Asian Affairs, Vol. 25, No. 4 :57-66, October-December, 2003.
ASIAN AFFAIRS
CDRB
publication
TOLERANCE AND PLURALISM IN ISLAM
SYED ASHRAF ALI
T HE IDEA OF CREATION PRESUPPOSES THE THEME OF EQUALITY
of all men before the heavens and before every religious canon
and law. It remains the one essential component of human life,
indeed of human nature, that we have always and through the
centuries regarded as sacrosanct. When therefore the question of
tolerance insofar as it relates to pluralism, to multidimensional
democracy as it were, makes its way to us today, we are but
reminded once more of those original laws set for mankind by the
Creator of the Worlds. You can be follower of any faith, you can be
an activist for any sect, indeed you may not entertain any faith in
the issue of faith itself. But the cardinal principle that people
allover the world and across the ages have followed has remained
unalterable and therefore universally accepted. It is that all
matters of belief in a deity, or in a number of deities, come through
the knowledge that those who do not believe or do not entertain any
beliefs but their own yet recognize the plurality which defines people’s
approach to God, to the mystery of creation.
It is this fundamental principle of religion we are being asked to
consider today, in times when the danger to the peace and security
of the world has never been greater, never been more pronounced.
It is our job, at this point in time when there are many men and
women out there to tell us of an imminent or an already begun
clash of civilizations that the idea of civilization itself precludes the
idea of conflict. Civilization is generic; it comes to various men in
various cultural climes in its various manifestations. And a com-
mon thread which these discrete aspects of the civilization, seeing
that civilization is also a matter of continents and regions, is the
thread which acknowledges the diversity of ideas. To that extent,
CopyrightCDRB, ISSN 0254-4199
the very idea of faith as it is practised in this many ways across the
world is largely a matter of natural diversity. The Muslim, the
Christian, the Jew pray to the gods they call their own. The Hindu
thrives in the company of his multifarious deities; and the Buddhist
constantly reflects on the theme of moksha or nirvana, of release
from the pain of birth. Therein lies the beauty of faith. The sense of
beauty, however, acquires a different, more enlightened character
altogether when it is recognized that a single underpinning links all
these roades of belief in a long, rhythmic chain punctuated by a
cosmic pattern. The underpinning is tolerance. It is pluralism the
core point of which remains a willingness on the part of the believer
to remember his God without in any way infringing on the right of
his neighbour to send up his prayer to his own God up there in the
heavens. One of the most eloquent to bring these threads together
was the great Ameriean Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in the
Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their “Creator with certain alienable rights”.
As a Muslim, I firmly believe in Allah’s emphatic declaration in
the Holy Quran :
“This day have I perfected you religion for you,
Completed my Favours upon you,
And have Chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
[Surah Maida, 5:4]
“By the Grace of Allah I have an unshakable faith in this perfect
and only chosen Deen of Allah. It is a religion chosen for no
particular age or time, for no particular race or clime. It is a religion
for all ages, for all time to come. It is a religion of complete
submission to the will of God. It is a religion which believes in peace
and harmony. It is a religion which preaches and practises
tolerance and pluralism. It is a religion which radiates liberty,
establishes equality and breathes fraternity. A religion which
upholds and promotes children’s rights, and champions the cause
of women’s dignity and freedom. A religion which abolishes class
distinction and apartheid. A religion which enjoins justice and
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righteousness in every walk of life and in every domain of thought.
A religion which abhors tyranny and terrorism, hatred and
hostility. A faith which preaches in unambiguous terms that there
in no compulsion in religion - “La Ikraha fid Deen”. [Surah
Baqarah, 2 : 256].
