The Re-emergence of Islamic Enlightenment — Page 18
18 importance of education. This was reflected in the aftermath of the first battle in the history of Islam. After the migration to Madinah, the Muslims were forced to defend themselves when war was waged upon them by the disbelievers of Makkah. Even though the Muslim army was extremely ill-equipped they were able to defeat the much stronger Makkan army with the help of Allah the Almighty. Thereafter, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) offered to release those prisoners of war who were literate, on condition they first taught illiterate members of society how to read and write. In this way, many centuries ago, the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) established a very successful model for the rehabilitation and re-integration into society of prisoners, which benefited society at large. The war just mentioned was the Battle of Badr, which was the first occasion in which a Muslim army fought. It is often alleged that Islam is a religion of violence or warfare and so it is important to note that when God Almighty permitted the Muslims to fight in the Battle of Badr, permission was not granted merely so they could defend themselves or Islam; rather, Allah the Almighty stated in the Holy Quran that permission to fight back was granted to establish and preserve the principles of freedom of belief and freedom of conscience for all mankind. The Quran states that if the Muslims did not defend themselves against the Makkan army then no church, synagogue, temple, mosque or any other place of worship would be safe, because