Auron ka hai Payaam aur, mera Payaam aur hai, / Ishq key dardmand ka tarz-e-kalaam aur hai! (Iqbal)
Is Islam about “turning the other cheek”? No more than Christianity is. And no more than the 1000-year practices, policies, legal frameworks, criminal codes, and politics of the Christian people, nations and societies are.
No more than any other system of law, morality or government in the world is.
No more than international law is. And no more than the UN Charter is.
But Islam does offer you the higher option, the nobler and the more laudable alternative, of turning the other cheek, and forgiving those who sin against you, should you choose to exercise that option.
But Islam does not mandate it. How can it?
How can any sane or sensible system of thought or laws or government in the world mandate that every thief, murderer, rapist, arsonist, bank-robber, child-molester and traitor be ab initio forgiven and coddled as a long-lost brother or sister?
With all this, are there some Muslims in this world who go overboard, lose control of their emotions and better judgment, and resort to violence? Of course there are.
Are there others who are not Muslim who do that sort of thing? Of course there are.
Is that acceptable behaviour on the part of anyone of them – Muslim or non-Muslim? No, of course, it is not.
Does Islam condone or sanction behaviour like that? No, it does not.
Should we criticise and condemn senseless and irrational violence when it is perpetrated by Muslims? Of course we should.
In the same way as we and all Muslims and non-Muslims should also criticize and condemn senseless and irrational violence when it is perpetrated by non-Muslims. Of course we should.
Does Islam condone or sanction violence against civilians, women, children, the aged, the infirm, the unarmed and the priests, pundits and the clergy? Of course it does not.
Does international law condone or sanction such behaviour? Do any of the other religions and legal systems of the world? Of course none of them do.
Does Islam condone or sanction torture? Of course it does not.
Does international law condone or sanction torture? Of course it does not.
Do any of the other religions and legal systems of the world sanction or condone torture? Of course they do not, even though some governments have lately invented ingenious ways and all kinds of perverse arguments for circumventing that universal abhorrence and rejection of torture by government officials.
In the end, is Islam then a “peaceful religion”?
First of all, Islam not a “religion.” Islam is a comprehensive divine system of life that was devised by God to guide, illumine and direct human life and activity in every thing and that was practiced and modelled in his life and society by Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, in its entirety.
Second, Islam is totally, absolutely, uncompromisingly and completely all about peace – and about truth – and about justice – and about human rights for all human beings, regardless of their colour, race, religion, gender, social class or nationality.
Third, at the same time, Islam is behind no other system of laws and government in the world, including the Charter of the United Nations, in protecting and guaranteeing the inherent right of individuals, societies and nations to self-defence.
And to justice. And to equality and fair and equitable treatment. And to self-determination and freedom from tyranny, of both mind and body.
Why should it be?
As for Aggression, It Is an Absolute No-No in Islam
But what about using force as a means of committing aggression? That in Islam is an absolute no-no.
I have not come across, nor am I aware of, anything as clear or forceful – I don’t mean the pun in that expression – in any culture, language, constitution or religion, against using force as a means of aggression, as in Islam.
“Allah does not like those who commit aggression or use excessive force,” says the Qur’an.
Innallaha laa yuhibbul mu’tadeen.
The Qur’an asks people to “cooperate” with one another in every kind of good thing. But when it comes to committing an act of “aggression and excess,” the Qur’an clearly says, “no, don’t cooperate with anyone on that basis and for that purpose” (5:2).
Wa laa ta’aawanoo alal ithmi wal ‘udwaan.
I don’t know who else says it that clearly, emphatically and categorically.
Even as the Qur’an allows the right of self-defense and retaliation, it clearly warns against aggression and excess, even in that context and even against that background.
The Qur’an says:
“If you were to retaliate or visit retribution on someone for any wrong done to you, then do so in strict proportion to what was done to you. But if you were to show restraint and patience then it may be even better (16:126).”
Wa in ‘aaqabtum fa-’aaqiboo bi-mithil maa ‘ooqibtum bihi.
Wa la-in sabartum, fahuwa khairul lis-saabireen.
Here is another one in a similar context:
“When you are faced with aggression against you, then resist that aggression with similar force, but fear God Almighty, and clearly understand that God is with those who fear him (2:194).”
And yet another one:
“Let not your anger and displeasure at those who kept you away by force from the protected mosque cause you to commit aggression or use excessive force against them (5:2).”
It is the most basic and powerful Islamic dispensation that unjust and unlawful killing of one human being – regardless of the color, race, gender or nationality of that human being – is equal to the killing of all human beings from the beginning of time till the end of time.
So, which part of any of these luminous and self-evident passages of the Qur’an against violence and aggression the Muslims, or the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propagandists and mercenaries, don’t understand?
I don’t know about you folks. But there is nothing like this anywhere in the world.
Nothing with this much clarity and with this much emphasis and forcefulness against unjust and unfair use of force and violence and against aggression.
The Qur’an and Islam – and Muslims – not only wrote the book on it, they also wrote the last word.
What Should Muslims Say Then?
What should Muslims say, then, when they are hounded by people who want to brand them as incorrigibly violent, as congenitally irrational and as instinctively blood thirsty?
When they are pounded endlessly by people who have filled the air and saturated God’s world with the most vicious falsehood and baseless propaganda against Islam and Muslims?
How should Muslims respond to them?
Muslims must do what Islam teaches them to do: Muslims should simply tell the truth. Muslims must tell the world about Islam – something which they have neglected to do all this time.
For, Islam is the best defence Muslims have. It is their best friend and protector.
And a great many of all these bad things are happening to the Muslims because they failed to tell the world about Islam in the first place.
So, Muslims must simply tell the world about Islam.
And Islam is all about truth. Muslims should simply say that Islam is about peace, because that is what Islam is all about.
At the same time, Muslims should also point out that Muslims have as much right to self-defence as any Christian, Jew, Hindu, Atheist or anyone else in this world.
Muslims must make it clear that basic human rights for Muslims are as important as basic human rights for everyone else in the world.
That is the truth and it is only the truth that will set the Muslims free. Even as truth is what will set the whole world and everyone else in the world free.