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The Outlook of Islam on the People of the Book
Another important
topic that has been on the agenda with the acts
of terrorism against the United States is the
relation between the Western and Islamic worlds.
As is known, by the 90s, some intellectuals were
suggesting that the world was due for a struggle
that would take place between the West and Islam.
This is the basic theme of Samuel Huntington's
well-known thesis "The Clash of Civilisations".
However, this thesis - better called as "Clash
of Ignorance" by Edward W. Said - rests on an
imaginary scenario generated by the exaggeration
of the influence of some radical and ignorant
factions to be found in these two civilisations.
Actually, there can be no clash between the Western
civilisation and the Islamic civilisation, because
the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity, the tenets
upon which Western civilisation is based, are
in perfect harmony with Islam.
In the Qur'an, Jews and Christians are called
the "People of the Book". This is because the
members of these two religions abide by the Divine
Books revealed by God. The outlook of Islam on
the People of the Book is extremely just and compassionate.
This attitude towards the People of the Book
developed during the years of the birth of Islam.
At that time, Muslims were a minority, struggling
to protect their faith and suffering oppression
and torture from the pagans of the city of Mecca.
Due to this persecution, some Muslims decided
to flee Mecca and shelter in a safe country with
a just ruler. The Prophet Muhammad told them to
take refuge the Christian king of Ethiopia. The
Muslims who went to Ethiopia found a very fair
administration that embraced them with love and
respect. The King refused the demands of the pagan
messengers who had travelled to Ethiopia and asked
him to surrender the Muslims to them, and announced
that Muslims could live freely in his country.
These Christian attitudes of compassion, mercy,
and justice, are referred to in a verse of the
Qur'an which states:
… You will find the people most
affectionate to those who believe are those who
say, "We are Christians." That is because some
of them are priests and monks and because they
are not arrogant. (Qur'an, 5:82)
Common Beliefs and Values
Shared by Muslims and the People of the Book
Christian and Muslim beliefs have many aspects
in common. Judaism too shares many beliefs with
Islam. In the Qur'an, God relates that Muslims
share the same faith with the People of the Book
and that they say to them "We
have faith in what has been sent down to us and
what was sent down to you. Our God and your God
are one and we submit to Him." (Qur'an, 29:46)
  
In the Qur'an, Christians
and Jews are defined as the People of the
Book, and there is a command to show respect,
mercy and kindness to them. Both Christians
and Jews believe in God and share the same
moral values as Muslims. |
All true adherents of these three great religions:
believe that God has created the entire universe
out of nothing and that He dominates all that
exists with His omnipotence.
believe
that God has created man and living things in
a miraculous way and that man possesses a soul
granted him by God.
believe in resurrection, Heaven and Hell and angels,
and that God has created our lives with a certain
destiny.
believe that besides Jesus, Moses or Muhammad,
God sent many prophets such as Noah, Abraham,
Isaac and Joseph throughout history, and they
love all these prophets.
In one verse, that Muslims make no distinction
among prophets is related as follows:
The Messenger believes in what has been sent
down to him by his Lord, and so do the believers.
Each one believes in God and His angels and His
Books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate
between any of His Messengers. They say, "We
hear and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord! You are
our journey's end." (Qur'an, 2:285)
The beliefs of the People of the Book are in
harmony with Muslims, not only in terms of faith-related
issues, but also of moral values. Today, in a
world where such immoralities as adultery, homosexuality,
drug addiction and a model of egoism and self-seeking
cruelty have grown widespread, the People of the
Book and Muslims share the same virtues: Honour,
chastity, humility, self-sacrifice, honesty, compassion,
mercy and unconditional love.
The Common Forces against
Faith
Another important fact that draws Christianity,
Judaism and Islam together is the atheist philosophies
that are so influential in our time.
Among the best-known and most harmful philosophies
of our age can be cited materialism, communism,
fascism, anarchism, racism, nihilism and existentialism.