Yes, I believe in Islam, the last of the celestial religions, which
preaches and practises something unique in the annals of civiliza-
tion. It not only declares unhesitatingly: “To every people was sent a
Messenger of Allah.” [Sura Yunus, 10 : 47], but also ordains its
followers to say: “We make no distinction between one and another
of His Apostles.” [Sura Baqara, 2 : 285] As a sincere Muslim it is my
duty to say: “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to
us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and
the Tribes, and in the Books given to Moses, Jesus, and the
Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between one and
another among them.” [ Sura AI-iImran, 3: 84] Yes, Islam ordains
us to bear in mind that Muslims must respect all Messengers of
God equally, though Allah in His Wisdom sent them with degrees of
rank. The Holy Quran even goes to the extent of warning us: (Those
who say) : “ We believe in some (of the Prophets) but reject others ...
they are in truth (equally) Unbelievers.” [Surah AI-Nisaa) 4 :
150-151]
That is why a Muslim must invoke the Blessings of God and
utter “peace be upon him,” whenever and wherever he mentions the
name of a Prophet, be it Adam or Abraham, David or Solomon, Moses
or Jesus (peace be upon them). No other religion shows such
respect or reverence to the overall sacredness and pristine purity of
Prophethood. What is more, no Muslim can dare to commit
blasphemy or vilify the noble character of other religious leaders.
None, if he truly believes in Islam, can criticise Lord Khrisna, Lord
Buddha or Lord Mahavir (peace be upon them). If we are true
Muslims, we can never criticise or blaspheme noble characters of
other faiths. The Holy Quran ordains very clearly: “Revile not ye
those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile
Allah in their ignorance” (Surah An’am, 6 : 108]. A Muslim indeed
has no right to blaspheme. No wonder, in Bangladesh, which basks
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today in the radiant glory and greatness of Islam, Hindhus, Chris-
tians and Buddhists live peacefully side by side with their Muslims
and enjoy equal rights and privileges in every sphere of activity and
in every domain of thought. And that testifies so eloquently to that
concept of peace, harmony, tolerance, and pluralism that Islam firmly
believes in. Islam indeed is a religion which propagates its own
sublime excellence and unsurpassable greatness at all costs, and
yet ordains its followers neither to force adherents of other religions
to embrace Islam nor create any hindrance when they preach and
practise their own faith.
Faith is a matter of personal conviction. The Holy Quran defines
the right attitude to those who reject Faith: in matters of Truth we
make no compromise, but there is no need to persecute or abuse
anyone for his faith or belief, however different or unacceptable it
may be. A Muslim will never force or compel anyone to accept
Islam. While propagating the sublime Message of Islam, the method
which a Muslim follows is plain and simple: “ I am a worshipper of
the One True God, the Lord of all, of you as well as of myself. I have
shown you the Truth. It is up to you whether you accept it or not.
For your Ways the responsibility is yours, for my Ways the re-
sponsibility is mine. In the words of the Holy Quran : “Lakum
Deenukum Walia Deen” - To you be your Way, to me mine [Sura
Kafirun, 109 : 6].
It is really unfortunate that Islam is often reproached with
having propagated its faith by the sword. “What is overlooked is
that”, says Schuon Frithjof in Understanding Islam, “Persuasion
played a much greater part than war in the expansion of Islam as a
whole”. “The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword
in one hand and the Koran in the other is false”, testifies A.S. Tritton
in his renowned work Islam [1951:21]. “We must acknowledge that
the humanitarian spirit of Islam at its best”, says Samuel C. Chew
in the Crescent and the Rose, “has also been a guiding force in
treating these other Peoples of the Book with more forebearance
than Jews enjoyed in Christian Europe or than Protestants in
Catholic or Catholics in Protestant countries.” [1937: 374]. John
Davenport’s comment in this regard in his Message of the Quran is
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brief but eloquent: “Islam has never interfered with the dogmas of
any faith - never established an inquisition. It offered its religion,
but never enforced it”. Mahatma Gandhi, the world - renowned
exponent of non-violence, nails the canard more effectively: “I
became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that
won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the
rigid simplicity, the utter self- effacement of the Prophet, the
scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends
and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in
God and in his own mission - these and not the sword carried
everything before them and surmounted every obstacle” [Young
India, 1924].
The Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, edited by H.A.R. Gibb and
J.H. Kramers, also corroborates it : “ Even down to the time of the
Crusades there prevailed in Islam a tolerance towards the
unbelievers, especially the Ahla - Kitab, such as is impossible to
imagine in contemporary Christendom.” [1981:206]. Comte de
Gobineau sums it up through a precise statement: “No religion is
more tolerant than Islam to the followers of other Creeds.” [Les
Religions et la Philosophies dans L ‘Asie Centrale, Paris, 1865].
Even if we go back to history, we will find the same harmony, the
same co-existence, the same pluralism, the same tolerance in
Muslim countries. Above all, of course, shines with majestic
brilliance the historic Medinah Charter of the holy Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). No document in history can be a more
eloquent testimony to coexistence, tolerance, pluralism and
harmony between different faiths. No wonder, the holy Prophet of
Islam (pbuh) permitted the Christian delegation from Najran to say
their evening prayers in his own mosque. When the Christian del-
egation met Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Medinah, the evening
had already set in. The Christians sought permission to go outside
the mosque and offer their prayers. The holy Prophet (pbuh)
requested them to say their prayers right inside the Holy Masjidun-
Nababi. The Apostle of Allah (pbuh) led the Maghrib prayers facing
the Holy Ka’ba while the Christians said their prayers facing the
opposite direction — two faiths offering their prayers under the same
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roof and at the same time right inside a mosque. That is true Islam!
No wonder, when a funeral procession passed by, the holy Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) stood up. His companions informed him that it
was a Jewish funeral. The Prophet of Islam (pbuh) replied: “Death is
a fearful event. So when you see a funeral, stand up and show
respect.” (Bukhari and Muslim). It is this doctrine of tolerance,
co-existence and pluralism which prompted the holy Prophet (pbuh)
to permit a Jew named Mukhairiq and Nadri to participate in the
Battle of Uhud, the second Muslim Holy War against the infidels.
No wonder, the Holy Quran also declares very clearly: “Those who
believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures),
and the Christians and the Sabians ... any who believe in God and
the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with
their Lord: On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” [Surah
Baqarah, 2:62].
The erudite exegetist Abdullah Yusuf Ali, in his world-renowned
Translation and Commentary on the Holy Quran, even goes to the
extent of claiming: “But I think in this matter (though many
authorities would dissent) the term Sabiyin can be extended by
analogy to cover earnest followers of Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius,
and other Teachers of the Moral law.”
I would request you once again to traverse through the pages of
history. This will help all of us simply because, in the words of Win-
ston Churchill, “the longer you can look back, the farther you can
look ahead.” When the pages are turned over what one finds in the
annals of Islam is tolerance at its best, pluralism at its zenith. The
most pious Muslim emperor in Indian history is undoubtedly the
Moghul emperor Aurangzeb who was, in the words of Stanley Lane-
Poole, “first and last a stern puritan. Nothing in life - neither throne,
nor love, nor ease —weighed for an instant in his mind against his
fealty to the Principles of Islam.” But even this ‘stern Puritan,’ re-
vered throughout the length and breadth of the subcontinent as
Zinda Pir, “wedded to the Muslim orthodoxy of the day” (Encyclope-
dia Britannica), sanctioned the largest amount of grants in Indian
history for the preservation and restoration of Hindu temples.
