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Islam
is often said to be a tolerant religion. Then why is it that so many Muslims
develop a harsh “us-and-them” attitude? People who have no problem with
helping their neighbors or celebrating holidays with their family or doing
volunteer work in the community become Muslim and then think that they can have
nothing to do with “those” people with whom they freely interacted only days
or weeks before. On top of that, the Muslims often refer to the others as
“kafirs” (non-Muslims) and pronounce it as if they would spit, as if it were
a vulgar word. What goes wrong?
As
usual, the problem is not in Islam itself but in people’s misunderstanding.
Muslims
have been living among non-Muslims since the beginning of the Revelation.
Sometimes Muslims were the rulers, sometimes they were not. As early as eighteen
years after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),
Muslims-led by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas-sailed to the east coast of China and
obtained permission of the emperor to settle there and establish a mosque at
Ch’ang-an, which still stands today (Islam
in China by Yusuf Abdur Rahman). It didn’t seem to bother them to live
among non-Muslims. We can see from this that the issues facing non-ruling Muslim
minorities are not recent ones, and we should remember that even when Muslims
were the rulers, they were often the minority.
Many
Muslims today, even those who grew up in a multi-cultural society, have problems
dealing with “others,” whether those be non-Muslims or Muslims who hold
different opinions on some issues or who follow a different school of fiqh
(jurisprudence).
But
in fact, Islam teaches us to tolerate others and accept that there are
differences among us. The creation of people with different languages and colors
is one of the signs of Allah’s power. Superiority comes not from one’s color
or tribe, but from one’s conduct.
[And
of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of
your languages and colors. Lo! herein indeed are portents for men of knowledge.]
(Ar-Rum 30:22)
[O
mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and
tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of
Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.]
(Al-Hujurat 49:13)
And
in his final
sermon, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “You know that
every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are all equal. Nobody has
superiority over another except by piety and good action.”
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Our
families and neighbors deserve our respect, kindness and justice.
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Thus
we should not think that we are better than others and be intolerant of their
opinions. In the Hadith and early history of Islam, there are many examples of
differences of opinion among the Muslims, yet it did not prevent them from
living together peacefully and cooperating with one another.
As
for dealing with non-Muslims, we should never forget that we are to be kind and
just with all those who do not fight us.
Asma’
bint Abi Bakr was visited in Madinah by her pagan mother and grandfather at a
time when the Quraysh of Makkah had a peace treaty with the Muslims. She asked
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) whether she should treat her
mother kindly and was told, “Yes” (Al-Bukhari). After this was revealed the
verse meaning:
[Allah
does not forbid you that you show kindness and deal justly with those who did
not fight you in your religion and did not drive you out from your homes…]
(Al-Mumtahinah 60: 8)
Our
neighbors are still our neighbors; our families are still our families. Though
they may not share our faith, they still deserve our respect, kindness, and
justice. There are many hadiths regarding treatment of neighbors, but none of
them say that this is only for Muslim neighbors.
For
example, `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard Allah’s
Messenger (may peace be upon him) saying: “Jibreel (Angel Gabriel) advised me
persistently about (kind treatment) towards the neighbor (so much) that I
thought he would confer upon him the (right) of inheritance” (Muslim).
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Tolerance
means to accept that people have different ideas, beliefs, values, and
customs.
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Abu
Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Allah’s Messenger (peace
and blessings be upon him) observed: “He who believes in Allah and the Last
Day should either utter good words or better keep silent; and he who believes in
Allah and the Last Day should treat his neighbor with kindness; and he who
believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to his guest”
(Muslim).
Abu
Hurayah also reported: Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: “None
among you should prevent his neighbor from fixing a beam in his wall”
(Muslim).
Tolerance
means to accept that people have different ideas, beliefs, values, and customs.
It does not mean agreeing with those who differ from us, but simply allowing
them the right to disagree. This tolerance must be at all levels: individual,
groups, and states. Tolerance upholds human rights, pluralism (including
cultural pluralism), and the rule of law. If everyone must think and act like
us, there would be no human rights. The Qur’an says what means:
[To
every People have We appointed rites and ceremonies which they must follow, let
them not then dispute with you on the matter, but do invite (them) to your Lord:
for you are assuredly on the Right Way. If they do wrangle with you, say, “God
knows best what it is you are doing. God will judge between you on the Day of
Judgment concerning the matters in which you differ”] (Al-Hajj 22:67-69).
Tolerance
of others means we must not defile or destroy non-Muslim places of worship, nor
may we forbid or disturb non-Muslim rituals. And, of course, it means that we
expect the same treatment from non-Muslims. Furthermore, we should allow
non-Muslims to enter our mosques (except Al-Haram in Makkah) for legitimate
reasons-to do repair work, to learn about Islam, to drink water-as long as they
dress modestly and do not bring in anything to defile them. (See Can
A Non-Muslim Enter the Mosque?)
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Muslims
are commanded to improve the societies they live in, to enjoin the good
and forbid the wrong.
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We
should dialogue with non-Muslims, particularly People of the Book, in order to
understand each other better, with focus on what we share. In no way should such
dialogue lead us to concede anything of our religion or deny any aspects of
Islam. But by forming closed enclaves and refusing to interact and dialogue with
non-Muslims, we remain strange to others and are more likely to become victims
of prejudice. We should also work with non-Muslims to oppose injustice,
promiscuity, homosexuality, abortion, and other ills of modern society. (See Domains
of Muslim-Christian Cooperation.)
We
Muslims are commanded to improve the societies we live in, to enjoin the good
and forbid the wrong. It’s not enough to do that just among ourselves. We have
to be an active part of our societies, not only to gain our own rights, but to
see that right and justice prevail. We should not hide our Islam but carry it
proudly like a torch everywhere we go and let others know that we are guided by
its principles. Our participation in society does not have to take the form of
political involvement-for those who are still “squeamish” on the subject. It
might be an active role in the Parent-Teachers Association or volunteer work in
any number of areas. The important thing is to work with the non-Muslims around
us to improve society (and to try to gradually shape it to our standards).
When
end-of-the-year holidays come around, many Muslims ask whether they can
celebrate with or give gifts to their non-Muslim colleagues, friends, or family.
Some ask whether they can even say “Merry Christmas!” or “Happy
Hanukah!” to others. Well, of course we can wish them a happy holiday.
As
long as alcohol and other forbidden items are not served, as long as there are
no expressly un-Islamic activities, as long as the celebration is secular and
not religious, there is nothing wrong in joining in. These holidays are
important for uniting families, and as long as nothing un-Islamic takes place,
we can join our families or friends for these festivities. (However, we must not
celebrate these holidays on our own.) And if the family gathering does include
haram (unlawful) food or activities, we can still visit our parents at another
time-for example on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning-and give them gifts.
After all, they are still our parents and still deserve love and respect,
provided that they don’t fight us for our Islam.
If
we change our attitude towards “the others” and learn to think of them not
only as non-Muslims but as fellow citizens and humans, we can take the first
step to better understanding from both sides. |
