Jesus In India — Page 21
INTRODUCTION II from any tribe who accepted Islam was either summarily killed by his tribe or lived in perpetual grave danger of losing his life. At this juncture, God Almighty took pity on Muslim converts, and imposed on the bigoted powers the penalty of becoming subjects of the Islamic state, thereby throwing open the doors of freedom for Islam. This was meant to remove the obstructions in the way of those who wished to accept the faith; it was God's mercy upon mankind, and did no one any harm. It is evident, however, that non-Muslim rulers today do not interfere with the religious freedom of Muslims; they do not restrict the carrying out of religious rites; do not kill new con- verts to Islam from among their own people and do not put them into prison or torture them. Why then should Islam per- mit the use of the sword against them? For a fact, Islam has never advocated compulsion in religion. If you closely study the Holy Quran, books of Ahadith and historical records, and examine them and reflect upon them as far as possible, you will realize with certainty that the charge that Islam ever used force and wielded the sword to spread the faith is an utterly unfounded and shameless allegation. Such charges are levelled against Islam by people who have not been able to read the Quran, Hadith and the authentic chronicles in an objective and impartial spirit, and have made free use of slander and falsehood. I know the time is approaching fast when those who are hungry and thirsty for truth will come to know of the reality of these slanderous charges. How can we describe Islam as a religion of compulsion, when its Holy Book, the Holy Quran, unequivocally commands: