Intolerance a Muslim, not Islamic trait
By Sardar Anees Ahmad
Waterloo, New York

A gentleman recently informed me that while Muslims request Americans to attempt to understand Islam, they do not return the gesture in kind. He further noted that while the Qur'an declares “there is no compulsion in religion” (2:257) and American-Muslims passionately hold on to the rights the 1st Amendment affords them, there is little, if any, Muslim outcry towards the unjust persecution of non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries.

Many Muslims, regretably, do exhibit apathy towards non-Muslim’s persecution. As common sense dictates, and the Qur’an (2:192) condemns persecution and declares (22:41) the protection of churches and synagogues a religious duty, I consider silence on the issue deplorable and have actively voiced my dissent on the matter.

I would, however, respectfully disagree that the entire Muslim world suffers from a severe lack of pluralism and tolerance. Sects such as the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC) have always spoken out against such injustice – members oftentimes losing their lives in the process. For example, my uncle and grandfather were murdered in Pakistan, in part because they cherished these ideals (their assailants remain free to this day). In addition, AMC has long held a ‘Religious Founders Day’ to encourage religious literacy and dialogue between members of all faiths.

Furthermore, the Muslim world is as diverse as it is prevalent, spanning across fifty-seven nations, from South America to Southeast Asia. Of its two major religious institutions, Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church has stood since the 1st century. Turkey prides itself on being a secular republic – a fact even the European Union admits. Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic, with confessionalism its political doctrine. Lebanese confessionalism mandates the political representation of eighteen recognized religious groups, of which only four are Muslim. Moreover, the Lebanese president must be a Maronite Christian. Its unicameral legislature equally divides 128 seats between Muslims and Christians. Overall, there are more than forty Muslim republics that constitutionally declare religious freedom a fundamental right. Many of these countries categorically outlaw the formation of religiously motivated political parties while permitting every other political movement’s legitimacy. Also, nearly thirty of these countries host foreign and international universities.

More importantly, the reader must hold fast to the following principle: if Islam is worthy of criticism, it must be proved through the actions of its founder, Muhammad. Followers of every faith, or lack thereof, have been guilty of injustice since antiquity. Do the actions of Jewish Sicarii or Irgun, the Ku Klux Klan or Spanish Conquistadors, or the neo-darwinists represent all that Judaism, Christianity, or evolutionary science has to offer? Rogue factions can never represent an entire ideology.

Furthermore, orientalists admit that Prophet Muhammad fashioned a secular and pluralistic state, gauranteeing all non-Muslims every human right. The same was the case with the rule of his four succeeding caliphs, who ruled over one of history’s most expansive and orderly empires’. The Abbassid and Ottomon empires also lay claim to fashioning a just and pluralistic society. One can also refer to my 1/30/09 piece which touches upon Islam’s passionate support of pluralism.

Still, the question remains why some Muslims are intolerant? The reader need only study American society’s evolution to understand that progressive values do not immediately materialize. For the vast majority of Islam’s history persecution of minorities, denial of fundamental liberties and terrorism were alien concepts. As every ideology, religious or secular, suffers a dark age, so too is Islam suffering from that ill today. The path towards democratization in the Muslim world is detailed and complex and I cannot touch upon the subject here – perhaps in another article.

Suffice it to say that deplorable Muslim behavior is just that – Muslim behavior, not Islamic behavior.