Tolerance in Islam

Tolerance in Islam

Lily Zakiyah Munir, Jombang, East Java

In the last few years we have witnessed a series of terrorist
acts perpetrated in the name of Islam. It is hard to believe that
Indonesian Islam, which was traditionally respected for its
tolerance and respect for diversity and plurality, has now become
tarnished with various acts of heinous violence and intolerance.
Peaceful coexistence of diverse faiths and beliefs is being
challenged by radicalism. It seems easy now for some Muslims to
condemn others, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, as being
sinful, deviant, unbelievers or damned, as if they were little
gods who can look into people's hearts. This phenomenon is worth
reflecting on, as are also the factors that may have triggered
this radicalism.

In Islam, diversity and plurality are part of the divine
intent and purpose of God's creation.

To the radicals, the above Koranic precepts do not seem to
exist. They resort to different verses, quoting them textually in
isolation, and paying no attention to the socio-historical
context of their revelation. Neither do they relate them to the
moral and ethical values of Islam, such as mercy, justice, peace,
kindness and goodness.

Verses they often use to justify their intolerant conducts are
like QS al-Baqarah/2:120, "Never will the Jews and the Christians
be satisfied with you unless you follow their form of religion,"
or QS al-Ma'idah/5:51, "O you who believe, do not take the Jews
and Christians as allies. They are allies of each other, and he
among you who becomes their ally is one of them."

Another concept that needs clarification is jihad. Jihad
simply means to strive hard or to struggle in pursuit of a just
cause. The Prophet Muhammad said that the highest form of jihad
is the struggle waged to cleanse oneself from the vices of the
heart, selfish desires and ambitions.

From the Koranic point of view, jihad means a struggle on
intellectual grounds against those who oppress people, treat them
unjustly, subject them to torture and cruelty, and violate
legitimate human rights. The purpose of this struggle is to bring
about justice, peace and equality.

Apart from the ideological and spiritual meanings, struggle in
the physical sense is also considered as jihad. However, this has
to be carried out solely for defensive purposes. Jihad for acts
of aggression against innocent people would be unjust and a great
distortion of the true meaning of the term.

Jihad is often equated with "holy war." This notion, in Arabic
al-harb al-muqaddasah, does not exist in the Koran. War is never
holy; it is either justified or not. And if it is justified,
those who get killed in the battle are considered martyrs.

The just and tolerant practices of the Prophet Muhammad
towards "the People of the Book" (Christians and Jews) set a very
good example to Muslims. The contract the Prophet made with the
Christians of Najran secured peaceful religious coexistence. This
is a manifestation of the Koranic injunction on religious
tolerance, "Those who believe (in the Koran), and those who
follow the Jewish, and the Christians and the Sabians, any who
believe in Allah ... shall have their reward ... (QS al-
Baqarah/2:62).

The Constitution of Madinah is the most important contract
that secured justice and religious tolerance among Muslim,
Christian, Jewish, and pagan communities. The Constitution
ensured that everyone was free to adhere to any belief or
religion or to make any political or philosophical choice.

Everyone was free to exercise his/her own justice system. But
no protection would be given to anyone committing a crime. This
contract, which was in force for 10 years, changed society from a
tribal structure based on blood and kinship into a united social
system comprising people of different cultural, ethnic and
geographical backgrounds. The Constitution of Madinah secured
absolute religious freedom.

In conclusion, it is necessary to stress the importance of a
contextual approach in interpreting the Koran. Any text,
including Koranic text, speaks through its readers. The meaning
of the text is not fixed simply by the literal meaning of the
words, but depends, too, on the moral construction given to it by
the reader. To promote tolerance, the relevant texts should be
approached with moral commitments; otherwise, they will produce
nothing but discrete, legalistic and technical insights.

The writer is Director of the Center for Pesantren and
Democracy Studies (CEPDES), Jombang, East Java. She can be
reached at lilyzm@hotmail.com.