|
submit
articles |
| Tolerance: Islamic
Perspective The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam Muzzamil Siddiqi Intolerance is on the increase in the world
today. It is causing death, genocide, violence, religious persecution as
well as confrontations on different levels. Sometimes it is racial and
ethnic, sometimes it is religious and ideological, sometimes it is
political and social. In every situation it is evil and painful. How can
we solve the problem of intolerance? How can we assert our own beliefs and
positions without being intolerant to others? How can we bring tolerance
in the world today? I would like to discuss some of these issues from an
Islamic point of view. What is tolerance? Literally the word
"tolerance" means "to bear." As a concept it
means "respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of
world's cultures, forms of expression and ways of being human." In
Arabic it is called: "tasamuh". There are also other words that
give similar meanings, such as "hilm" (forbearance) or "'afw"
(pardon, forgiveness) or "safh" (overlooking, disregarding). In
the Persian and Urdu languages, we use the word "rawadari" which
comes from 'rawa" meaning 'acceptable or bearable' and 'dashtan'
meaning 'to hold'. Thus it means to hold something acceptable or bearable. Tolerance is a basic principle of Islam. It
is a religious moral duty. It does not mean "concession,
condescension or indulgence." It does not mean lack of principles, or
lack of seriousness about one's principles. Sometimes it is said,
"People are tolerant of things that they do not care about." But
this is not the case in Islam. Tolerance according to Islam does not mean
that we believe that all religions are the same. It does not mean that we
do not believe in the Superiority of Islam over other faiths and
ideologies. It does not mean that we do not present the message of Islam
and do not wish others to become Muslims. The UNESCO principles on tolerance says: Tolerance comes from our recognition of:
The Qur'an speaks about the basic dignity
of all human beings. The Prophet -peace be upon him- spoke about the
equality of all human beings, regardless of their race, color language or
ethnic background. The Sharīah recognizes the rights of all people to
life, property, family, honor and conscience. Islam emphasizes the establishment of
equality and justice, both of these values cannot be established without
some degree of tolerance. Islam recognized from the very beginning the
principle of freedom of belief or freedom of religion. It said very
clearly that it does not allow coercion in matters of faith and belief. The Qur'an says, If in the matters of religion, coercion is
not permissible, then by implication one can say that in other matters of
cultures and other worldly practices it is also not acceptable. In Sūrah
al-Shura Allah says to the Prophet -peace be upon him, In another place Allah says, Further He says to the Believers, We also read in the Qur'an, "The worshippers of false gods say: 'If Allah had so willed, we should not have worshipped aught but Him - neither we nor our fathers, nor should we have prescribed prohibitions other than His.' So did those who went before them. But what is the mission of the Messengers but to preach the Clear Message? (al-Nahl 16:35) Or one can read, All these verses give this important point
that do not coerce people, present the message to them in the most cogent
and clear way, invite them to the truth and do your best in presenting and
conveying the message of God to humanity, but it is up to them the to
accept or not to accept. Allah says, The question then comes, 'If Allah gave
choice to believe or not to believe, then why did He punish the people of
prophet Nuh, the Aad, the Thamud, the people of prophet Lut, the people of
prophet Shu'aib and Pharaoh and his followers? The answer is in the Qur'an
itself. Those people were not punished simply because of their disbelief.
They were punished because they had become oppressors. They committed
aggression against the righteous, and stopped others to come to the way of
Allah. There were many in the world who denied Allah, but Allah did not
punish every one. A great scholar Ibn Taymiyah said, "The states may
live long inspite of their people's unbelief (kufr), but they cannot live
long when their people become oppressors." Another question is raised about Jihad. Some people say, "Is it not the duty of Muslims to make Jihad?" But the purpose of Jihad is not to convert people to Islam. Allah says, "La ikraha fi al-din, no compulsion in religion." (al-Baqarah 2:256). The real purpose of jihad is to remove injustice and aggression. Muslims are allowed to keep good relations with non-Muslims. Allah says, Islam teaches that fighting is only against
those who fight. Allah says, "Fight in the cause of Allah those who
fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not
transgressors." (al-Baqarah 2:190) Islam may tolerate
anything, but it teaches zero tolerance for injustice, oppression, and
violation of the rights of other human beings. Allah says Islam teaches tolerance on all levels:
individual, groups and states. It should be a political and legal
requirement. Tolerance is the responsibility that
upholds human rights, pluralism (including cultural pluralism), and the
rule of law. The Qur'an says very clearly: There are many levels of tolerance:
Muslims are very tolerant people. We must emphasize this virtue among us and in the world today. Tolerance is needed among our communities: We must foster tolerance through deliberate policies and efforts. Our centers should be multi-ethnic. We should teach our children respect of each other. We should not generalize about other races and cultures. We should have more exchange visits and meetings with each other. Even marriages should be encouraged among Muslims of different ethnic groups. With non-Muslims we should have dialogue
and good relations, but we cannot accept things that are contrary to our
religion. We should inform them what is acceptable to us and what is not.
With more information, I am sure the respect will develop and more
cooperation will develop. (Summary of a talk given at the Muslim
Community Mosque in Ottawa, Canada on April 24, 1999) |