Many people who believed in the false diagnoses,
deceptive descriptions and explanations of these
ideas on the universe, society and man, have lost
their faith or doubted it. What is more, these
ideologies have dragged people, societies and
nations into great crises, conflicts and wars.
Their share of the blame for the pain and troubles
that humanity suffers from today is immense.
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both the Muslims and the People of
the Book are engaged in a broadening
struggle against immoralities such
as sexual perversions or drug addiction.
Each of these three religions accepts
chastity, honesty and self-sacrifice
as the greatest virtues. |
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While they deny God and creation, all the above-mentioned
ideologies are based on a common framework, a
so-called scientific basis; Charles Darwin's theory
of evolution. Darwinism constitutes the basis
of atheist philosophies. This theory claims that
living beings have evolved as a result of coincidences
and by means of a struggle for life. Therefore,
Darwinism sends this deceptive message to people:
"You are not responsible to anyone, you owe your
life to coincidences, you need to struggle, and
if necessary to oppress others to succeed. This
world is one of conflict and self-interest".
The social messages put across by Darwinist concepts
such as "Natural selection", "struggle for life",
"survival of the fittest" are a means of indoctrination.
This evil morality advises people to be egoistical,
self-seeking, cruel and oppressive. It destroys
such virtues as mercy, compassion, self-sacrifice
and humility, the moral values of the three great
monotheistic religions and presents this as a
necessity of "the rules of life."
   
Godless ideologies
such as fascism, communism, racism and anarchism
have brought destruction upon humanity and
have encouraged hatred within societies.
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This Darwinist indoctrination is just the opposite
of the beliefs of the People of the Book and the
message of the Qur'an. Consequently, the Darwinist
indoctrination constitutes the foundation of a
world which inherently opposes all the three divine
religions.
This being the case, it is necessary for the
People of the Book and Muslims to co-operate,
since they believe in God and accept the morality
that He teaches. The followers of these three
religions should expose to the world the fallacy
of Darwinism, which has no scientific basis, but
which people are trying to preserve for the sake
of materialist philosophy. They should co-operatively
carry out an intellectual struggle against all
other deceptive ideas (communism, fascism, racism)
that serve atheism. Once this is realized, the
world will, in a very short time, embrace peace,
tranquillity and justice.
Darwinism proposes
a society in which conflict and violence
are seen as means of development. But a
study of its effects on society reveals
that the Social Darwinist project has only
brought pain and destruction. |
Antisemitism is a Racism Totally
Contrary to Islam
In our times, antisemitism is an ideology which
threatens world peace and targets the well-being
and security of innocent people. This is racist
hatred felt by some for the Jews.
In the 20th century, antisemitism signed its
name to great disasters, one of the most horrible
being the cruelty and murder inflicted on the
Jews by the Nazis. In addition to this, in many
countries authoritarian regimes have targeted
Jews and subjected them to cruel treatment. Fascist
organisations have harassed Jews and carried out
bloody attacks against them.
So how should a Muslim regard antisemitism?
The answer is obvious. Every Muslim must oppose
antisemitism as he would oppose every other racist
ideology. Although Muslims justly condemn the
cruel and aggressive policies of the State of
Israel together with their occupation of adjacent
territory, to blanket condemn innocent Jews is
not acceptable to Muslims: this would be a symptom
of antisemitism. However, criticising official
Zionist ideology has nothing to do with antisemitism,
since to object to Zionism is to object to an
intense form of racism. There are many Jews who
also criticise the racist policies of Zionism,
and to label them as being antisemetic would be
absurd.
  
The persecution of
Jews throughout history was basically a
consequence of racist prejudices, which
are definitely contrary to Islam. It is
right to oppose and criticize the brutality
of Israel, but no Muslim should condone
unjust or cruel treatment of innocent Jewish
people. |
Never subjecting a community to a blanket criticism
is a command stressed in the Qur'an, there is
a need to distinguish between the righteous and
the wicked, the cruel ones and the innocent. After
referring to some Jews and Christians, who violated
God's commands, God also mentions some other Jews
and Christians who displayed moral perfection:
[However] They are not all alike.
Among the People of the Book there is an upright
community who recite the revelation of God during
the night and fall prostrate before Him. They
believe in God and the Last Day, enjoin what is
right and forbid what is evil, and vie with one
another in good works. They are of the righteous.
And whatever good they do, its reward will not
be denied them. God knows those who fear [Him].
(Qur'an, 3:113-115)
Antisemitism is an anti-religion ideology that
has its roots in neo-paganism. Therefore, it is
unthinkable that a Muslim would espouse antisemitism
or feel sympathy for this ideology. Anti-Semites
have no respect for Abraham, Moses or David who
were blessed prophets chosen by God to be examples
for humanity.
Antisemitism and other kinds of racism (eg. prejudice
against blacks) have no place in true religion;
they are perversions arising from various ideologies
and superstitions.
Furthermore, when we examine antisemitism and
other forms of racism, we see clearly that they
promote ideas and a model of society that is totally
contrary to the moral teachings of the Qur'an,
for example, at the root of antisemitism lie hatred,
violence, and lack of compassion. An anti-Semite
may be so cruel as to support the murder of Jewish
people, men, women, children and the aged, and
condone their being subjected to torture. However,
the moral teaching of the Qur'an enjoins love,
compassion and mercy for all people. It also commands
Muslims to show justice and be forgiving even
to their enemies.
 
Muslims want Jews,
Christians and themselves to live in peace
and contentment, treating each other with
tolerance, friendship, respect and compassion.
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On the other hand, anti-Semites and other kinds
of racists bulk at living together in peace with
people of a different race or creed. (eg. German
racists (Nazis) and Jewish racists (Zionists)
were opposed to Germans and Jews living together;
each side rejected this in the name of their respective
race as a degeneration.) However, in the Qur'an,
there is not the slightest distinction between
races; the Qur'an advises that people of different
faiths live together in the same society in peace
and happiness.
According to the Qur'an, Muslims,
Jews and Christians Must Live in Friendship
In the Qur'an, there is a significant difference
between the People of the Book and those who have
no belief in God. This is especially emphasised
in the area of social life. For example, it is
said concerning those who associate others with
God: "(they) are unclean,
so after this year they should not come near the
Sacred Mosque." (Qur'an, 9:28) Those who
associate others with God are people who know
no divine law, have no moral precepts and who
can commit every kind of degrading and perverse
deed without hesitation.
But the People of the Book, while they rely basically
on God's revelation, have moral precepts and know
what is lawful and what is not. In the same way,
permission has been given to a Muslim man to marry
a woman from among the People of the Book. On
this subject God commands:
Today all good things have been
made lawful for you. And the food of those given
the Book is also lawful for you and your food
is lawful for them. So are chaste women from among
the believers and chaste women of those given
the Book before you, once you have given them
their dowries in marriage, not in fornication
or taking them as lovers. But as for anyone who
disbelieves, his actions will come to nothing
and in the hereafter he will be among the losers.
(Qur'an, 5:5)
These commands show that bonds of kinship may
be established as a result of the marriage of
a Muslim with a woman from the People of the Book
and that those on each side of the union can accept
an invitation to a meal. These are the fundamentals
that will ensure the establishment of equitable
human relationships and a happy communal life.
Since the Qur'an enjoins this equitable and tolerant
attitude, it is unthinkable that a Muslim could
take an opposing view.
At the time of the
Prophet Muhammad, a just and tolerant policy
was practised in relation to the People
of the Book. |
The just and tolerant practices of the Prophet
Muhammad towards the people of the Book set very
good examples to Muslims. In the contract made
with the Christians of Najran, who lived in the
south of Arabia, the Prophet Muhammad demonstrates
one of the best examples of tolerance and justice.
The contract included the following article:
The lives of the people of Najran and its surrounding
area, their religion, their land, property, cattle
and those of them who are present or absent, their
messengers and their places of worship are under
the protection of Allah and guardianship of His
Prophet.20
By means of such contracts, the Messenger of
God secured a social order for Muslims and the
People of the Book alike, which was marked by
peace and security. This order was a total manifestation
of the following verse:
Those who believe, those who
are Jews, and the Christians and Sabaeans, all
who believe in God and the Last Day and act rightly,
will have their reward with their Lord. They will
feel no fear and will know no sorrow. (Qur'an,
2:62)
The Constitution of Madinah is the most important
contract that secured justice and tolerance among
Christians, Jews and pagan communities.
The Constitution of Madinah was prepared under
the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad 1,400 years
ago, that is in 622 AD, to meet the needs of people
of different beliefs, and was put into practice
as a written legal contract. Different communities
of different religions and races that had harboured
deep-seated enmity towards one another for 120
years became parties to this legal contract. By
means of this contract, the Prophet Muhammad showed
that conflicts between those societies, who had
been enemies and quite unable to reach any form
of compromise, could come to an end, and they
could actually live side by side.
According to the Constitution of Madinah, everyone
was free to adhere to any belief or religion or
to make any political or philosophical choice.
People sharing the same views could come together
and form a community. Everyone was free to exercise
his own justice system. However, anyone who committed
a crime would be protected by no one. The parties
to the contract would engage in co-operation with
one another, provide support for each other, and
would remain under the protection of the Prophet
Muhammad. Conflicts between the parties would
be brought to the Messenger of God.
This contract was in force from 622 to 632 AD.
Through this document, the tribal structures which
had formerly been based on blood and kinship were
abolished, and people of different cultural, ethnical
and geographical backgrounds came together and
formed a social unity. The Constitution of Madinah
secured absolute religious freedom.
Monasteries, Churches and Synagogues
Must Be Respected
Another important fact we learn from the Qur'an
is that Muslims must respect Jewish and Christian
places of worship. In the Qur'an, the places of
worship of the People of the Book, ie. monasteries,
churches and synagogues, are mentioned as places
of worship protected by God.
…if God had not driven some people
back by means of others, monasteries, churches,
synagogues and mosques, where God's name is mentioned
much, would have been pulled down and destroyed.
God will certainly help those who help Him - God
is All-Strong, Almighty. (Qur'an, 22:40 )
This verse shows every Muslim the importance
of respecting and protecting the holy places of
the People of the Book.
Mosques, churches and synagogues are special
places of prayer where the name of God is
revered. In the Qur'an, God says that all
these sanctuaries must be respected and
preserved. |
Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad also made contracts
with pagans as well as the people of the Book.
Pagans were always treated with justice, and when
they asked to be taken under protection, their
requests were readily accepted by Muhammad. This
meant that these communities sought the protection
of the Messenger of God in the face of an attack
or a wrongful accusation. Throughout his life,
many non-Muslims and pagans requested protection
from the Prophet Muhammad, and he took them under
his protection and ensured their security. In
Sura Tawba, God advises that requests of pagans
seeking protection be accepted by believers. Of
this, God says the following:
If any of the idolaters ask you
for protection, give them protection until they
have heard the words of God. Then convey them
to a place where they are safe... (Qur'an, 9:6)
Jews and Christians, due to their shared commonalities
with Muslims are much closer to Muslims than those
who have no faith in God. Each of these religions
has its book, that is, they are subject to a book
sent down by God. They know what is right and
what is wrong, what is lawful and what is unlawful
according to their scriptures, and all revere
the Prophets and Messengers that accompanied them.
They all believe in a hereafter, and afterlife
where they will have to give an account to God
for all their actions. So, there is a shared foundation
from where we all can unite upon.
Rallying to a Common Formula
Concerning the People of the Book, God gives
Muslims a command in the Qur'an; to rally to a
common formula:
Say, "O People of the Book! Let
us rally to a common formula to be binding on
both us and you: That we worship none but God;
that we associate no partners with Him; that we
erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons
other than God." (Qur'an, 3:64)
This is indeed our call to Christians and Jews:
As people who believe in God and follow His revelations,
let us rally to a common formula - "faith". Let
us love God, Who is our Creator and Lord, and
follow His commands. And let us pray to God to
lead us to an even straighter path.
