Daily Times

“Across the world, people are being singled out and hounded out simply for the faith they hold….[Middle Eastern Christians] are rooted in their societies, adopting and even shaping local customs. Yet…[a] mass exodus is taking place, on a Biblical scale. In some places, there is real danger that Christianity will become extinct.” These words, delivered by Baroness Sayeeda Warsi during a speech in the US, delivered at Georgetown University, have become a topic of debate on various forums — a majority of US commentators have attributed the phenomenon to the rise of ‘Islamist extremism’.

The commentators, while blaming this on ‘Islamist extremists’ have propounded the idea that the very concept of freedom, including religious freedom, has ancient Christian roots and have gone so far as to say that the modern ideas of liberty have their precursors rooted in Jewish scripture and the writings of early Christians. A columnist in a US paper of repute has even gone on to state that notions of universal human dignity and freedom were developed by medieval scholastics and Protestant reformers, and were first codified in the US’s founding.

It is extremely sad that extremism is being branded with one faith and tolerance with others. Is it merely a coincidence that Justinian, the Christian Byzantine Emperor who prescribed the death penalty for apostasy in the 4th century, is forgotten? Justinian is considered a saint amongst eastern orthodox Christians. This penalty became a part of Roman law in AD 535. Even as late as the 16th century, the French Protestant theologian John Calvin (1509–64) wished to extend religion by the sword and reserve death as the punishment for apostasy. He is quoted as saying, “Catholics should suffer the same penalties as those who were guilty of sedition, on the grounds that the majesty of God must be as strictly avenged as the throne of the king.” A neutral commentator, who knows the teachings of Christianity, would call these individuals and those following them extremists; he would never label them as ‘Christian extremists’. The separation of the church and state in Europe put an end to such inhumane and self-annihilating views. In time, when the government and faith get separated in the Middle East, this problem will also get solved there. Providing moral support to those working to achieve this shift in their native lands is the idea to work on. Only then will the extremists with political motives not be able to misuse faith to advance their political agenda.

Upholding human dignity, religious freedom and liberty, which are the birthright of all, are indeed noble causes. However, calling those who take them away as ‘Islamist’ is not only objectionable but untrue as well. While extremist they surely are, Islamist they are not. The teachings of the Muslim holy book, the holy Quran, about religious freedom, its message of human dignity and the actual conduct of the prophet of Islam (PBUH) are enough to prove the branding wrong.

The Quran says about religion freedom: “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (2:256). “To you be your way to me; mine” (106: 9). “Let him who will, believe, and let him who will, reject” (18:29). “Therefore, [O Prophet] give admonition, for you are one to admonish. You are not one to manage affairs” (88:21–22). For the places of worship, the Quran says: “And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned” (22:40). About the Christians and also the Jews, it says, “Lo! Those who believe and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans — whoever believeth in Allah and the last day and doeth right — surely their reward is with their lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve” (2: 62). “And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: lo! We are Christians. That is because there are among them priests and monks, and because they are not proud” (5:82).

The prophet of Islam (PBUH) received in Medina in the year 10 AH (631 CE) a delegation of 60 Christians from Najran, a territory near Yemen, about 450 miles south of Medina. They were received in his mosque, and the prophet (PBUH) allowed them to pray in the mosque, which they did facing east following the Byzantine Christian rite.

Even the later day Muslim rulers treated their subjects of other faiths humanely. The good treatment meted out to the Jews in the Ottoman Empire is a fact of history. In the 15th century, the Jews in Spain faced strong pressure to convert to Christianity. Many yielded and became Christians. In 1492, the king of Spain, Ferdinand, issued an edict to expel from Spain all Jews who had not converted. When the news of this expulsion reached the Ottoman Empire, Emperor Beyazit II issued a decree to welcome the Jews. A significant portion of those expelled thus came to the Ottoman Empire and settled mostly in its European parts. The Jewish persecution in Christian Europe rested on the ‘blood libel accusation’ that Jews kidnapped and murdered Christian children to use their blood as part of their religious rituals during Jewish holidays. In 1840, the Ottoman King, Sultan Abdulmecid, issued his famous ‘ferman’ concerning the blood libel accusation, saying: “And for the love we bear to our subjects, we cannot permit the Jewish nation, whose innocence for the crime alleged against them is evident, to be worried and tormented as a consequence of accusations, which have not the least foundation in truth.”

Unfortunately, in the present time, in most of the Middle East, it is not only the Christians who are vulnerable. The Shiites, Ahmedis and Jews all are at risk. For this, it is right to blame the governments of the region. However, commentators should not use the term ‘Islamist extremism’ and covertly blame the Islamic faith as the faith is not only tolerant but goes beyond that. Many global tragedies have their roots in misjudging a faith, yet the practice continues. The atrocities committed during the Holocaust by the Nazis and the infamous Inquisition to which the Muslims were subjected in medieval Spain, hold their roots in this. While it is both desirable and necessary to stop the flight of Christians from their birthplaces in the Arab world, and all appropriate means should be employed to ensure the due rights of these Christians and all other vulnerable people in their native lands, it is time we learn from our past mistakes and not let our judgement on a religion rest on perception. If we continue with this attitude we will be leading the world to the war of civilisations, which is the dream of extremists on both sides.

The writer can be reached at thelogicalguy@yahoo.com