6/22/06, Opinion-Editorial, printed in the Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan)
“Quran’s teaching, guidance is for all Islamic communities”
By Ayesha Mangla
I would like to thank Nadia Kazmi for reading my Viewpoint with interest, providing her comments in her June 9 Viewpoint, “Apostasy Viewpoint's opinion differs from mainstream Islam,” and giving me a chance to explain a few points. However, her noting that I belong to a minority group is irrelevant in this case because the references I gave are from the Quran, which is the same for all.
Also, being a minority sect of Islam (15 percent, or more than 200 million out of the worldwide Muslim population of 1.6 billion) does not make Ahmadiyyat wrong. It is divinely guided by the Imam Mahdi (the Guided One) and the Promised Messiah as prophesied by the Quran and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The “mainstream Muslims” are still awaiting this Mahdi and Promised Messiah to appear. The first Messiah's followers were in a minority in the beginning as well; Jesus Christ had only 12 disciples when he was put on the cross. It took three centuries for his followers to flourish.
God Almighty guarantees the safety of the Quran when he says, “Surely, We Ourselves have sent down this Exhortation, and We will, most certainly, safeguard it (15:10).” This means that the text of the Quran will always be preserved intact. There is no such guarantee for hadith, the sayings of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), because they were collected and recorded years after his demise, and some may have been passed down incorrectly. Thus if a hadith contradicts the Quran, it must be rejected. The bulk of hadith do not contradict the Quran. Regarding apostasy, there is only one hadith that is extremely controversial, with inherent contradictions, and comes from a relatively obscure source.
According to Kazmi, “there is no compulsion in religion (2:257)” only applies to non-Muslims who do not even believe in the Quran, while Muslims are exempt from it even though they believe in the truth of the Quran. What an absurd and irrational interpretation of this Quranic verse! I am grateful to her for specifying that this belief is held by scholars of Sunni Islam only.
Freedom of conversion is the confirmation of “no compulsion in religion.” It cannot be a one-way freedom -- the freedom to enter Islam, but not to leave it. The Quranic verse that I quoted in my original May 1 article, “Surely those who believe, then disbelieve, then again believe, then disbelieve and then increase in disbelief...” (4:138) provides that freedom. A dead person would not have that freedom. It puts no restriction on a Muslim’s freedom to leave Islam.
Kazmi's logic is self-defeating. A leading scholar, Ghulam Ahmad Parvez, referring to this Maududian (Sunni) commentary on this Quranic verse, said “Maududi's Islam is a mouse-trap: the mouse can get into it, but cannot escape.” Even if we accept Kazmi's premise that this verse only applies to non-Muslims, then a person who leaves Islam would again come under the application of this verse!
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes in the Islamic Shariah brought only by the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and not the one brought by the medieval jurists. Shariah code promulgated by the “mainstream Muslims'' of today is un-Islamic because some of its laws are against the teachings of the Quran. There are 10 direct references to recantation in the Quran: one in the Meccan chapter of AI-Nahl and the remaining nine in the Medinite chapters. In none of these verses is there the slightest hint of capital punishment for those who apostate. Also, numerous instances of blatant apostasy at the time of Prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h.) were completely ignored by him; the only apostates executed were the ones guilty of murder or complicity in murder.
Kazmi does not give any reference from the Quran to support her views that death for apostasy is legal in “mainstream Islam,” yet she objects to an Ahmadi Muslim proving it un-Islamic with references from the Quran. We call it un-Islamic precisely due to our deep and honest study of the tolerance and respect for the freedoms of conscience, faith and practice of religion demonstrated by the Holy Prophet of Islam (p.b.u.h).
Although he knew that Abdullah bin Obeye bin Sulool was a leader of the Munafiqun (hypocrites), Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) did not allow anyone to kill him, despite numerous demands from his followers. God had told him that he would not forgive such hypocrites even if the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) prayed 70 times for their forgiveness. Nonetheless, Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) said he would pray more than 70 times for them, and upon Abdullah's death he went to his funeral and prayed at his grave. This was the treatment and freedom of religion given by Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) to people who were his deadly enemies.
Kazmi's statement that the converting person “is given three days to reconsider his or her stance and is counseled about any misunderstandings about Islam” is derogatory to the true spirit of Islam. One should not have to accept Islam under duress. This gives credence to allegations that Islam was spread through force, whereas the truth is exactly the opposite. Islam spread in Indonesia, Malaysia, China and India, areas comprising the largest Muslim populations, without a conquering army, whereas vast regions under the rule of the Ottoman Empire never converted.
Kazmi's own admittance that “there is no true Islamic state in the Muslim world” even after the passage of 1,400 years, should be a wake-up call for “mainstream Muslims” to realize that Islam has reached a low point in history. In fact, the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) even said that “there would be a time when the religious scholars of Islam would be the worst creatures on Earth, mosques would seem to be crowded but devoid of true knowledge, the faith will ascend to Pleiades at which time a man from Persia will bring it back and restore the famed glory of Islam.” Given the current state of Islam, it seems that time has arrived.
Ayesha Mangla resides in Portage and often writes about Islam.
Editor's Note: The Kalamazoo Gazette is the primary source of news and information for the residents of Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It reaches 60% of adults (age 18+) in Kalamazoo County on Sunday.
Comments (0)
Write comment