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This is no creation of my own fancy and may sound unbelievable
to many of you, but renowned authorities like Jadunath Sircar
(Vindication of Aurangzib), Sir P.C Roy, Rajendra Prasad (India
Divided), Pundit Sunderlal (British Raj in India), T.w. Arnold (The
Preaching of Islam), all testify to Aurangzeb Alamgir’s unsurpassable
concept of tolerance and pluralism. The same is true for Sultan
Mahmud of Ghazni who is denounced by many biased historians
for his repeated attacks on India, especially on the great Somnath
Temple. But you will certainly be surprised to know that this
so-called Hindu-hater and plunderer has been hailed by no less a
person than Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru as “a successful and brilliant
soldier.” “Above every thing”, says Nehru, “he was soldier, and a
brilliant soldier. He came to India to conquer and loot, as soldiers
unfortunately do, and he would have done so to whatever religion
he might have belonged. We must therefore not fall into the
common error of considering Mahmud as anything more than a
successful soldier.” (1985:155). And this ‘brilliant Soldier’, criticised
vehemently for his so-called hatred of Hinduism, struck off the head
of his nephew with his own hands only to save the chastity of a
Hindu lady in India. Montstuart Elphinstone, the renowned histo-
rian, gives a vivid description of this unbelievable incident in his
The History of India. Elphinstone also testifies: “ It is nowhere as-
serted that he (Sultan Mahmud) ever put a Hindu to death except in
battle, or in the storm of a fort”. The same tolerance, the same sense
of justice, the same concept of pluralism are vividly depicted when
another Muslim emperor of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, is
whipped publicly by an ordinary Hindu subject simply because he
had beaten the Rajput without any valid reason a few days earlier.
The famous explorer Ibn Batuta describes in detail how the Qazi of
Delhi gave a verdict empowering the aggrieved Rajput to lash the
all-powerful Muslim emperor twenty-one times. Mahmud bin
Tughlaq, denounced for his so-called madness by some misguided
historians, did not utter a word against the Qazi’s verdict, accepted
it smilingly, and allowed the Hindu commoner to whip him pub-
licly right in his own capital! No wonder, Edmund Burke declaims
unhesitatingly during the Impeachment of Warren Hastings: “The
Muhammadan Law is binding upon all, from the crowned head to
the meanest subject. It is a law interwoven with the system of the
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wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence
that has ever existed in the world.” [The Impeachment of Warren
Hastings, London, 1787].
As regards terrorism, Islam is the scapegoat today. Due to
age-old hatred and malice, ignorance and misconception, Islam has
unfortunately been made synonymous with fundamentalism,
militancy and terrorism. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
Islam, which has been hailed by Rev. Bosworth-Smith as “the most
complete, the most sudden and the most extraordinary
revolution that has ever come over any nation of earth” (1874: 105),
has never in its chequered history incited or patronised terrorism in
any form. Its Holy Book emphatically declares: “Whoever kills a soul,
except for murder or for spreading mischief in the land, kills all
humanity, whoever saves a soul, saves all humanity.” [Surah Maida,
5 : 32] . What is more, it ordains all its followers to try their level
best to establish justice and righteousness in every sphere of activ-
ity and in every domain of thought. In the words of the Holy Quran
: “And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and
there prevail justice and faith in God altogether and everywhere.” [
Surah Anfal, 8:39]. Not a single word in the Holy Quran or the Holy
Hadith encourages or promotes terrorism or militancy. On the con-
trary, numerous Quranic verses and sayings of the holy prophet of
Islam (pbuh) are there which unhesitatingly denounce terrorism and
hostility, militancy and fundamentalism. It can safely be claimed
that the false aspersion of terrorism and militancy is the result of
not only ignorance and misconception but also of the sinister de-
sign of some quarters who are bent upon maligning Islam in every
possibles. But a man who banks on history, who is well-aquainted
with the tenets of Islam, who believes in the unparalleled success of
the Hilful Fuzul organized by the holy prophet (pbuh) will never hesi-
tate to distance Islam from terrorism and fundamentalism. The evil
and inauspicious designs of the conspirators who try to equate Is-
lam with terrorism or militancy are nothing but “the works of dun-
geon cleaners”. In the words Mahatma Gandhi, “Those who attend
to the dungeon smell only the foul odour of it. The delight and fra-
grance of Islamic foliage do not reach their sensibilities.” It won’t be
an exaggeration if I say that to fight terrorism in every nook and
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corner of the world, Islam, the religion of peace and harmony,
tolerance and co-existence, deserves to be given a chance to play in
the resplendence of its full plumage.
