Murder in the Name of Allah — Page 21
A Rebuttal of Maududian Philosophy peaceful work of preaching Islam. Having convinced the reader that. Islam did indeed establish the freedom of conscience, the Maulana himself seems to cast doubt on his own argument by adding this rider:. That freedom of conscience is limited to faith and religion only. It does not mean that people have freedom to commit sin. Islam does not permit the use of force for conversion, but force may be used - in fact, should be used to prevent people from doing wrong. Non-Muslim countries and cultures cannot be allowed to practice immoral deeds and force used to keep these countries free of vice should be clearly distinguished from that used to convert people to Islam. . Thus, the Maulana evolved a tortuous method of interpreting the. Quran and the tradition (hadith) of the Prophets to prove his point. . Maulana Maududi goes a little deeper in discussing the use of force and explains the purpose of verse 29 of Chapter 9 in the Quran. Quoting it out of context, he says:. The words: 'Until they pay the jizya' fully explain the purpose of war [prevention of vice]. If the words were: ‘until they accept Islam' then, of course, one could say that Islam uses force to spread its faith. But the words, 'until they pay the jizya' are clear. Consent to pay the jizya ends the war. After this, the life and property of non-Muslims are inviolable, whether or not they accept Islam. . Maulana Maududi began writing his book to prove that Islam gives complete freedom of conscience and that the Holy Prophets went to war because his opponents were suppressing that very freedom. This was in answer to non-Muslim claims that Islam is based on two main principles: the forcing of people to do good and the prevention of them from indulging in vice. Since forcing people to do good is against the freedom of conscience, Islam refrains from it. But the Maulana is a little forgetful, for he quotes the Quranic words which say that a war should be stopped after non-Muslims have agreed to pay the jizya. How could a war, begun purely to prevent vice, ever be won if the enemy pays the jizya without promising to wipe out vice? The Maulana's aim was to impose the poll tax. Since an agreement had been reached for its payment, the second principle of Islam, prevention of vice, had been conveniently forgotten. . The final part of Maulana Maududi's logic, however, nullifies the very purpose for which he wrote this book. He says:. When all methods of persuasion failed, the Prophets took to the sword. . That sword removed mischief, the impurities of evil and the filth of the soul. The sword did something more - it removed their blindness so they could see the light of truth - and it also cured them of their arrogance: 21