INTRODUCTION

The ongoing situation and the atmosphere built against Muslims in our country results from a well-planned program to brainwash fellow-countrymen against them for political gains. Many lies have been propagated through the media and various public platforms to unite both Indian Hindus and NRIs, enabling the extraction of funds from them to support this propaganda. Many politicians, so-called motivational speakers, and various public figures have this job of organizing public meetings to spew hatred against Muslims and Islam. They put many allegations on Islam and convince the audience that Islam is a potential threat to the people of other faiths, especially- Hindus. Many of these allegations and accusations are false, but sometimes they arise because of the evil actions and corrupted Muslim beliefs and practices. One such speaker is Subramanian Swamy- a BJP leader. This article is written as a reply to one of his allegations that he put while addressing an audience of NRIs abroad.

SUBRAMANIUM SWAMY’S ALLEGATION WITH OUR ANALYSIS AND OPINION ON IT

Subramanium Swamy started his address by saying that unrest is being spread worldwide because of the Muslim community. According to him, this is nothing extraordinary, almost as if he wishes to suggest that Islam encourages such unrest. He sarcastically praised and appreciated Muslims because they are clear-cut in their religious beliefs, while he criticized the Hindus as they are not clear in their beliefs and views. He also cited an example of Sri Krishna and Arjun on the battlefield. He said Arjun being a Hindu, was confused about whether he should fight or not (signifying Hindus’ confusion as a community). He said it is when Sri Krishna ordered him and explained it to him; only then did he fight in the battle. In short, he was instigating Hindus to fight against Muslims as Muslims are always ready to fight as taught to them by their religion (a baseless lie!). 

This sort of propaganda has been propagated for quite a long; it began before 2014. Many people, including Muslims, are still unaware of the ground realities of these plans and intentions. Unfortunately, since we are unaware of these matters, we don’t even try to be more informed about them; neither do we have any plan to overcome these schemes.

We have information about these matters because we are in contact with involved parties, and our volunteers working in the field regularly inform us. We got one such report from our field worker who is friends with the Yuva Vahini president. The president told him that they are planning a big battle against Muslims. The volunteer asked him why they want to engage in a battle since they already have a government of their choice in power, which can do whatever it wants. He said that this fight with Muslims is very much required. The volunteer also asked why he is telling all this to him as he is a Muslim and preaches Islam. He said, “This fight is not with your type of Muslims but with other Muslims”. We need to understand this state of mind of these people.

Quran, Surah Haj Ayah 40 says:

In this Ayah, Allah clearly says that in Churches, Synagogues, Cloisters, and Mosques, Allah’s name is remembered. Even if He is being called out in the wrong way, everyone is addressing their supreme Lord. If anyone worships God wrongly, it is our duty as Muslims to correct them with beautiful preaching, but nobody has the right to destroy these places of worship. This verse clearly says that whosoever does it gets eventually removed from power.

Hazrat Umar (RA) won Bait-ul-Muqaddas from Christians. When Christians saw Hazrat Umar (RA), they surrendered it to him as they have prophecies that a man of the appearance like Hazrat Umar will conquer Bait-ul-Muqadass, while the Christians will not be able to defeat him. When Umar (RA) was in church with a Christian priest, the prayer time arose, the priest asked him to offer Salah in the church. Mind you; this was a Catholic church with idols. Umar (RA) replied that he would have certainly offered Salah there, but he feared that people might destroy the church and built a mosque over it in the future because he had offered Salah there. This incident shows that there is no inherent issue with offering Salah at such places.

False traditions about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sending people to destroy idols have prevailed. On the contrary, we are advised to break the idols of the heart. Our job is to deliver the truth to others and break the idols of their heart. If, after believing in Islam, they destroy the idols in their churches or temples themselves and convert it into a mosque, it will not be a problem. But we are not allowed to do this by force or by exerting power. If we take such a forceful, they will make another temple, if not openly, secretly. How will we prevent this from happening? The destruction of religious places has never been the answer.

The attitude of the majority of Muslims worldwide, unfortunately, is in contrast to the teachings of the Quran. Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed the statues of Bahmiiyan Buddhas after coming into power when there wasn’t any need to do this. They should either make it an archaeological heritage site or leave it without any maintenance, and it will deteriorate itself with time. But instead, Afghani Taliban announced the statue’s destruction, dropped bombs over it, filmed the event, and proudly informed the entire world. This incident has painted a horrible picture of Islam in front of the world. After seeing this act, why would the Non-Muslims refrain from destroying Mosques wherever Non-Muslims are in the majority? As a Muslim, how can we expect our places of worship to be protected from such destruction? Is this justice? Quran says you cannot destroy worship places; Hazrat Umar forbade it, yet we are doing the exact opposite. Though we are not answerable for them, Saudi Arabia is doing the same according to their interpretation of Islam.

All this is discussed to point towards the fact that Muslims bring a bad name to Islam through their actions, which results in hatred. This behavior of ours is somehow responsible for inculcating hatred in Hindus’s minds, which politicians fan more for their advantage.

Now coming back to S Swamy’s allegations, he said in his address that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) had told Muslims to behave differently when they are in power/majority than when they are in the minority. He divided the place where Muslims may live into three categories and explained their behavior in them. These categories are:

DAR-UL-ISLAM

He claimed that at any place where Muslims either live in the majority or are in power, they must make that place Dar-ul-Islam. In Dar-ul-Islam, people of other religions are not allowed to worship their Gods and are not allowed to celebrate their religious festivals. First of all, these things are not taught by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The terminologies that he used are neither present in the Quran nor the Hadith. Secondly, from the life of the Prophet, we can see an example opposite to this claim. Jews who used to live in the Madina, which became the first Islamic state, were allowed to have their places of worship and celebrate their festivities. They were only expelled out of Madina because of their conspiracies against Islam and Muslims.

DAR-UL-HARB

S Swamy told the audience that wherever Muslims are in the minority but have appreciable population like in India, they are instructed to make that place Dar-ul-Harb. Harb means war, so Dar-ul-Harb means-a place of battle. In Dar-ul-Harb, Muslims are allowed to take an interest and to confiscate the money of the Non-Muslims. S Swamy said that Muslims are taught to trouble the Non-Muslim majority in Dar-ul-Harb while demanding more and more rights for themselves until Muslims come in power. He said Hindus don’t do this in other countries, but Muslims do these kinds of mischiefs.

It is unfortunate that some earlier Islamic jurists (fuqaha) also believed that India is a Dar-ul-Harb. It is because of these so-called jurists, Non-Muslim developed hatred towards Muslims. However, the majority of jurists and scholars now disagree with the views of these kinds of scholars.  As already discussed, these terminologies are alien to Islam and not taught by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).  

DAR-UL-KUFR

S Swamy told in his speech that wherever Muslims are in the minority having significantly low population, Mohammad advised them to surrender to the government. He very cleverly keeping in mind the upcoming objectives of his government and explaining this point presented an example. He said that once in Australia (where Muslims are a minority), an imam demanded personal law; the system ridiculed him that whoever wants a personal law must leave the country. Other scholars said that the imam is a fool to this reaction, and they don’t have such demands.

First of all, Prophet Mohammad never said so. Secondly, if Muslims are tortured, persecuted, and not allowed to practice their faith, Islam advises them to migrate from that place. 

If the condition of the place (where Muslims are in the minority) are not hostile, then Muslims are allowed to live in that place. Even if someone wants to give a name to such a place it should not have been Dar-ul-Harb or Dar-ul-Kufr, but it should have been Dar-ud-Dawah. In a country where there are no Islamic laws, Muslims are advised to improve his/her character, spread the message of Islam. This is neither surrender nor battle.

NEED FOR INTROSPECTION

Today not a single Muslim majority country is an Islamic state. The country that is the closest to holistically following Islamic laws is Iran. Otherwise, Muslim majority countries have been unable to implement or follow Islamic laws completely. They can’t even take these Islamic laws from authentic sources. That’s why they are doomed and criticized by the world. When Muslims would not allow a religious minority in their country to practice their faith, how could they expect themselves to be allowed to follow their faith wherever they are in the minority. Islam is a religion of justice and can never teach anything that goes against mutual justice. The harmful impression of Muslims worldwide is due to the reality that the majority follow various weird false traditions as if they are correct. We need to change this. We should try to begin this from our country first. Others would then say that they will not fight with Muslims (even after knowing we preach Islam) but fight with only those against the principles of justice. We have to change the attitude that has created hostility and fear in the minds of Non-Muslims (especially Indian Hindus) against us.

