World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace — Page 145
145 I SLAM —A R ELIGION OF P EACE AND C OMPASSION. . . It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let him who will believe, and let him, who will disbelieve. . . (ch. 18: v. 30) This is the reality of Islam. This is its true teaching. If a person’s heart desires then they are free to accept Islam, but if their heart does not, then they are free to reject it. Therefore, Islam is com- pletely against compulsion and extremism; rather, it advocates peace and harmony at all levels of society. It is quite impossible for Islam to teach violence or compulsion because the very mean- ing of ‘Islam’ is to live in peace and to provide peace to all others. Nevertheless, when our religious sentiments are taunted it causes us great pain and anguish. Anything disrespectful said about the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa pierces and wounds our hearts. It was the Founder of Islam sa who developed the love of God and the love of His creation in our hearts. It was he who ingrained and established love and respect for all of mankind and for all re- ligions within us. What bigger proof of Islam’s peaceful teachings can there be than the response given by the opponents of the Holy Prophet sa when he preached and conveyed the message of Islam to them. They did not say that by inviting them to join Islam, the Holy Prophet sa was asking them to perpetrate any cruelties or wrongdoing. Rather, their reply was that if they were to accept the Prophet’s teachings, their wealth and status would be threatened or seized by ruthless people, because the Holy Prophet sa empha- sised only peace and harmony. They admitted to a fear that if they accepted Islam then by adopting peace the surrounding people, tribes or even nations would take advantage and destroy them. In short, if Islam advocated violence, and if it called on Muslims