Islam: A Message of Peaceful Coexistence

By Prof. M.S. TAJAR

(Former Lecturer, University of the Philippines
A!str"ct
The very term Islam means peace as well as submission to God Almighty.
In order to understand the true Message of Islam and its peaceful Co-existence
with other religions one should concentrate on the authentic sources of the Islamic
teachings i.e. The !oly "ur#an itself and the life and the practices of the !oly $rophet
Mohammad %$.&.'.!.( during his own time before the Islamic rule was hi-)ac*ed by
some extremist fundamentalist opportunistic +halifahs ,ultans $ashas immediately
after the death of the !oly $rophet up to the last -ttoman Caliph in Tur*ey in ./01.
The extremist Taliban 2ahhabis ,alafis using the name of Islam have *illed
more Muslim men women and children in Afghanistan $a*istan Ira3 ,omalia and
4emen than they have *illed the non-Muslims5 And that shows how much of Islamic
faith they have and how un-Islamic they have become5
6 6 6 6
6 The word Islam itself means7 $eace8,halom9 It also means submission to the will of
the -ne and -nly God.
6 :-# you who have ;aith5 <nter into :,I=M> %submission to -ne God8$eace( all
together9 and follow not the ?evil.> !oly "ur#an 070@A.
6 :%Tell the unbelievers -# Mohammad5( To you your religion and to me mine.>
!oly "ur#an .@/7B
6 :There is no compulsion in religion...> !oly "ur#an 070CB
6>If Islam means submission to the will of God then we are all Muslims5##
?.2. Goethe %.D.@-.DA0( in his :<astern ?iwan> after reading the !oly "ur#an.
A #onfession
&efore I start to explain further about those "ur#anic verses which I 3uoted above I
must have a confession a mea culpa so to spea* a religious confession indeed. <specially
considering the fact that I am now spea*ing in a prestigious Catholic institution li*e ?e =a
,alle 'niversity and more particularly because I am at the presence of some eminent
Catholic $riests5
1
4ou *now I was born a Muslim in a religious family with an Alim as a father and I
even grew up in the religious schools of the !oly City of "om in Iran which is the seat of the
,hi-ah Islam as Eatican is to Catholicism yet it too* a German =ady ,cholar li*e Annemarie
,chimmel %./00-0@@1( to remind me or actually to awa*en me to this reality that7 Islam#s
most earth-sha*ing Message was never :Fihad> as some Taliban and 2ahhabis and ,alafis
are promoting falsely in the name of this beautiful religion %and their 2estern Geo-con
counterparts among the Fewish and Christian communities are also brandishing that same
slogan and fighting fire with fire5(. &ut rather the most important Message of Islam is an
amaHingly forgotten or over loo*ed one i.e.7 A $eaceful Co-existence with all other
religions who wish to live in peace with us5
Miss Annemarie ,chimmel who spent her entire adult life studying Islam and she
even lectured in some prominent universities of the Muslim and 2estern world li*e the
Istanbul 'niversity in Tur*ey the $un)ab 'niversity in $a*istan as well as the American and
German universities not only 3uoted and explained these "ur#anic verses relating to a
peaceful co-existence with other religions of the world but she also bac*ed them up further
by presenting the :ways and practices of the !oly $rophet Mohammad
$.&.'.!.
during his own
life time and his role as the ,upreme =eader of the Muslims both as a spiritual leader as
well as the head of the Islamic ,tate in Arabia circa B1@ A.?.>
=oo* at the following examples for instance7
..( The !oly $rophet and his true followers did not start any :fight> with the unbelievers
of Mecca in their own City of &irth I Mecca. In fact it was they who were being persecuted
by the people of Mecca for their faith and they had to migrate to other countries li*e to the
Christian +ingdom of Abyssinia %today#s <thiopia( or they had to move to 4athrib or Medina
to save their own lives5
0.( All the ma)or wars that too* place later li*e I The &adar the !onain the +handa3
or the +haibar etc. were in fact :defensive reactions to the aggressions that were perpetrated
by the Meccans or by the others against the Islamic community in Madinah.>
%4es there were also some :GhaHawat> those missionary acts to educate the Arab
&edouins and other masses about :a new Messenger and the Message that there is only -ne
God and Mohammad is !is Messenger and a call to &rotherhood 'nity <3uality before
-ne God and peace in the war-torn tribal land of Arabia and beyond.>(
&ut %as long as the !oly $rophet was alive( never there was any coercion or conversion to
Islam by force. That#s why anyone who wanted to *eep his old religion could do so but he
would have to pay a tax %as the Muslims also were obliged to pay Ja*at +hums etc.( which
was called FiH-ya from the old $ahlavi8$ersian word :Ga-Heet> or :+haraa)> from the old
$ersian tax system called :!a-raag> etc.( In other words while the attempt was to ma*e a
unified Islamic country among the divided tribes of Arabia yet there was no coercion to
conversion to the faith> at all %as we see in the Christian In3uisitions or the Fewish
persecutions of the Christians or vice-versa in those days or even later(.
1.( In fact during the life time of the $rophet Mohammad
$.&.'.!.
the Fewish community of
+haibar were living side by side in peace with the Muslim community in the City ,tate of
Madinah and the two communities were actually engaged in mutual cooperation and in
various beneficial businesses with each other9 'ntil finally the Fews bro*e their peace
compact with the Muslims and they also )oined with the other enemies of the Islamic ,tate in
the war of :All $arties> or Al-AhHab %,ee Chapter 11 of the !oly "ur#an(.
2
#h"n$es "fter the Prophet Moh"mm"% (&'( A.).
I should also admit the fact that after the death of the $rophet Mohammad
$.&.'.!.
%B10
A.?.( the Islamic ;aith and its Message of $eace were :hi)ac*ed> by some fundamentalist
extremist groups who were violent not only against the non-Muslims but they even
massacred the :$eace loving ?escendants of the !oly $rophet himself5> %As did the Fews
with the righteous children of Abraham and as the extremist Christians did after Fesus
Christ at different periods as well(.
The history of Islam shows very clearly that some +halifahs ,ultans and $ashas
from the early days of this beautiful religion up to the last days of the -ttoman <mpire in
Tur*ey in ./01 have abused the peaceful message of the !oly $rophet and !is &lessed
?escendants or the Ahlul &ayt. And today the extremist murderers of the :Taliban-2ahhabi-
,alafi Al-,habab and Abu ,ayyaf> organiHations who have murdered so many Muslim
men women and children in the Islamic countries li*e in Afghanistan $a*istan Ira3
,omalia 4emen etc. are doing the same things in the name of Islam. These murderers have
*illed more Muslims in the name Islam than they have *illed the non-Muslims. %Then you
start to 3uestion their claims to Islam in the first place or the hands behind them who
finance and lead them. As did the CIA to the Mu)ahidin of Afghanistan8the Talibans of
today5(.(.
Fust a wee* ago %,ept. D 0@.@( we witnessed four suicide bombings by the $a*istani
Taliban *illing over a hundred ,hi#ah Muslims %1@K of the entire Muslims of the world(
during the !oly Month of Lamadan while those poor people were fasting and they were
attending the ?eath Anniversary of Imam Ali and the rest were attending a demonstration in
support of the $alestinian people and against the Israeli occupation of Ferusalem#s Islamic
sites which is illegal under International =aw.
If you loo* at those murderous heartless and brainless thugs %who loo* more li*e the
Fewish extremists calling :Crucify him5 Crucify him5> rather than a person of Islam i.e. of
:peace> or ,halom5( closely then you will have a clear picture of how those extremist
elements %or the :revisionists> as the political scientists would call them( have actually
hi)ac*ed the entire Message of Islam and they have turned :Islam> into a totally different
message I i.e. of !atred Murder Mayhem &loodshed and Misery to the Muslims and the
non-Muslims ali*e I but still I would li*e to emphasiHe the fact that they have *illed more
Muslims than they have *illed non-Muslims5 %,o who are they reallyM(
A *um!le Su$$estion
Ta*ing all those facts into consideration I would li*e to humbly suggest that in order
to better understand the true Message of Islam we should concentrate our own research more
on the authentic "ur#anic verses and the well-documented preaching and practices of the
genuine Muslim leaders i.e. the !oly $rophet of Islam and those whom he had approved of
rather than the preaching and practices of those whom he did not approve of and they were
in fact :the &lac* ,heeps> of Islam I those who *illed their own Muslim brethren rather than
fight the invasions and aggressions against Islam and thus showing their true color5
Some More +ur,"nic -erses
3
Gow to support further these views and in order to shed more light on the true
Message of a peaceful co-existence with %and not violence against( the rest of humanity that
Islam espouses here are some genuine "ur#anic instructions to the Muslims as well as to the
non-Muslims and the rest of humanity as a whole7
.( :-# Man*ind5 2e have created all of you from a male and a female... %you are
actually brothers and sisters9 so no discriminations( The best of you in the <yes of
Allah are those who are purer in their characters.> !oly "ur#an N/7.1
0( :%-# Mohammad5( Tell the $eople of the &oo* %Fews Christians Ma)ais ,abeians(
come to that word which is common between us %let#s unite(... to worship none but
God Almighty5> !oly "ur#an 17BN
1( :The &elievers %Muslims( the Fews the Christians the ,abeians anyone who
believes in God and does righteous deeds %even a Joroasterian Manechian Abadian
etc.( shall have their rewards with their =ord and they have nothing to fear or to
worry about5> !oly "ur#an 07B0 and C7D0
N( :Call to the $ath of your =ord by wisdom %O =ogic( and beautiful preaching9 and
argue with them in the best and most gracious manner...> !oly "ur#an .B7.0C
C( :If they %non-believers( argued with you )ust tell them7 I and my followers have
submitted ourselves to God Almighty5> !oly "ur#an 170@
B( :...And if they still refused then your duty is )ust to convey the Message5> %Ibid(
D( :And if they refused well we have not sent you to guard over them %force anyone(
your duty is )ust to bring them the Message...> !oly "ur#an N07NA
A( :Allah is our =ord and %!e is( also your =ord9 to us our deeds and to you your deeds9
=et there be no 3uarrels between you and us5> !oly "ur#an N07.C
There are some 0@ more similar verses in the !oly "ur#an )ust to emphasiHe the fact
that the !oly $rophet of Islam
$.&.'.!.
came to preach and not to push or to pressure the
people into the faith %because according to the !oly "ur#an there is no compulsion in
religion( and he carried out the noble tradition of the great $rophets before him %Adam
Goah Abraham Moses Fesus etc.( very faithfully to the last day of his life on this earth.
&ut what too* place after him or what some other extremists are doing in his name today is
not Islamic because as they say7 4ou can never be more popish than the $ope5 And I thin*
the &ishops and the $riests in our gathering also agree with me wholeheartedly5
Pope Bene%ict .-/ "n% /sl"mic Toler"nce
Gow that we are tal*ing about the misunderstood Message of Islam which is
unfortunately twisted by some twisted-minded so-called Muslims themselves and it is also
mista*en by some non-Muslims and even by the Catholic Church hierarchy I also would li*e
to discuss a little about what the present $ope !is !oliness &enedict PEI said regarding
Islam and Christian encounters which caused a lot of controversies debates and protests
internationally.
-n ,ept..0 0@@B the $ope while lecturing on the issue of Leligious Tolerance %or
intolerance if you please( in the German 'niversity of Losenberg made some controversial
remar*s about the violence in the history of Islam. Then he 3uoted a certain historian as
saying7 :?uring the siege of Constantinople %now Istanbul in Tur*ey( in .1/. A.?. while the
armies of Islam laid the siege around the city inside it the intellectual debate between Islam
and Christianity was also going on between the &yHantine <mperor Manuel II $aleologos
and a :learned $ersian> Muslim who represented the intellectual side of Islam %see :The
4
International !erald Tribune> ,ept..N 0@@B p.. :The =ecture of $ope &enedict PEI at the
Losenberg 'niversity> Germany ,ept..0 0@@B(.
The Catholic Church later explained that the $ope was actually 3uoting the opinion of
a certain person many centuries ago when there was less information among the followers of
different religions and less tolerance which I fully agree. And here I would li*e to 3uote
another "ur#anic verse to show how favourable the Islamic views about other religions
especially Christianity has been since the early days of Islam.
The !oly "ur#an says and I 3uote7
:%-# Mohammad5( 4ou will find the *indest religious fol*s to the &elievers %Muslims(
those who are called Christians5 &ecause amongst them are the priests the selfless
missionaries and they are very humble people.> !oly "ur#an C7AC
%2e have already seen this very clearly when the early Muslims QCirca B.@ A.?.R
who were being persecuted by their own Arab countrymen in Mecca went to
Abyssinia8<thiopia and they were welcomed by the Christian +ing of <thiopia and his
people. This has been repeated many times in history.(
Another interesting positive point that I personally noticed in that lecture of $ope
&enedict was7 :2hile the war between the Tur*ish -ttoman Muslims and the Christian rulers
was going on there was a religious debate also ta*ing place between the &yHantine <mperor
Manuel II and a $ersian Muslim scholar.>
That $ersian Muslim scholar li*e many other $ersian Muslims including the ,aracins
%the +horasanis the Iranian Muslims( and their Islamic scholars were the :brains> of Islam
while the -ttoman Tur*s and the Arab rulers were involved in many un-Islamic atrocities of
which all the Muslims are being accused and abused until today.
This )ust goes to show that :every coin has two sides> and Islam is no exception. The
history of Islam is not )ust of those abuse of power by some power-hungry and war-
mongering tribes of Arabia or the Tur*ish warriors or the Taliban8$ashtun highlanders in the
mountains of Afghanistan or $a*istan5 &ut there is another side to it which is tolerant
rational and intellectual too and that is what we are trying to discover here. %Gote7 The
$ersian8,aracin Muslim scholars comprise some A@K of the entire Muslim intellectuals and
philosophers in the history of Islam. &ut unfortunately and mista*enly many of them have
been called :Arabs> in the world history boo*s )ust because of their Islamic %Arabic( names
and their religious identity(. The best *nown among the $ersian Muslim scholars are7
..( ,alman Al-;arsi %the first $ersian convert to Islam and a respectable scholar the great
companion of the !oly $rophet of Islam B00 A.?.(
0.( Fabir &in !ayyan Al-Tusi Al-+ufi %of the Algebra from whose name :Fabir> the word
Algebra was born and the founding father of Modern Chemistry in the world which is
also called Alchemy(
1.( Imamul !aramain Al-Fowaini %the first Muslim scholar to be called Imam of both
Mecca and Medinah(
N.( ;a*hri LaHi %the great interpreter8commentator8mofassir of the !oly "ur#an(
C.( Al-+hawraHmi %the father of Algorithm from whose name :Algorithm> was born a
pioneer in modern mathematics the :Arabic numerals> the :Jero> the modern
5
geometry and engineering. <ven the word engineering in Arabic language i.e. !indasa
and Mohandis come from the $ersian word :!a-andaHa> meaning :The Measurement>(
B.( Imam Abu !anifah %the Greatest Imam of the ,unni branch of Islam( from +ufa
%+uppa O the :!ills> an ancient $ersian border outpost now in Ira3#s border with Iran(
D.( Imam Ahmad !anbal %the second great Imam in the ,unni Islam(
A.( &u*hari %collector of Al-&u*hari !adith &oo* the greatest boo* after the !oly "ur#an
according to the ,unnah Islam( Al-,ahih I
/.( Muslim %author of the second great &oo* of Islamic Traditions8!adith( Al-,ahih II
.@.( Gasa-iy %of Gasa +horasan province of $ersia( Al-,ahih III
...( Abu ?awood ,a)estani of the ,istan-&aluchistan of Iran %!adith( Al-,ahih IE
.0.( Tirmidi of TirmiH ancient central Asia8$ersia %!adith( Al-,ahih E
.1.( Ibne Ma)a Caspini %"aHwini( an expert in Islamic Traditions from "aHwin of Iran
%!adith( Al-,ahih EI
.N.( Avecinna %Abu Ali ,ina( the Greatest intellectual mind in the world during the Middle
Ages %,ee the :International !erald Tribune> -ct. ..80@@.(
.C.( LaHi %LhaHes the discoverer of the Industrial Alcohol and also the ,ulphuric Acid etc.
