Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 31
Inter-Religious Peace 31 Say, ‘O mankind! Truly I am a Messenger to you all from Allah to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and earth. There is no God but He. He gives life, and He causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Prophet, the Immaculate one, who believes in Allah and His words; and follow him that you may be rightly guided’. 29 However, to pre-empt frictions and misunderstandings, Islam prescribes a set of clear-cut rules of conduct which guarantee fair play, absolute justice, freedom of speech, right of expression and the right of disagreement for all alike. Instruments of Struggle—No Compulsion How can a religion claim itself to be universal, international, or global and yet not cause frictions? No religion with a universal message and global ambitions to unite mankind under one flag can even momentarily entertain the idea of employing force to spread its message. Swords can win territories but not hearts. Force can bend heads but not minds. Islam does not permit the use of force as an instrument for the spread of its Message. It declares: