What our contemporary world now needs – in order to get out of its stifling crises - is to establish pluralism as a natural principle as acknowledged in the Glorious Qur’an. In the social philosophy of Islam, there is no room for conflict or economic, cultural and military hegemony in the relationships between nations and peoples. Today, our world is going through critical conditions and a universal moral crisis. So, the notions of love and peace have become an exception to the governing rule of selfishness, hatred and conflict in our society. Almost all countries are missing permanent peace and coexistence, away from violence and terrorism.
Heavenly religions came as a message of peace to humanity, and I claim that it involves peace even to animals, plants, and manifestations of nature. It is saddening that all accusing fingers are now pointed at religions as the hotbed of accursed terrorism.
We should know that Islam - as a religion – disallows Muslims to draw arms, except in case of warding off aggression against one’s life, property, or homeland. It never happened that Muslims fought others to force them into Islam. Rather, Islam views non-Muslims - Christians, Jews, or followers of any other faith - not through the lens of hostility, tension, or conflict, but rather through affection and human fraternity.
The Qur’an explicitly states that the relationship of Muslims with others who are peaceful to them - whatever their religions or sects might be - is one of righteousness and fairness. It suffices here to note that Islam is the last link in the chain of the one Divine Religion called Islam, starting with Adam, through Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and ending with Muhammad (peace be with them all). Moreover, Islam states that in all these messages, the origin of the religion is the same. Hence, the Qur’an mentions the Torah and the Gospel in terms of utmost respect and recognition. In the Noble Qur’an, Allah Almighty describes both the Torah and the Gospel as “guidance and light” (Qur’an 5: 46). In the Qur’an too, the Qur’an itself is described as a Scripture “confirming” previous heavenly Scriptures.
And though Islam is organically linked to all heavenly religions, it specifically assigns a special status to the Christians, addressing them as the closest of all people to Muslims. Therefore, the relation between the followers of the two faiths is one of affection, compassion, and fraternity. Many religious figures in Christianity also express their pleasure with what they read in the Qur’an and the Prophetic Hadith about Christianity and the Christians in general, and about Jesus and Mary (peace be with them) in particular. I believe the messages of religious fraternity in Islam and Christianity are enough to build bridges of sustainable understanding and continuous rapprochement between Muslims and Christians in the East and the West, if they consider the two religions in an objective view free from materialist or hegemonic ambitions, and away from monopolistic appropriation of religion or religion-mongering for material purposes, which come at the expense of moral and humanitarian principles.
To come out of its stifling crises today, our contemporary world needs to establish the principle of pluralism and the acknowledgement of difference, on the grounds that difference is a natural law acknowledged in the Noble Qur’an. It is the basis for international relations law in Islam, which necessitates “acquaintance” among humans and by corollary dialogue with allies and opponents alike. Hence, it is difficult for a Muslim to imagine molding people, nations and peoples into one religion or culture, since Allah has willed that people be different, even in their fingerprints. The Qur’an says, “Had your Lord so willed, He would have certainly made humanity one single community (of believers), but they will always differ.” (Qur’an 11: 118) The believer in the Qur’an has no doubt that neither power nor civilization can alter the will of Allah in this regard. In this sense, theories advocating homogeneity among humans, in religion or culture, are viewed as sheer reveries, childishly frivolous.
Therefore, it is natural and logical for Islam to open up to other religions, and to extend bridges of coexistence and mutual peace, up to approving the marriage of a Muslim man to a Christian or a Jewish woman, who can keep her religion despite the marriage. In this case, the Muslim husband is not allowed to prevent his non-Muslim wife from going to the church or the temple, nor prevent her from practicing her rituals at his home.
The relationship among people is thus one of acquaintance, cooperation, fraternity and fair exchange of interests and benefits. This is meant to sustain human life and populate the earth. There is no place in the social philosophy of Islam for relations based on conflict or economic, cultural, and military hegemony, between nations or peoples. This is because the logic of the Qur’an is based on a tangible and observable truth, namely that Allah created people with different beliefs, religions, colors, languages, and even characteristic features. So, it is impossible to force one creed, religion, or culture on them. Any such attempt is doomed to failure, as it would mean swimming against the current or the will of Allah Almighty regarding His creation. From this genuine religious, national, and humanitarian point of view, we confront the claims of violence, extremism and terrorism, exposing their malicious nature aimed at sowing division and fragmentation among the people of the same nation. Our primary goal is to work on consolidating the principles of citizenship, dialogue and coexistence.