who was also a great physician and treated meningitis chic*en pox and other diseases
in .1
th
century A.?.(
.B.( Ibn-!aHm of Andalusia %a ,aracin of $ersian -rigin and a great Muslim scholar of
,pain I //N-.@BN A.?.(
.D.( Ali Jar-yab of Andalusia %a ,aracin of $ersian origin and the greatest musician and
artist I intellectual of ,pain. ?eath AC0 A.?.(
.A.( Al-+irmani %the ,aracin musician of AndalucSa ,pain Circa AB@ A.?.(
./.( ;arabi %philosopher linguist( from ;arab8;aryab of Central Asia %inventor of several
musical instruments(. !e was also a great philosopher *nown as the :,econd Master>
after Aristotle.
0@.( &iruni %historian geography master( from Central Asia Ancient $ersia
0..( +haw)a Gaseer Tousi %philosopher8astrologer( from Tus of +horasan %O,aracin( QGote7
A part of the moon has been named after him by the GA,AR
00.( ,hei*h Tabarsi %!adith( from +horasan Iran
01.( ,hei*h Al-Ansari %;i3ah( from ,husha8,usa Iran
0N.( "aHi Gurullah ,hush-Tari %Martyr of Islamic <ducation in India(
0C.( -mar +hayyam %the great mathematician and the creator of the world#s most accurate
calendar until today which is called the Falali calendar. &y the way he is also the
second best selling poet in the history of man*ind :The Lubaiyyat of -mar +hayyam>
the most translated boo* after the &ible5(
0B.( Lumi %the great Islamic scholar ,ufi and the overall best selling poet in the entire
history of the world literature5(. !is shrine is now in +unya present day Tur*ey.
0D.( Imam Tabari %the greatest interpreter of the !oly "ur#an in the !istory of Islam(
0A.( Abul ;ara) Al-Isfahani %=exicon( author of the classic Arabic wor* :Al-Aghani> %A/D-
/BD A.?.(
0/.( ,hai*h ,ah-rewardi %,ufi(
1@.( Maula ,adra of ,hiraH %$hilosophy(
1..( Ibne Mus*uyah %$hilosophy( QGote7 his family name is derived from the $ersian word
:Mus*8Mushg as are the names of Mas*-Ea %Moscow( Muscat and ?e-mascus and
the Iranian cities of Meshgin-,hahr and Andi-MeshgR
10.( Al-TaftaHani %Arabic Grammar(
11.( Al-Jama*h-,hari %Arabic =iterature8!adith8"ur#an(
1N.( Abdul "adir Gilani %OFangi ?oost the Great ,ufi Teacher I .@DD-..BB A.?.(
1C.( +wa)a Mo-inud din Cheshti of A)mer %India(
6
1B.( 4a3ub Al-+indi %whose last name is a $ersian word meaning :The ,cholar> :The
CitiHen> but he is called :Arab $hilosopher> by mista*e5(. This great man was the first
philosopher in the Islamic history.
1D.( Mohammad Al-+olaini %of +olain near Tehran today( of !adith and Islamic
Traditions.
1A.( Allamah Ma)lisi %Master of Islamic Traditions and !adith( of Isfahan Iran
1/.( ,ibwaih of ,hiraH %the father of Arabic Grammar(
N@.( !afiH of ,hiraH %:The greatest and the best poet ever to wal* the <arth5> according to
his American translator ?aniel =adins*y Qsee :The Gift Collection of !afiH#s poems
.//A G.4. ',AR. !afiH was also adored and :worshipped> by F.2. Goethe the greatest
poet of Germany and <urope as a whole(.
N..( +halil bin Ahmad8;iruH Abadi the father of Arabic =exicon8?ictionary whose famous
?ictionary :Al-"amus> became the ,tandard word for :?ictionary> in Arabic
=anguage %li*e Jerox for the photo copier5(
N0.( Al-,hahristani of the Classic :Milal wa Gihal> in Arabic language
N1.( Ibne Mo3af-fa %:LuH &eh> also called :The ;ather of Arabic $rose>( the $ersian
translator of the .@@@ $ersian stories into Arabic which is mista*enly labelled as :The
Arabian Gights>9 Ibne Mo3af-fa of $ersia was also the first man who translated the
Gree* boo*s of logic and philosophy into Arabic. This caused an explosion of Gree*
wisdom mixed with the Islamic philosophy and that#s how the Islamic CiviliHation
%mista*enly called the :Arab> CiviliHation )ust because it was written in Arabic( was
born. This young %1B year old( genius translator was later burned alive :In3uisition
style> by some Arab rulers who were so )ealous of his perfect Arabic language and
boo*s that they accused him of blasphemy and :trying to write in perfect Arabic in
order to challenge the !oly &oo* of Islam i.e. Al-"ur#an5> Gentlemen5 That#s what I
call the :!i)ac*ing of Islam> by the extremists.
NN.( Ibn +halli*an I the famous Muslim historian %mista*en as an Arab but his real name
spea*s for itself that he was from the well *nown :&arma*i> $ersian aristocrats and
ministers of !aarun Ar-Lashid the Abbassid Caliph(. !e is from Irbil %now part of Ira3(
one of the ancient historic cities of the +urdish8$ersian people. !is full name is7 Ahmad
--- Al-&arma*i Al-Irbili. %,ee :The $ersian Games> by Mane*a Gandhi8India .//N
p..A@(.
NC.( FamaTlud ?in Asad Abaadi %*nown as :Al-Afghani> I .A1A-.A/D A.?.( the pioneer of
the :&ac*-to-Islam-Movement> in the Arab and the Muslim world. %,ee the
:International !erald Tribune> Fan..080@@C(. This man whose identify as an :Iranian>
was discovered later was called by the <gyptian extremist fundamentalist 2ahhabi
author Mr. Lashid Lada %./0@s( as7 :A dog from the $ersian dogs>5 %+albun min *ilabil
A)am5(
&ut to defend that :silent man> from the bar*s of these )ealous guys I would li*e to
introduce his personality further to my readers and to the generations to come long
after we are all gone7
,eyyed Famalud ?in Asad Abaadi went far beyond his country %Iran( and he influenced
some of the greatest minds in the Arab and the Muslim world from Afghanistan and
India up to Tur*ey <gypt ,yria and even <urope and here is how7
.. The national poet of Tur*ey %and a host of other Tur*ish intellectuals( Mr. 4urda
"ul %.AB/ I ./NN( was one of the students of Famalud ?in and a great follower
7
and fan of him when the :teacher> used to lecture in Istanbul Academy in the
.AD@#s.
,o were the great Tur*ish reformers li*e ,aeed Gursi Mohammad Aa*if etc.
etc.
In the Arab world the greatest Islamic scholar of <gypt in the last 0@@ years
,hei*h Mohammad Abdoh %.AN/ I ./@C( who later on became the Lector of the
Al-AHhar 'niversity in <gypt %the oldest university in the worldM( and the Grand
Mufti of the ,unni Islam had also the honor of being one of the students of
Famalud ?in.
,o was the great <gyptian author and scholar ;areed 2a)di and several other
<gyptian literati.
And last but not the least was his great follower ?r. Mohammad I3bal the
Indian born national poet of $a*istan %Govember / .ADD - April 0. ./1A( and the
ideologue behind the creation of the first Islamic Lepublic in ./ND who probably
got that idea from the teachings of Asad Aabaadi%OThe Islamic Levivalism(
although he never met the great teacher personally.
$lus many other great Muslim leaders who directly or indirectly were influenced
by Asad Aabaadi#s views even when he himself was in $aris in .AAN publishing
his monumental magaHine :Al- -rwatul 2oth-3a> in Arabic language in order to
awa*en the Arab world to the :&ac*-to-Islam movement and the Islamic
Lenaissance %-# boy5 -# boy5 2hat an interesting :$ersian dog8catM> he was5(
NB.( Ayatullah Luhollah +homeini %./@N - ./A/ A.?.( I the greatest spiritual-political leader
of the Muslims in the last .@@@ years. !e lead a successful Islamic Levolution %./D/
A.?.( and he established the Islamic Government %as did the !oly $rophet in B00 A.?.(.
There is no other example of any similar Islamic Levolution8Government in the world
history li*e it except the first one that was established by the !oly $rophet
$.&.'.!.
himself5
Go wonder Ahmad &in &ella the revolutionary leader of Algeria called it7 :The
Miracle of our Age5> %see Time MagaHine Apr. ./D/(.
&ut the most prominent among the $ersian Muslim scholars was9
ND.( Imam Mohammad Al-GhaHHali of +horasan %O,aracin( who according to some
2estern orientalists and several Muslim Furists was7 :The greatest scholar in Islam
after the $rophet Mohammad himself5(66
That#s why even Ibn +haldun the pioneering Muslim sociologist from Gorth Africa
%.110 - .N@B A.?.( clearly stated that7 :The biggest group of Islamic scholars were the
:A)ams5> %the $ersians(. %,ee7 A.A. Eelayati :The CiviliHations of Islam and Iran>
Tehran 0@@C p.CB@(
8
The Role of the S"r"cins in /sl"mic (Ar"!0 #ivili1"tion
In the early history of Islam the ,aracins %+horasanis the $ersian Muslims8Iranians(
lead the nation of Islam9 and they carried on with its civiliHation from Central Asia up to
China and India and from $ersia up to the Gorth Africa and eventually the $ersian Muslim
general called Tari3 &in Jiad of the City of !amedan Iran %the man after whom Gibraltar
was named( con3uered ,pain in D.. A.?.
.
and he and his followers started the first and the
best universities in <urope of the ?ar* Ages where the Christians the Fewish and the
Muslim scholars studied and researched together in peace5% In those days when the
<uropean *ings and nobility could not even write their own names the peasants in the
Muslim ,pain could read and write5 All this than*s to the ,aracin Muslim rule in Andalucia5
,ee Foseph Macape#s :The Moorish City of ,pain>.
This noble ,aracin tradition was continued by another ,aracin %$ersian Muslim( ruler
called Musa &in Gosair %the $ersian governor of Gorth Africa who had sent Tari3 bin Jiad
for the Andalusian expedition a year earlier and the ,panish town of :Ealdemossa>O&aldah
Moosa or Moosa City is named after himUsee :+hadamatV>by $rof.M.Motahhari p.B@A(
and this lead to7 :The Glory that was Al-!ambra...> a tolerant culture and civiliHation that is
unparalleled in <urope up to this day5666
2hile the <uropeans %the ,wiss the ;rench the &elgians the ?utch the Germans
and even the Eatican( are not tolerant of a minaret of a Muslim Mos3ue9 and when the
Americans in the land of mil* and honey and the ;irst Amendment and Thomas Fefferson
and George 2ashington cannot even allow a Mos3ue8or the Islamic center of Cordoba to be
built near the vicinity of the Ground Jero or anywhere else in the '.,.A. for that matter and
the infamous American $astor Terry Fones once wanted even to burn the !oly "ur#an on
,ept. .. 0@.@ %as his white brother !itler used to do in the ./1@#s( the ,aracins of ,pain
in the A
th
century A.?. in the ,panish cities of Madrid Civilia Granada Cordoba and
Madinah AH-Hahra were building and even financially supporting the Churches the
,ynagogues the Mos3ues $alaces 'niversities for every human being I be it a Few a
Gentile a Christian an Atheist a Muslim or anything else5
1
Tariq Bin Ziad, who conquered Spain, was the slae! o" #usa Bin $osair, and %ein& a
slae, he could not %e an 'ra%,! %ecause the 'ra%s would not (a)e a slae o" their own,
%ut onl* "ro( the other nations + i,e, #awali-#aula
./'0a(i-1ersian-'"rican-Ber%er-Tur)ish, etc,2 see3 ', ', 4ela*ati The 5sla(ic and 1ersian
6iili7ations! Tehran, 2885 + p, 759,
$ow, co(pare that 'ra% slaer* o" the conquered nations .i,e, #awali2 with 6*rus the
:reat o" 1ersia, who so(e 2,588 *ears a&o, upon conquerin& Ba%*lonia, li%erated all the
enslaed ;ews, and he declared Slaer*! ille&al, in the entire 1ersian <(pire, the =rst
e(pire in histor*, .See3 >orld ?istor*3 %* 1hilip :rossier, $ew @or), AS', 1974, p, 172,
'lso, chec) the 6*rus 6*linder o" the ?u(an Bi&hts! the 6la* Ta%lets, so(e 2,588 *ears
old, which is now at the possession o" the British #useu(,
This was done %* 6*rus o" 1ersia, so(e 2,588 *ears ahead o" '%raha( Cincoln, in the
AS' .De%ruar* 12, 1889 + 'pril 15, 18652 and the slae tradin& nations o" <urope, li)e
<n&land, Drance, etc,
$ow, was 6*rus the :reat also a Saracin! or EhorasaniF! 5 dare sa*3 ?e was the "atherG
9
This ,aracin tradition of the $ersian Muslims and their tolerance for other religions
is evident even in this highly polariHed world and these dangerous days. There is probably
not a single Al-"aeda member among the $ersian Muslims5 That#s why we can see that in
the tragedies of the /8.. in Gew 4or* City and the D8D of =ondon and Madrid and Mumbai
etc.etc. the suicide bombers came from the Arab ,audis 4emenis Moroccans <gyptians
$a*istanis and even some home-grown bombers in ;rance Germany the ',A. &ut not even
a single ,aracin %+horasani8Iranian( has ever been indicated in such illogical atrocities
against the Muslims or the non-Muslims for that matter.
The role of the $ersian Muslims since the early days of Islam has always been
tolerance intellectual contributions to the Islamic ,cience Mathematics Medicine
Chemistry etc.etc. which are unfortunately recorded in the world history boo*s as :The Arab
CiviliHation> :Arabes3ue> :Moorish> %Moroccan(. &ut the truth of the matter is that as the
$ope also observed %and Ibne +haldun the eminent Muslim sociologist stated even before(
the intellectual role of Islam almost always has been represented by the non-Arabs
especially the $ersian Muslim scholars9 2e can see that even the greatest musician of
Andalusia in ,pain during the A
th
century was a $ersian Muslim %,aracin( by the name of Ali
Jar-yab %Arabs call him :Jarib5>( whose last name is a $ersian word that means :goldsmith 8
gold miner.>
Ali 2"r3y"!4 The first m"n of the 5urope"n Ren"iss"nce
Ali Jar-yab was a true man of the Lenaissance in <urope during the /
th
century long
before =eonardo da Einci %.NC0-.C./ A.?.( and other newly awa*ened intellectuals in
;lorence or the rest of <urope appeared in the .N
th
-.D
th
century5 Jar-yab the $ersian Muslim
artist of Andalusia ,pain %?. AC0 A. ?( was the pioneering man who in the /
th
century A.?.
