Islam and concept of peace

By Dr. Ghulam Mursaleen

ISLAM, Christianity and Judaism are all scriptural religions, which affirm
the existence of a divine revelation in written form, and hence their
adherents are identified as ‘People of the Book.’ According to Muslims’
belief, Allah sent revelation first to Moses (as found in the Hebrew
scripture the Torah), then to Jesus (the Gospel) and finally to Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, (through the Islamic scripture, the
Qur’an).

Prophet Muhammad is not considered the founder of the new religion –

Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that he did not bring a new
message from a new God but called people back to the one God and to a
way of life they had forgotten or deviated from it. It is because the Qur’an
contains many references to stories and figures in the Old and New
Testaments, including Adam and Eve, Abraham and Moses, David and
Solomon and Jesus and Mary.

According to Islamic belief, Allah’s original message that was received by

Moses and later by Jesus over time had been distorted. Thus Muslims
recognize the Torah and Gospel as a combination of original revelation but
later human additions were made, such as the elevation of Jesus from
Prophet to the son of God. Therefore, the Qur’an is the Islamic scripture,
which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from God
through the Archangel Gabriel, to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him), the last or ‘seal’ of the Prophets and hence the Qur’an is the eternal,
literal word of Allah preserved in Arabic language.

The basic beliefs and tenets of the three beautiful and monotheistic
religions are almost similar to each other as well as all the three are
descendants of Abraham who worship the same God. However, I have
taken this topic to counter the allegations that are being leveled against
Islam and Muslims. Actually, Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance,
which does not allow its followers to harm any one.

However, Judaism, Christianity and Islam share a common belief in the

oneness of Allah, Prophets of Allah, His divine and eternal reward and
punishment. Peace is common to all the three faiths.

Violence

There are numerous verses in the Qur’an which emphasize peace,

tolerance and tranquility while it strongly prohibits violence. The term
Islam itself means peace and it is based on compassion, love, tolerance,
gentleness and forgiveness whereas violence, aggression and cruelty are
against its nature. Muslims are made target of violence and terrorism in
some places and they are themselves taking resort to violence and
terrorism in some other places. Now, some questions arise in mind that in
what circumstances Islam allows force and what are the Islamic ethics of
war? When does use of force become terrorism and when does Islam
allow terrorism in any situation? Can Muslims prevent violence against
them by counter-violence?

There are many verses in the Qur’an and sayings of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) which confirm that offensive force is strictly
prohibited in Islam. But there are also such cases in the Qur’an according
to which violence could have been answered with violence but it was not
done, (e.g., Qur’an, 5:27-32)

Permission for use of force that leads to loss of human life and property
was granted in a very specific situation. It was the time when Muslims
were living in Madina in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him), the enemy targeted Muslims, attacked their land and some
Muslims living in Makkah were also tortured, only then Allah permitted
Muslims to use force against those who hurt them. This permission to fight
was not an offensive war to occupy other people’s land but it was a war to
defend Muslims and to prevent such attacks in the future. It was the time
when the aggressors were not only attacking Muslims in Madina but they
were targeting Muslims elsewhere too and forcing people not to accept
Islam. Thus the purpose of fighting a war was to end aggression.
Hence, use of force to punish for crimes, or to defend Islam and Muslims
or to fulfil Allah’s mission or to regain human freedom and right to choose
one’s way of life, is permitted only to the extent that it is necessary.
Otherwise, it becomes itself an act of tyranny and aggression, which is
strictly forbidden by Islam. The Qur’an does not give people the right to
take the law into their own hands. Islam also does not encourage violence
in response to violence.

Violence and terrorism

Some individuals or groups who are living under the jurisdiction of any
other authority or state and resorting to violence, their use of force will be
characterized as terrorism. Terrorism is an act of killing the enemy’s men
without discriminating between belligerent and non-belligerent. As a
result, innocents, particularly children, women and elderly people lose
their lives and their properties are destroyed. Islam strictly prohibits all
these acts of violence because as mentioned earlier, there is no place for
violence or terrorism in Islam.

But some Muslims have engaged in violence and try to justify their
actions. Many people, who have very little knowledge of Islam and
Muslims, think as if Islam fosters violence and terrorism. But, this is not
the case. Islam, like all other religions of the world, neither supports nor
sanctions illegitimate violence. It only permits Muslims in very specific
cases to defend themselves, their families, religion and community from
aggression.

Violence and the current situation

Now an attempt to examine Islam’s position on violence may be in the

fitness of things. For this, the most hot and explosive issue of Palestine
may be discussed very briefly and then the cases of American aggression
in the name of combating terrorism.

Palestine had been a Muslim majority land, which was occupied and
subjected by the Jews who have been unleashing violence and oppressing
its inhabitants since 1948 and especially since 1967. The occupiers are not
willing to vacate the land despite the UN resolutions and international
pressure. The Palestinians are living without a homeland. In view of the
known fact and situation of Palestine, one may say that the defensive use
of force should be permitted by Islam to the Palestinians to defend their
rights.

As a religion, Islam does not put itself in an attitude of conflict towards

other heavenly religions. It is a religion of peace and tolerance and has
always advocated the cause of human rights, brotherhood, freedom and
equality and hence Islam is a model religion for the development of
pluralistic society in the modern age of globalization. An Islamic society is
not formed of Muslims only, but of Muslims, Christians, Jews and people of
other faiths living together under the rule of Islam. Today, the world is
striving for peace; but unless there is greater understanding among the
followers of different religions there is very little hope for success.

Conclusion

There is a misconception that Islam and Muslims are a thereat to the

world peace. But my argument is that all this misunderstanding about
Islam and Muslims is simply because of lack of proper knowledge about
Islam and its followers. As far as Muslims are concerned, they should
understand this reality that violence is not at all a strategy to deal with
Muslims’ issues and problems. It is only a mistake, a big mistake that
Muslims must realize and abandon the path of deviation. They should
instead follow the path of righteousness, wisdom, patience and tolerance.
Because, the real weapons of Muslims are their Islamic character and their
ideology in which they believe and which they want to communicate to the
entire humanity. Since the Qur’an is a message of peace as well as a
unique divine book – a source of guidance for the entire humanity, all
people have an equal right to benefit from this eternal source of wisdom
and guidance.

– Courtesy: The Muslim World League Journal, Makkah