Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 20
20 islam’s response to contemporary issues It is one thing for a religion to declare that those who seek to be redeemed from Satan and attain salvation should rush to the safe haven of that religion; it is there that they would find salvation and eternal liberation from sin. But it is quite another thing for the same religion to declare in the next breath that those who do not come hither to seek refuge will be damned eternally, one and all. Whatever they do to please God, however much they love their Creator and His creation, however much they lead a life of purity and piety, they would most certainly be condemned to an everlasting Fire. When such a rigid, narrow-minded and non-tolerant view is expressed in a provocative language as generally is by religious zealots, it is known to have produced violent riots. People come in all shapes and sizes. Some are educated, cultured and refined and so are their reactions to offences committed against them. Yet a large number of religiously-inclined people, be they educated or illiterate, are likely to react violently when their religious sensibilities are hurt. Unfortunately this seems to be the attitude of the clergy of almost all religions of the world against those who do not conform to their faith. Even Islam is presented by most medieval scholars as the only door to salvation, in the sense that ever since the advent of Islam, all the descendants of Adam as who have lived and died outside the pale of Islam are denied salvation. Christianity does not offer a different view, nor does any religion to my knowledge. But let me assure my audience that the attribution of this bigoted and narrow view to Islam has no justification. The Holy Quran has a completely different story to tell us in this regard. According to the Holy Quran, salvation cannot be monopolised by any single religion of the world. Even if new truths are revealed and