:taught fashion designing to the <uropeans5> and he also :taught them the three s3uare
meals a day5> instead of the :normal> <uropean#s :two meals a day> %probably because of
poverty lac* of food or even lac* of education and sophistication(. ,ee :Gardesh-gari>
Cultural MagaHine Tehran March 0@@C.xxx
!e also taught the <uropeans the :sophisticated $ersian %Islamic( table manners of
using spoon and for* etc.> that <urope did not *now about %and even some non-$ersian
:Muslims> also don#t *now until today5(.&efore Martin =uther#s $rotestant movement some
Catholics of Germany believed that for* was the tool of the ?evil5% see ?2-TE German
channel -ct. 1.80@.@(
To better understand the ,aracin contributions to <uropean culture one should also
ta*e note of the =atin %Moorish( music in the Iberian $eninsula - ,pain $ortugal and later on
in =atin America the -ud the ?ulcimer the ,arabandan ?ances the ;lamenco the ;lute
the $oetry the Gitanos the Mosaics of Al-!amra and its !eavenly ;ountains the ,hiraH of
Peres the :Tur*ish &ath> the paper Industry of Andalusia the $endulum and the early
cloc*s the compass the $ersian 2heel in <urope The :?amasin ,words> steel
%OMetallurgy( the Austrolabe Losa =utea %O$ersian yellow( the :$ersianas> or the so called
Eenetian &linds and AHimina %OA)aminO$ersian Arts in <urope( etc. all with ,aracin
%$ersian( influences.6666
All those cultural intellectual and civiliHed practices and religious tolerance %in the
/
th
century A.?.( were being promoted and practiced by the ,aracins %$ersian Muslims( in the
heart of <urope %from Cordova to ,icily and up to the gates of $aris( even as the ,paniards
18
and the Catholic Church at that time were busy with their own infamous :In3uisitions5>.
They were burning alive thousands of their own Christian brethren as well as the Fews and
the Muslims or any other :infidels> and deviant persons that they could find li*e Galileo
Galilei and many other scientists philosophers intellectuals and free thin*ers for their
crimes of thin*ing or believing other than the Catholic Church5 %Maybe the Taliban of today
have also learned their lessons of brutality and intolerance from those Medieval In3uisitions
otherwise the true Islam has never taught its followers to commit brutality and murder as far
as the clear verses of the !oly "ur#an and the genuine teachings and the practices of the
!oly $rophet Mohammad
$.&.'.!.
and his &lessed Ahlul &ayt are concerned(.
The Sp"nish /ntoler"nce
2hile the Muslim ,aracin rulers of ,pain were so tolerant of the Fews and the
Christians their opponents i.e. the Catholic +ings of ,pain were the exact opposite. They
are *nown in history as :=os Leyes Catolicos>. They were so intolerant of other religions
that finally +ing ;erdinand %.NC0-.C.B A.?.( and "ueen Isabel of ,pain %the grandparents of
the present +ing of ,pain +ing Fuan Carlos( expelled all the Muslims and the Fews
%.NA@8/@#s A.?.( who were living in ,pain for almost A@@ years or more5 They forced others
to convert into Catholicism or to be put to death - a true example of the In3uisitions ethnic
cleansing and religious bigotry and intolerance made in ,pain.%According to Foseph Macape
in his boo* :Moorish city of ,pain> if ,pain had not expelled the Muslims the progress of
the western worldU<urope and America would have been faster and America could have
been discovered much earlier5(
These tragic events of religious intolerance which too* place in .NA@8/@#s A.?. lead
to the destruction of Granada Cordoba Civilia the Madinat Jahra etc. and the end of a
glorious era of the peaceful co-existence among the peoples of different faiths in <urope or
anywhere else for that matter5 'ntil in the year 0@@@ the then $resident of the Islamic
Lepublic of Iran ?r. Mohammad +hatami %another new ,aracinM( came up with the idea of
the :?ialogue of CiviliHations> and he presented this idea as a resolution to the 'nited
Gations which was officially adopted by the '.G. General Assembly and the year 0@@. was
declared by the '.G. as the year of the :?ialogue of CiviliHations>. It too* place )ust a few
months before the ,eptember .. 0@@. tragedy in Gew 4or* City and the rest as they say is
history5
As the Lomans before used to say7 "ue tempora "ue Moris5 %2hat a time5 2hat a
moral ban*ruptcy5(.
Footnotes:
6 Gote7 Islam is probably the only religion in the world that its name means its :Ideology>
and its ideology is its name i.e. $eace8,halom plus the ,ubmission to God Almighty.
Meanwhile Fudaism refers to a certain tribe or a race Christianity to the :$erson of Christ>
Joroastrianism refers to the $ersian $rophet Joroaster Manechianism to another $ersian
$rophet called Maani9 the same is with !induism &uddhism etc.