When Muslims, Christians and Jews rally to a
common formula this way; when they understand
that they are friends not enemies, when they see
that the real enemy is the rejection of God, then
the world will become a very different place.
The wars in many parts of the world, enmities,
fears and terrorist attacks will come to an end,
and a new civilisation based on love, respect
and peace will be established upon this "common
formula".
 
The evils in the world
will come to an end when Muslims, Christians
and Jews all worship God in unity, tolerating
their differences of faith. |
There are important facts to consider for Muslims.
What God teaches us in the Qur'an about different
peoples and creeds is clear:
* The morality of the Qur'an excludes every kind
of racism.
* It is commanded in the Qur'an that, so long
as they show no hostility to Islam or Muslims,
a tolerant and friendly attitude must be maintained
toward other religions.
| All
Believers Must Pray For One Another and
Be At Unity
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It is evident that the Jews have committed many
errors which the Qur'an points out, criticizes
and about which it gives a warning. The crimes
committed by Israel in the present day against
humanity are painfully well-known, but all this
must not be taken by Muslims as a cause to feel
hostility against all Jews. Again a basic vantage
point prescribed by the Qur'an is not to make
judgements about people just because they belong
to a particular race, nation or religion. In every
community, there are good people as well as wicked
people. The Qur'an draws attention to this differentiation.
For instance, right after mentioning the rebellious
nature - against God and His religion - of some
People of the Book, there is reference to an exception
and, said thus:
[However] They are not all alike.
Among the People of the Book there is an upright
community who recite the revelation of God during
the night and fall prostrate before Him. They
believe in God and the Last Day, enjoin what is
right and forbid what is evil, and vie with one
another in good works. They are of the righteous
and whatever good they do, its reward will not
be denied them. God knows those who fear [Him].
(Qur'an 3:113-115)
| After the attacks
of September 11, people of every language
and religion prayed to God in empathy
and solidarity with the victims. |
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In another verse, God commands:
We sent a Messenger among every
people saying: "Worship God and keep clear of
all false gods." Among them were some whom God
guided but others received the misguidance they
deserved. Travel about the earth and see the final
fate of the deniers. (Qur'an, 16:36)
God revealed to all messengers that He is the
Unique and that there is no one but Him whom people
must worship, serve and obey. The divine message,
conveyed to the people by God through His messengers,
has been communicated to people since the creation
of man. Some societies have accepted the message
and followed the right path while others have
denied and swerved from it. This also holds true
for the present day. Some people will side with
the righteous, whereas some others will plunge
into mischief. This is the law of God. Those who
believe should also adopt such an outlook and
never forget that there may be sincere, pious
people who have fear of God among the members
of all religions as well as those who are far
removed from the religious tenets.
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Scenes of Respect:
The Pope in a visit to the Wailing Wall
in Jerusalem; European Union Commissioner
Romano Prodi making a speech at the Islamic
Centre in Brussels.
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Our hope is that a world will be established
in which people will be able to live together
in peace, no matter what race or religion they
belong to, in which every racist perversion will
be rejected, everyone's rights will be safeguarded
and everyone will be respected. The struggle that
will have to take place on intellectual grounds
against all anti-religious ideologies will hopefully
establish the peace that has been longed for.
Of this God relates the following in the Qur'an:
Those who disbelieve are
the friends and protectors of one another. If
you do not act in this way (be friends and protectors
of one another) there will be turmoil in the land
and great corruption. (Qur'an, 8:73)
Would that there had been
more people with a vestige of good among the generations
of those who came before you, who forbade corruption
in the earth, other than the few among them whom
We saved. Those who did wrong gladly pursued the
life of luxury that they were given and were evildoers.
(Qur'an, 11:116)
Those who perform
good actions will receive
better than them…
(Qur'an, 27:89) |
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