Islam & Europe - Peace, Identity & Integration — Page 21
THE NEED FOR OUTWARD AND INNER PEACE 21 the early Muslims were belligerent or blood-thirsty, today several Western and non-Muslim historians admit that this is wholly inaccurate. In fact, their research shows that the number of people who lost their lives in all of the wars fought in the period of early Islam was a fraction compared to the numbers of people who died at the hands of single bombs in the modern era. 6 Therefore, rather than seeking conflict or fostering hatred, Islam has only ever instructed Muslims to knock down the walls of hatred that divide mankind and to build bridges of love and compassion in order to unite it. In short, at every level of society, and across all communities and peoples, Muslims have a duty to spread peace and the fundamental reason for this, as I have already mentioned, is that the very first chapter of the Holy Quran states: “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. ” 7 Accordingly, where God Almighty is the Provider and Sustainer for all mankind, it simply not possible for true Muslims to bear hatred or ill-will towards their fellow creation; rather, our hearts can only be filled with sentiments of love, compassion and sympathy for others. Of course, as practicing Muslims, we have our religious beliefs. We believe that God is One and that it is our duty to turn to Him and to worship Him alone. Yet, we also firmly abide by the timeless precept of the Holy Quran that there should be no compulsion in religion. As I said before, religion is, and always will be, a matter of the heart and a personal matter for