Naturally, therefore, ladies and gentlemen, it remains our task,
in these extremely fraught times, to consider anew the alleys and
lanes where we have pushed faith into a straitjacket, to rethink the
entire question of giving religion a push that will take it back to an
elevated plain of thought, free from narrowness and bigotry and
sectarianism. What we are concerned with today is a reclaiming of
our souls for ourselves, a search for the Creator, for the
Omnipresent, that, in the words of Ibn Rushed (Averroes), “sleeps in
the stone, dreams in the animal, wakes in the man.”
There are the clear beatings of the heart to remind us that
humanity is home to tolerance. In our souls has always been heard
the music which soothes the minds and sensibilities of generations
down the ages. The vibrant and scintillating universal message from
time immemorial has always remained effective and inspiring, has
always been as refreshing as the first flowers of springtime, as
enchanting as the music of moonlit streams. And this enchanting
music speaks of the plurality of thought and ideas. The bottomline
is simple enough: faith by definition is a propagation of the theme of
God. Such sublimity cannot but come strengthened through the
feeling that all faiths go into the creation of the world’s patterns of
aesthetics and reality. We call that Pluralism!
May it be mentioned in this connection that there are a huge
number of issues which are strikingly similar in all the major
scriptures of different faiths. It is a pity, however, that very few are
aware of what the other religions preach. For example, not a good
many Christians know that there is a full chapter devoted to Virgin
Mary (peace be upon her) in the Holy Quran, and the Holy Book of
the Muslims declares in unequivocal terms: “ 0 Mary! God hath
chosen thee and purified thee .... chosen thee above the women of
all nations”, (Sura AI.i.lmran, 3 : 42)
Very few know that the supernatural powers of Jesus (peace be
upon him) and Moses (peace be upon him) have been explicitly
described in the Holy Quran. Buddhists also do not know that a
good number of Exegetists and Commentators opine that the Ficus
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Indica, the Bo-tree unGer which Lord Buddha (peace be upon him)
obtained his Nirvana, has been referred to in Sura Tin (Chapter 95)
in the Holy Ouran. The renowned exegetist Abdullah Yusuf Ali even
goes to the extent of claiming: “If accepted it (the suggestion that Tin
refers to the Ficus Indica) would cover pristine Buddhism and the
ancient Vedic religions from which it was an offshoot. In this way all
the great religious would be indicated.”
None present here will disagree when I claim that no faith on
earth promotes or supports terrorism. Every faith discourages
hatred and hostility and aggression. Every faith denounces
adultery and lechery and moral degradation. Every faith loves peace
and tranquility. Every faith loves the children and the women. But
although there are so many issues in common, it is a cruel irony of
fate that the followers of different faiths keep themselves confined
to the walls of their own religions. Shrouded by the ignorance or
misconception about other faiths, they prefer to nourish hatred and
malice and hostility towards one another. Now that the vicious
terrorism has spread its hood menacingly against humanity and
co-existence, we must make concerted efforts at this crucial hour to
silence the hissing of the devil-incarnates and the howls of the
werewolves in human shape.
The need of the day indeed in pluralism imbued with the serene
and sublime hue of tolerance and harmony as is very effectively
practised in Islam. Let all of us reject and forget the so-called
inevitability of the Clash of Civilizations. Let the representatives from
different faiths sit together with a view to weeding out the
man-made differences and antagonism that have unfortunately
cropped up among various religions due to sheer ignorance, mis-
conception and distortion of the sublime ideals conveyed by the
Messages emanating form the Great Unknown. The task is chal-
lenging and arduous. We have miles to go before we sleep. Let us
rise to the occasion and accept the challenge in right earnest and
turn the small step taken today into a great leap for mankind.
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Samples Entries

L. C. B. Seaman, From Vienna to Versailles (London : Methuen & Co.,

1976), p. 5.

Willan G. Moulton, A Linguistic Guide to Language Learning, 2nd. ed.

(New York : MLA, 1969), pp. 5-55.

W. P. Ker, Epic and Romance (1909; rpt, New York : Dover, 1957), p. 16.

Asen Kozharov, “On Ideological and Political Pluralism”. World Marxist

Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1977, p. 125.

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