to the verse's social context in which it was revealed. The writer of the book ignores the first part of the verse. This first part of the verse speaks about orphans. The two parts of the verse are related. The first part instructs Muslims that "in case they cannot afford to support the orphans", then, 'they can marry one or two or three or four wives'. Reading only one part of the verse and ignoring the other, distorts the meaning of the verse. Readers will notice that the word 'fair' is repeated three times in the same verse. Muslims are discouraged to marry more than one wife. The Qur'an indicates that Muslims can marry up to four only in case they can be completely fair with them. Then, it says that 'you cannot be completely fair with your wives, even if you are keen about it".

It is worth noting that in the Arab Peninsula before Islam, men had the right to marry as many women as they can afford. A man had a right to sell his daughter or kill her. He would his daughters to marry a man unwillingly. He would kill his wife in case of adultery. Arab women of that time had no right to inherit their relatives. (It is worth noting that in some European countries, women did not inherit their relatives until the nineteenth century). Islam, in the seventh century gave a woman the right of rejecting a marriage proposal. She became a free woman who can inherit her relatives. Her witness is considered respectable and acceptable. Some of the verses of the Qur'an emphasize women's rights. Verse 228 of Sura 2 says: And women shall have rights similar to those they owe to others". Moreover Islam gives women the right to manage their possessions in the same way men do. Verse 32 of Chapter 4 reads: " To men is allotted what they earn, and to women what they earn". In his last sermon, the prophet Muhammad was very keen about the rights of women.

The writers of the Hungarian schoolbooks ignore the fact that one of the suras of the Qur'an is entitled "Ash-Shora" or "Democratic consultation" and that (Abu-Bakr) the first successor of the Prophet was democratically elected after the death of the prophet. They also ignore some of the verses of the Qur'an, which emphasize that a Muslim governor does not have an absolute authority. Unexpectedly, these writers state that a Muslim governor has the complete religious and the political authority in an Islamic country. This mistaken idea about Muslim governors is presented to students under the titles "The Beginnings of the Religion of Islam", "The Conquest of Andalusia" and "The Arabian Empire". Under these titles the student reads that the Caliph or Muslim governor is the political and spiritual leader of his people. The meaning of the word 'Caliph' in Islam means 'the prophet's successor in managing the secular matters'. In Islam, there is no spiritual or religious authority. A Muslim has a direct relationship with his creator. The Prophet Muhammad himself, according to the Qur'an, was not a spiritual authority: Allah says: "So. Remind them (O Muhammad) you are only a one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them (88: 21, 22). Islam commands Muslims to read, reason, meander, respect others' freedoms, take care of others, co-operate, and be fair. It also emphasizes justice, peace and equality. These are the human rights even in the modern sense. Democracy is one of the basics of Islam. Verse 38 of sura 42 describes Muslims as those who "conduct their affairs by mutual consultation". As mentioned above, Sura Ash-Shora emphasizes that matters of Muslims should be managed by the way of consultation. Early Muslim Caliphs applied this principle of democratic consultation, starting with their election.

Under the titles of "Islam" and "The Essence of Islam" Hungarian students read that the principle of Islamic law is the Qur'an. The writers of their books say nothing about other sources of law in Islam. They ignore the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, unanimity of Muslim scholars, analogy, general consent of Muslims, public welfare and convention as other sources of the Islamic law. The Qur'an and the sayings of the prophet Muhammad constitute only about 10 % of the principles of law in Islam. Islamic law is not a rigid law put in the seventh century. It is important to notice that Islamic law emphasizes the principle of justice, which is an important basis for modern legal systems.

Under the title "The Qur'an" Hungarian students read that Islam means 'submission to the will of Allah'. This definition might be understood as a negation of the Muslim's will. The young student might understand it to mean that a Muslim is not responsible for his deeds. This is not true. A Muslim is completely responsible for his deeds and actions. Verses of the Qur'an invoke Muslims to be active members of their societies. They call upon Muslims to read, learn think and invent.

Such mistaken presentation of Islam might insult Muslim students in the Hungarian classes. These students might be psychologically offended. They might even turn into fanatic defenders of their misrepresented religion in attempts to prove the validity of their religion. Islam is presented at the Hungarian schools as a religion of terrorism and this is not fair to the religion of a great culture, of peace, justice and equality. This is not fair on the part of the Hungarian academic institutions.

Writers of these books should make sure of their information about Islam. Some of them take for granted some misunderstood concepts in the religion. Some of these writers echo some mistaken notions about Islam, which are spread during the wars of the Crusades and the wars of Andalusia. They are also influenced by the history of the Ottoman Empire and by the history of imperialism in the area. Some media information centers misrepresent Islam for different reasons. However, academic institutions should make sure of the information they convey to the young generation of students.

We are looking forward to authors of the Hungarian schoolbooks and to the publishing houses responsible for their publication to correct the mistaken ideas about Islam and present it objectively and fairly. In such a way the Hungarian schools will protect Muslim students from offence and the Hungarian students from fanaticism. Islam has nothing to do with terrorism for it is the religion of justice, tolerance, co-operation and equality. It encourages knowledge and respect of others. It does not terrorize or attack other cultures as commonly implied in the western media.

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