Many doubtful Islamic traditions say that wherever you are in the majority, force the Jews and the Christians to take the narrowest path. If this is true, these Jews and Christians should also force Muslims to take the narrowest path where they are in the majority. Can Islam teach such things that go against mutual justice? This cannot be true. We should not believe in such traditions as Islam encourages dialogues and discussions with Non-Muslims. Islam showed respect to these people by giving them an honorable name: the People of the Book (Ahl-ul-Kitaab), who received books from Almighty God. Islam invites them towards the oneness of God (see our other articles regarding belief in previous scriptures).

Another false tradition that is prevalent among Muslims is about the victory of Syria. It is believed that Jews in Syria were asked not to copy Muslims. They were not allowed to tie turbans like Muslims to keep beards like Muslims etc. It seems like a false tradition. We could understand if Muslims were asked not to copy them. But why would Jews be prohibited from copying Muslims? People fail to understand that nations love other people imitating and following their culture as it helps them incorporate into their society and help people understand them better. Following the way of the Muslims would have eventually brought them closer to Islam. Many other false traditions of this kind that seem to go against Islam’s ethos are still prevalent and should hence be rejected immediately. Some traditions tell us to oppose Ahl-e-Kitab in whatever they do. While other traditions tell us that Wisdom is the lost property of a believer, so take it from wherever you find it. Which one of these traditions would we believe? Islam is a positive religion and not raised against any other faith. How can we invite people to Islam by opposing them in every affair? We have to deal with them softly and politely. Quran 16:125 says:

Deen will prevail only on truthfulness and justice and not on bigotry and hatred. Equal opportunities must be provided for all faiths irrespective of who is in power. 

Because of these bigoted traditions and misleading beliefs, people like S Swamy instigate Non-Muslims against Islam and receive support in plans against Muslims. 

Quran tells in 3:113 that among these Ahl-e-Kitaab there are people who are pious and worship their Lord in the night:

Quran further says in 3:114:

It means that there are also good people among the Ahl-e-Kitab, and so as in all the nations, they are the righteous people (Saleheen). Thus, we should support them in all of their righteous acts. We should never hesitate to learn anything that we find good in them. Quran goes further than this in the next Ayah:

THINGS TO DO

So, shall we reject the Ayahs mentioned above if they go against our imagination and are against the false traditions? The problem is that we have started taking consultation from the traditions and not from the Quran. We have to realize that anything that is going against the Quran cannot be right. The first thing that we should do is to change our attitude and accept our shortcomings and mistakes. We should:

• improve our character(Akhlaaq). Quran says about Prophet Mohammad(PBUH):

The Prophet (PBUH) had the highest of characters. He was made a role model for us. If not equivalent, we should at least strive to achieve the character and manners closest to him.

• Reconnect ourselves from the Quran and follow the traditions and Hadith that are compatible with the Quran.
• Connect with our Non-Muslim brethren, practice the Islam of the Quran, and deliver to them Quran’s message that would never bother them. A work of a Muslim is to guide people to Islam. Only it will bring honor to us in this world. By doing so, we will become a mercy to them, will be welcomed by them. 

A Muslim must be beneficial for society. It is not sufficient for a Muslim to refrain from harming someone, but a Muslim must be useful to the society and the world. Quran tells in 13:17 whosoever is beneficial for humanity remains on earth:

 By helping people (irrespective of their faith) and being useful to them, we may prosper and earn respect and love from mankind as promised by the Quran. Following this way wholeheartedly would make us a mercy to the world. How can we call ourselves to be the Prophet Muhammad’s followers? He earned the title of Rahmat-ul-Lil-Aalameen  or a Mercy to the worlds, while we can’t be a mercy to the world ourselves. 

There are genuine and sincere Muslims who, unfortunately, do not follow Islam correctly, thereby indirectly harming the Ummah. Islam needs such genuine souls. Therefore, we must pray that Allah guide all the Muslims to follow Islam’s correct teachings and help in establishing relations with the other nations and communities based on Quranic principles. May he also help us bring the much-needed system of justice and peace to this world. Aameen!!