by Dr. Ali Shehata
Is Islam a Religion of Tolerance?
This last section of this chapter discusses one of the most misunderstood aspects of the religion of Islam. Many books and speakers repeatedly attack the religion as being one of intolerance, unable to co-exist with other ideas or ways. Once again, we shall return to history to see if this is truly the case.
But first, it would be beneficial to review some verses from the Quran on this matter to see if there is any scriptural evidence to support tolerance and co-existence in Islam.
And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed—all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers? {10:99}
Say, “Obey God, and obey the Messenger,” but if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him, and you, for the duty placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on right guidance. Alas, the Messenger's duty is only to preach the clear Message. {24:54}
In Islam, all of humanity is but one big family,
O humankind! We created you from a single [pair] of a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may come to know each other. Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you. {49:13}
The religion of Islam insists that all people, not just Muslims, should enjoy freedom of religion and worship in safety and security. Islam provides protection to all religious places of worship (whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim) and commands Muslims to defend the right of freedom of worship for all.
And were it not that God checks people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of God is mentioned much. And God will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, God is Powerful and Exalted in Might. {22:40}
In fact, Jews and Christians are given a special status and distinction in Islam, and they are respectfully addressed in the Qur’an as “People of the Book”( During the time of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh, most religions were based only upon oral traditions. The Quran encouraged Muslims to be people of reading. Since the Jews and Christians also had the tradition of a written religious record, the Torah and Gospel respectively, they were called the “People of the Book”). Jews, Christians and Muslims are viewed as closely related people whose faiths are all based on divinely revealed scriptures and who share in common a prophetic tradition.
...and nearest among them in love to the Believers will you find those who say “We are Christians”. {5:82)
So now turning to history, let us look at just a few examples of how Muslims worked with other religions and peoples when power was in their hands. The first aspect that should be mentioned is how the Prophet dealt with the Christians who were conquered during his lifetime. The following words taken from his treaty with the Christian people of Najran (part of present day Yemen), in fact, form the basis of the Islamic understanding of relations with other religions.
Najran and their followers have the protection of God and the protection of Muhammad pbuh, the Prophet and Messenger of God, for themselves, their community, their land and their goods, both those who are absent and those who are present, and for their churches and their services (no bishop will be moved from his episcopate, and no monk from his monastery, and no church warden from his wardenship) and for all, great or small, that is under their hands. There is no usury and no blood revenge from pre-Islamic times. (Yaqub, A.Y. (1969). Kitab al Kharaj (edited Translation). Leiden: E.J. Brill)
Also, a similar covenant was made by the second Caliph of Islam, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, with the people of Jerusalem after its peaceful takeover. In fact, ‘Umar’s own assassin, who killed him while he was leading prayer a few years later, was a Magian non-Muslim, yet ‘Umar still commanded his successor to be merciful to the non-Muslims and not to violate their rights. (Magian – another name for followers of Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic religion where fire symbolizes their concept of the One God, whom they call Ahura Mazda, and thus they worshipped at fire temples) It is recorded in the most authentic Islamic books of narrations and history that he said:
I advise the Caliph who will follow me to be kind to the non-Muslims and to fulfill our covenants with them, to fight for the sake of their protection and not to overburden them. Hamidullah, M. (1945). Muslim Conduct of State. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/MuslimConductOfStateDr.MuhammadHamidullah/page/n11
Another example of religious tolerance from the time of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh is his instruction to the Muslims to treat the Coptic Christian population of Egypt well. What is interesting about this case though is that Islam had not yet spread to Egypt, and thus, the following two hadith have both an element of tolerance and prophecy about them. The Prophet Muhammad pbuh said:
“By God, treat well the Copts of Egypt, for you shall conquer them, and they shall be your supporters in the cause of God.” [At-Tabarani, authenticated by Al-Albaani]
“When Egypt is conquered, treat the Copts with dignity, for they have a blood relation with us.” [Al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak meeting the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim; authenticated by Al-Dhahabi and Al-Albaani]
Several hundred years later, this spirit of tolerance continued to exist in the Muslim lands. During the Mongolian Tartar invasions of the Muslim lands, the famous Muslim scholar and warrior Ibn Taimiyyah went as an emissary to Quṭlugh-Shah, one of the Tartar commanders, to negotiate the release of all prisoners of war. He was initially granted the release of only the Muslim POW’s (prisoners of war), but persisted in his request for all POW’s to be released—referring to the non-Muslims who lived under the protection of the Muslims—until it was later granted. (Denise Aigle. (2007). The Mongol Invasions of Bilad Al-Sham by Ghazan Khan and Ibn Taymiyah’s Three “Anti-Mongol” Fatwas. Mamluk Studies Review. 11.2: 89-120; Retrieved from: http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/MSR_XI2_2007-Aigle.pdf). It is important to note here that this great scholar risked his own life and the fate of all the Muslim POW’s to secure the release of non-Muslims because he knew that this was his duty before God.
Furthermore, T. W. Arnold records that following the Islamic conquest of Constantinople (present day Istanbul) in 1453, that Sultan Muhammad II proclaimed himself the protector of the Greek Church. (Arnold, T.W. (1896). The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith. Retrieved from: http://www.truthandgrace.com/The_Preaching_of_Islam.pdf). Persecution of the Christians was forbidden and a decree was issued securing for the newly elected patriarch, Gennadios, and his bishops and successors after him, all privileges previously enjoyed under the former rule. The patriarch was also empowered to bring to the attention of the government and the Sultan (leader) any acts of injustice done by any of the Muslim governors.
The Christian author P. Bayle makes the following observation regarding the Greek Church in his Dictionary under, “the article Mahomed,”
The Christians have not been given orders to do anything but preach and instruct, yet, despite this, from time immemorial they have been exterminating by fire and sword all those who are not of their religion. We may feel certain that if Western Christians, instead of the Saracens and the Turks [names given by the Europeans to the Muslims], had won the dominion over Asia, there would be today not a trace left of the Greek Church, and that they would never have tolerated [Islam] as the “infidels” have tolerated Christianity there. We (Christians) enjoy the fine advantage of being far better versed than others in the art of killing, bombarding and exterminating the Human Race. (Bayle, P. (1826). An Historical and Critical Dictionary. London: Hunt and Clarke. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/anhistoricaland01baylgoog/page/ n8)
Not forgetting the tolerance and goodwill shown to the Jewish people, many non-Muslim historians, after reviewing the history of the Jewish people, have also made the following positive remarks regarding the Islamic tolerance of Jews living under their rule. Don Peretz, a Middle East scholar and Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York in Binghamton, writes that “Muslim conquests in the 7th Century were welcomed by Jews because they were offered religious toleration”. (Peretz, D. (1990). The Middle East. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Co.). As proof of this toleration, he said Jews were appointed to high positions. Wallbank and Schrier's Living World History says that conquered peoples "were generally treated with leniency" by Muslims. (Wallbank, T.W. and Schrier, A. (1982). Living World History. Glenview, Illinois: Scott Foresman) Several books cite the great Jewish physician and scholar Maimonides as an example of how Jews flourished under Islamic governments.
Another non-Muslim scholar, Princeton historian Mark R. Cohen, remarked in one of his speeches that despite the current political instability in the Middle East, which has demonized Jews among Muslims and led to some vehement anti-Islamic Zionism, there is no inherent hostility between the two religions.
Anti-Semitism, understood as the irrational persecution of Jews, is not native to true Islam … examples from history to show how Jews under Islamic rule were protected, whereas those under medieval Christendom were marginalized at best and, more often, excluded. Jews fared better under the Crescent than the Cross. (Gabe, J. (2004). Jews fared better under the Crescent than the Cross. Retrieved from: http://ctr.concordia.ca/2004-05/oct_21/11/index.shtml)
Even till today, anyone who has traveled abroad to countries populated by a Muslim majority will see Churches and Synagogues dating back well before Muslim rule, and even before the coming of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh. How were these places of worship protected during the spread of Islam? Even more important, how did the Christian and Jewish people of these territories continue to live there if Muslims were commanded to kill all who don’t follow their opinion or religion, as some people say? Compare this to the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades and you shall see that true tolerance, freedom of religion and peaceful co-existence are all the foundation and practice of only Islam for the past 1400 years.
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