By Atika Khan
We live in a world where religion and religiosity may be on the decline but at the same time, Islam as a religion invokes a lot of curiosity and interest amongst the common masses irrespective of the religion they follow. It may not be an exaggeration to say that in recent times no other religion has invoked so much global attention as Islam. Popular perceptions and misperceptions about Islam vary from person to person be it in different countries ranging from The United States of America to India. The age-old belief that Islam encourages violence has gained unsurmountable proportions among groups that express mostly negative connotations about Muslims. Most people view Islam as a religion with fear and prejudice based on the actions of Muslims depending upon the geopolitical developments, acts of terrorism, ISIS narratives, and the various bans imposed on women in countries like Saudi Arabia.
Islam, the world's fastest-growing religion, encompasses all aspects of human life and the Quran is the holy book of Muslims. Some of the important principles enshrined in the Quran are fair play, decency, trust, and honesty in daily transactions, peaceful co-existence, and non-violence, freedom of religion, impartiality, compassion, justice, and good behaviour. While it emphasizes one's direct relationship with God, it also gives importance to more mundane things such as interpersonal relations, ethics of business conduct, and maintaining a social equilibrium as seen in the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad followed through eons. Hence, a person's relationship with the surrounding society of which he is a part of plays an exceptionally poignant role within Islam – from giving due rights within a family to the impeccable treatment of neighbours, from ensuring that one's income is via lawful means to giving of charity to the poor and needy, and from advocating the rights of the one's who are oppressed to dealing justly with people irrespective of caste, race, or religion.
The individual, family, and society are interwoven in the larger fabric called Islam. The individuals are encouraged to first develop themselves, then devote themselves to the growth of the family, leading to a more meaningful and useful interaction with the greater society, aspiring to create righteous communities. This interdependency reinforces the human's responsibility towards fostering positive, humane, healthy, and just societies.
In Arabic, the term Islam means 'submission', in other words, submission to the will of God. It also means 'to enter into peace', specifically, the kind of peace one finds through submission to the will of God. Five important pillars of Islam to be accepted by all Muslims in life are the Profession of faith (Shahadah), Prayer (Salah), Charity (Zakah), Fasting (Sawm), and Pilgrimage (Hajj) and are a significant manifestation of the Islamic faith and unity in our world.
Tolerance is an important concept that helps people to live together peacefully and it means that you don't put your opinions about those of others, even when you are sure that you are right. Tolerant people radiate strength in the way they pursue to deal with different opinions and perspectives. Religious tolerance means people allowing other people to practice other religions and beliefs. Islam is a religion that promotes tolerance of other religions which has its basis in the Quran as a belief in the goodness of the evil of something committed by other faiths. Therefore, Islam often teaches its adherents to be forgiving in the life of other religions and respect everyone's God-given human dignity, regardless of their faith, race, ethnic origin, gender, or social status. Islam prohibits forced conversion of people belonging to any other religion.
In Islam peace is a crucial feature of the life that is intended for humanity. Islam recognizes corruption as endemic to humanity and thus emphasizes the need for force to maintain political and social peace, within the societies. Early biographies of the Prophet Muhammad undoubtedly suggest that while he waged war, he always sought a just peace sometimes over the protests of his many companions. Considerable confusion is attached to the concept of jihad, which can be translated as either spiritual or armed struggle and it extends to the abode of Islam driven more by imperial than by religious considerations. There is no compulsion in religion and killing a life without cause is equivalent to killing the whole human race. Modern calls for a holy war against the infidels, articulated by Osama bin Laden and others, are at complete odds with the Islamic tradition and roundly denounced by leading Muslim scholars.
Islam is also home to a pacifist class of people. There are more than a billion Muslims in the world, and the great majority of them are peaceful and moderate practitioners of mainstream Islam. Pacifism, the principle of opposition of violence and war as a means of settling disputes entails in itself the belief that waging of war by a state and the participation therein by any individual is wrong under any circumstances. However, some Muslims are not followers of pacifism, as the teachings in the Quran allow for wars to be fought if they can be justified. One cannot simply pick verses out of context and use them as fundamentals for their desires, as is the case with the extremist militants. Muslims are not permitted to go on indefinite killing sprees. They are only supposed to fight back against oppressor's i.e persons who deny them their basic human rights.
The Muslims who have succumbed to violence are the ones motivated by politics and not religion. According to the tenets of Islam, peace is the ultimate rule and war is only an exception. Even in a defensive war, we ought to see the result. If the result is not certain then Muslims should avoid war, even if it's a defensive situation. Thus Islam is a religion of peace in the true sense of the word. Every teaching of Islam is solely based on the principles of peace. Any deviation from such a model is a deviation from Islam itself and is on account of misconceptions. Thus we need to understand the ideology of peace found in Islam and base our actions upon this ideology so that peace will prevail in the world. Thus, to call Islam the source of terrorism due to the actions of a few actors is like judging a book by the cover of another book and it is associated with unnecessary violence and bloodshed is a sign of blatant ignorance.
Islam emphasizes women's equality throughout the Quran beginning with the statement that the first Muslim after the Prophet was a woman. Equality between men and women is almost axiomatic in the Quran. The promise of equal reward of man and woman, the use of the word spouse rather than the term wife, the complementary nature of the sexes, the emphasis on friendship rather than the rivalry between the spouses, all point towards equal treatment of women. The Quran advocates immense respect towards women and gives them inheritance rights, the right to divorce, and prohibits female infanticide. There are several instances of women's participation in the consultative process in society and governance as well.
Akhirah or Afterlife is another belief of Muslims who follow Islam as a religion and has been referenced repeatedly in the Quran. Akhirah explains human existence on earth as a test from God. It means this world is merely a passage to paradise which a place for rewards and pleasures. Muslims believe that on the Last Day of Judgment their deeds will be counted and they will secure the place worthy of their deeds in the afterlife. This concept gives direction and purpose to an individual's life and makes the followers of Islam are responsible for all their actions and deeds in this world and they know that God will hold them accountable and reward or punish them accordingly. The fear of not getting entry into the paradise makes them devout adherents to the tenets of Islam by doing as many good deeds in this world as possible such as avoiding violence in any form, being compassionate towards others and their beliefs, not lying to others, seeking forgiveness and many other practices which would guarantee safe passage into the paradise.
Islam is a religion that plays an important role in shaping an individual's life by giving their life a purpose and direction in the right way free from all the negative aspects such as violence which is mostly associated with this religion in this day and age by many people. We as individuals have a moral obligation to do what is right and not be carried away by whims and fancies of a handful of minorities who have interpreted parts of the Quran in the wrong direction in the name of seeking their rightful place in the paradise and resorted to acts of terrorism in the name of religion. At the end of the day, we become more human by the choices we make rather than blindly following what some people think should be considered to be right even via the exercise of violence. As it is said means should justify the end and not end justify means.
By Atika Khan
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