662ith regard the Fews persecuting the Christians the bible is full of many horror accounts
but in Arabia before Islam there was a :haulocaust> of the Christians of Ga)ran %in today#s
,audi Arabia( by a Fewish *ing of Arabia named ?hu Guwas. That :haulocaust> against the
Christians of Arabia by an :Arabian Fewish +ingdom> too* place in C01 A.?. a century
11
before the birth of Islam5 2hat can you say to thatM %;or details see Lobert ;. 2orth in :The
Gew 4or* Times> -ct.0080@.@ p.C(.
666,pea*ing of the ,aracins in Gorth Africa %Morroco AlgeriaTunisia =ibya etc.( it#s
interesting to note that in less than 0@@ years some 1@ $ersians8+horasanis8,aracins ruled in
those lands as Governors or ,ultans. ,till there are some of their descendants in Gorth
Africa. %see $rof.M.Motahhari W#+hadamatV>..
th
ed.p.1/C(.
6666?uring the :In3uisitions> the ,paniards would recogniHe the Muslims%Moors( from the
:True Catholics> by chec*ing whether they had ta*en a bath recently or not5 If they were
:bathed> then they were Muslims. %see7 ?r.Ali MaHaheri :=a Eie ?e Musulman Au Moyen
Age> $aris -./A0 p.0A(.
66666According to Ibn &atutah in his :Travels> during the Mughal rule in India there were
so many Iranians and so much of the $ersian influences that every foreigner was called
:+horasani>U$ersian8,aracin.%see Mr. Guri A. :The $ersian CiviliHation> Tehran Iran 0@@.
p.B1.(.
666666Go wonder the !oly $rophet Mohammad had already prophesied that7 :If
*nowledge be found in the stars there will be some $ersians to obtain it5>.
6666666Ma*ing paper was one of the many gifts of the ,aracins %$ersian Muslims( to ,pain
from where it also spread to the rest of <urope that did not *now about :paper> before5
The ,aracin paper industry %which they also got from the Chinese( went from ,pain to
Italy in .0D/ A.?. and from there to ;rance in .1NA then to Germany %of Gutenberg5( in
.1/@ and finally into %the IndustrialiHed( <ngland in .N/C A.?. %see ?r. A.A. Eelayati
:$ersian and Islamic CiviliHations> Tehran 0@@C p.@N.
66666666The ,aracin artists also influenced the Eenetian arts and architecture as one can
clearly see in the building of the churches monuments or facilities %$ersiana or Eenetian
&linds being one of them(. In <uropean paintings during the Lenaissance you could see
many guys with Muslim features attires li*e turbans and oriental loo*s9 Those were mostly
the influences of the $ersians8,aracin artists in Eenice in those days li*e Mahmoud Al-+urdi
who lived and painted in veniceduring the early .B
th
century A.?.
666666666Madinat Jahra the city built by the Muslim Caliphs of ,pain was the largest city
in <uropean history that was built from scratch. Its ruins were discovered in ./..-see &&C.
?ec. C80@.@.
References:
.. :The !oly "ur#an> %<nglish Translation( by $rof. Mir Ahmad Ali and Tafseer of !.I.
A3a $uya with the transliteration of $rof. M.,. Ta)ar $ublished by the Muslim
Academy of the $hilippines 0@@/ and by the Gational &oo*store in 0@.@ %Third
<dition(.
0. :The !oly "ur#an> %<nglish Translation( by Abdullah 4usuf Ali $ublished by the
Iranian Muslim ,tudents Assn. of the $hilippines with Transliteration by $rof. M.,.
Ta)ar ./AC.
12
1. :Gah)ul &alaagha> =ectures of Imam Ali by ,ayyid Ladhi and Ibne Abil !adid
Ansarian $ublications "om8Iran 0@@1.
N. :$rophet Mohammad and his !ousehold> %Ahlul &ayt( by 'stad Abdus ,amad .@
th
<dition Islamic Lesearch Center Manila $hilippines 0@@C.
C. :.@@ "uestions and Answers About7 ,hi-ah ,unnah and 2ahhabism> by 'stad
Abdus ,amad $ublished by the Islamic Lesearch Center Manila $hilippines 0@@D.
B. :A &rief ,tudy of the !oly "ur#an> by Amid al-"ommi printed by the Iranian
Muslim ,tudents Assn. of the $hilippines ./A..
D. :$rinciples of Islamic Government> by $rof. M.,. Ta)ar published by the Iranian
Muslim ,tudents Assn. of the $hilippines ./A0.
A. :Islamic CiviliHation and the Contribution of $ersia> a Lesearch wor* by $rof. M.,.
Ta)ar and ?r. Abdi &a*htiari of the 'niversity of the $hilippines ?iliman 0@@/.
/. :<cho of Islam> the Iranian MagaHine %<nglish <d.( March 0@.@.
.@. :Mah)ubah> the <nglish MagaHine for the Muslim 2omen Tehran Iran May 0@@/.
... :Gardesh-gari> Tourism and Culture MagaHine Iran ,eptember 0@@@.
.0. :Al-2ahdah> Iranian Cultural MagaHine %Arabic <d.( March 0@.@
.1. :$ersian and Islamic CiviliHations> by ?r. A.A. Eelayati %former ;oreign Minister of
Iran ./A@-./AA( Tehran 0@@C
.N. :+hadamaatV> by $rof. M. Motah-hari Tehran IranU.//A.
13