The situation of both Muslim and non-Muslim religious minorities within the
\nMuslim world is dreadful. Today’s Muslims have developed neo-exclusivist
\ntendencies in response to a world-wide wave of intolerance. Islam now reflexively
\nprohibits tolerance of Christians, Jews and others. As a Muslim myself I’m sorry to
\nhave to say it, but today’s Islam is not like the Islam of old. Allow me to offer an
\nexample of 12th century inclusivity, and contrast it with 20th century exclusivity.<\/p>\n
Much has been written of Saladin’s treatment of Christian and Jews, so I won’t
\nrehash it for you. Yet very few know that his actions were not a product of his
\nunique world view; it was accepted Islamic dogma and this may explain Islam’s
\nastonishing acceptance amongst the people its armies conquered. Things began
\nto change around the time of the Fatwa of Ibn Taymieh, when anti-foreigner
\ngroups started to subvert Islamic universalism. Prior to that time Islam was
\nmagnificent in its inclusiveness. Muhideen Ibn Arabi was the Grand Sheik of Islam
\nin the 12th century. He is buried in Damascus in the small beautiful district of
\n\u1e62\u0101li\u1e25iyya. He once wrote; “My heart has adopted every shape; it has become
\na pasture for a gazelles, and a convent for Christian monks. A temple for idols,
\nand a pilgrim’s Ka’ba, the tables of a Torah, and the pages of a Koran. I follow
\nthe religion of Love.” These were the words of the highest authority on Islam at
\nthe time, so we can put to rest allegations that Islam is inherently intolerant of
\nChristians and Jews, and less “Love” driven than Jesus’ message.<\/p>\n
Islam is (or at least was) universal and inclusive so how come many Muslims
\ntreat their fellow human beings so poorly today? The answer is that Muslims are
\ntrending towards a form of exclusivism that assumes that one starts reform from
\nthe outside in and not from the inside out. How we now look is more important
\nthan how we treat others. The Prophet, peace be upon him, went out of his way
\nto stress the continuity of many prophets who preceded him from Abraham,
\nto Moses to Jesus to Mohammad. The verse that captures this universality
\nand inclusiveness is s 3:84. Other Quranic verses continue the importance of
\ntolerance and acceptance such as s109:6: \u201cTo you your religion, to me mine.\u201d In
\naddition the well known verse 2:256: \u201cThere can be no coercion in religion.\u201d This
\nis ample evidence of the \u201cuniversalist\u201d and tolerance message. On the other side
\nof the coin you have what some call the \u201cIslamists.\u201d Islamists define religion so
\nnarrowly that it excludes most who do not subscribe to their narrow definition
\nof true faith. Included among the exclusivists are those who wear the Hijab as<\/p>\n
a statement and consider anyone who does not wear it to be non-Muslim. As
\nthe exclusionists become militant and belligerent in imposing their beliefs upon
\nothers, I must take exception to the kind of Islam they are proposing. I refuse this
\ninfringement upon personal freedom and \u201cThere is no coercion in religion\u201d should
\nbe a constant reminder to them. God, not man, will ultimately judge us.<\/p>\n
Our prophet’s Islam drew its power from its \u201cuniversalist\u201d nature. In spite of their
\ninternecine successional bickering, all Islamic leaders who followed Mohammad
\ninstinctively retained this critical quality. This Universalist quality allowed people
\nfrom many cultures to accept Islam. At its core, Mohammad\u2019s religion opened
\nits doors to anyone willing to make a simple declaration of faith: \u201cI proclaim that
\nthere is no god but God, and I proclaim that Mohammad is the messenger of
\nGod.\u201d It is that simple, and it is powerful. Mohammad put few restrictions on his
\nfollowers. All he asked of them is to accept the basic truth that we are all united
\nby the worship of one God and only one God; the Merciful and Magnanimous.<\/p>\n
Now here is a tiny example of this intolerance in an encounter my mother
\nrecently had at a women’s reception in Damascus. My mother is an 80 year old
\nwell respected practicing Muslim who is unveiled. My mother believes that the
\nveil is not synonymous with real Islam and she can cite chapter and verse in the
\nKoran to support her belief but her protests fall on deaf ears. At this reception,
\nMom rose to shake hands with a young woman, only to be rebuffed because,
\nthe woman said, \u201cI assumed she was a Christian!\u201d A few blocks away Ibn Arabi
\nmust have been turning in his grave. Lest I be (again) accused of being anti-
\nMuhajabat, I want to stress the fact that my problem is not with the Hijab itself.
\nMy Childhood friend is a Muhajabeh who preaches inclusivity and has taught me
\nmore about Islam than anyone, and the Hijab itself is a time honored Islamic
\nritual. My problem is in the assumption of some that those who don’t choose this
\nritual (and other rituals) are not Muslims or people worthy of a simple handshake.
\nMy issue is with Islam’s new exclusionary identity.<\/p>\n
I hope we can one day go back to the Islam of old, and transcend the Islam of the
\nlast eight hundred years, because we can all see where exclusion has gotten us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The situation of both Muslim and non-Muslim religious minorities within the Muslim world is dreadful. Today’s Muslims have developed neo-exclusivist tendencies in response to a world-wide wave of intolerance. Islam now reflexively prohibits tolerance of Christians, Jews and others. As a Muslim myself I’m sorry to have to say it, but today’s Islam is not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n