Simplicity versus Bad Press
Review of ‘Islam, Peace and Tolerance’
by Bushra Ahmed
The Light (UK), February 2008 Issue (pp. 3–4)
Editor’s Note: I am grateful to young Bushra Ahmed for this review. It is also highly commendable that she has taken up study of Islamic literature at such a young age and is able to analyse what she reads and review it in writing.
Firstly, I congratulate Dr. Zahid Aziz for a remarkable piece of literature. This book is a very logically defined and well researched piece of work. It does well to kill common rumours such as the aspect of violence in relation to Islam, for example punishment of apostasy, Jihad, compulsion in religion, Muslim anger, etc.
One of the most remarkable comments that strike the mind because of its logic is the following quotation on killing those people who abuse Islam or who are critical of Islam in a negative way or who belong to a different religion and who are inaccurate in its attitude towards Islam:
“If such abuse or criticism requires to be silenced by force, then why should the Quran itself have quoted so much of it from its opponents’ mouths and thereby preserved it forever.”
This should surely silence the critics because if Islam is a religion of violence why did not Allah just simply say
“Kill all opponents who are against Islam”.
This is a valid point. And not only that but these words have been preserved for all times to come!
This brings me to my next point, that you cannot just simply read the Quran. You must analyze and dig further and deeper which means life is not a bed of roses. Allah, I think, purposefully created such controversies as battles so that Islam will need to be researched and probed so as to encourage hard work and end up with simple answers. If one looks superficially at Islam no answers will be found. There is more to it than meets the eye. Contradictions are easy to point out; however, it is harder to untie the knot of incorrect ideas and beliefs. This is the correct jihad. The striving hard for truth that this book has attained means that this book itself is a form of Jihad!
Analysis aside, the interesting thing about this book is that it appeals to young and old and is written in a self explanatory style.
Also, it serves the function of dawah [inviting to Islam] to non-Muslims as well as Muslims. And after reading it, it will make our lives easier, for those who wish to do further dawah. It can be spread by word of mouth as well as the actual book from those who learn from it.
Another point in the remaining chapters of the book is in its dealing with the concept of war. One point that struck a chord with me was that the warriors were expected only to fight in self- defence and not hurt anyone who wanted peace. Muslims were desperate to settle for peace. Also prisoners of war were treated kindly. So does not this refute the common incorrect theories of a violent Islam? Even in the battlefield, peace was sought for!
The next chapter on Muslim anger should be applied to anyone who is hotheaded. Now I think I need to perform more ablutions more often!
In a later chapter about the Bible the information about its teachings on war is very interesting. This is because I considered it to be a new angle and a new approach to teaching opponents of Islam to look in the mirror before calling other people ugly! This certainly is a challenge for Islam’s enemies. However, an appropriate apology was in place for people of other faiths at the end because the last thing one must do is insult people interested in learning about Islam itself.
One of the sections on unity of all races made a profound impression. This is because it is stated in the book that God did not create different races to indicate rank but so that they could learn from each other, because to learn means to grow in knowledge and this is what the revelation of the Quran started with:
اِقۡرَاۡ بِاسۡمِ رَبِّکَ
“Read in the name of your Lord”. [The Holy Quran, 96:1]
Also, in order for a Muslim to integrate, he or she must follow the rules and regulations of the land they abide in. That works both ways. This is the way for unity and brotherhood between all nations in the world.
The most beautiful sentence in the whole of the book is on neighbours and it says that we are all:
“‘companions in a journey’, both in the journey of the earth in its orbit in space as well as in the journey of life.”
Here is an extra bonus argument, off a little from the topic: maybe that’s why Allah gives so much importance to wayfarers and gives them special consideration in many cases such as abstaining from fasting and shortened prayers. He has even made one of the pillars of Islam heavily dependent on travelling, i.e., Hajj [Pilgrimage]. Perhaps it is to symbolize exactly that: that life and death is a journey and the reason why normal travellers or life’s travels should be respected, as any type of travelling involves a lot of suffering and hard work. Even to orbit around like the earth requires a lot of effort.
In the concluding chapter of the book the author attempts to show general agreement between other schools of thought and scholars and his own ideas. One most conclusive and enlightening view by one of the scholars was that faith and violence are in opposition. The two cannot exist together. Therefore if we assume that the Quran is correct then Islam cannot possibly teach violence. All logic defies it!
In my conclusion, then, this book proves that Islam is a religion of peace and will one day spread peace in the world with books such as this as the stepping stone towards a giant leap for mankind!