Dr. Jamal Badawi addressed the huge congregation at 7th Mujahid State Conference today. This is his first visit to India. May Allah subhanahu wa thaala bless him for his effort to make it from Canada between his tight schedules.

Alhamdulillah, I was blessed with the opportunity to listen to his speech sitting in Canada live from Vadi Salam on the internet. The following is my understanding from his speech.

The talk concentrated three main topics – What are the various types of goodness? What are the causes of misunderstanding of Islam? How to avoid such misunderstanding?

We are living in a global village we depend on others to survive. We need to understand the long history of our religion and others before using it to cause trouble for others. We need to engage in courteous and peaceful dialogue with other community which will always do good. 

The following are some of the aspects of Goodness in Islam.

One of the cornerstones for goodness and happiness is the belief in the One and True God.

The great goodness of the teachings of the Holy Quran is the acknowledgement of all Prophets from Adam alaihissalam to Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Allah tells us that there is no nation without a prophet.

We are blessed with the power of choice – whether to believe or not, whether to do good or bad; and we are held responsible for our actions. In this way, neither others can take credit nor blame for our actions.

A moral aspect of the Holy Quran and Islam is that the Messenger, Muhammed, was sent to perfect the religion. It includes our responsibility to other human beings and living things on earth.

The Holy Quran affirms human dignity. Its not just for Muslims, however its for all mankind. It has a universal approach which calls upon all children of Adam and Eve rather than a “chosen elite”.

Islam rejects forcing anyone to its belief. It allows human beings to choose and the freedom to believe or not.

The Holy Quran affirms sanctity of human life. It equals killing a life to killing the whole of mankind.

The Holy Quran teaches equality of all human kind. No matter what race, language, religion, sect or nation we belong to; we are all equal. No one is superior to other, except for his piety and religious conduct.

Islam teaches us to accept others as they are. Leave it to Allah to judge them; we need to do we can.

Mercy, according to Islam, is not just for our near and dear ones, however its for all of mankind. Allah says in the Holy Quran – “We have sent you (Muhammed) as a mercy for mankind”. Allah’s mercy is for all mankind, the environment we live in and everything that includes in it.

The Holy Quran teaches us about diversity through its “Universal Brotherhood” which is for all children of Adam and Eve. This includes both Muslims and non-Muslims.

There is a just balance of Islam that applies to all aspects of life. Islam does not believe in extremism and it teaches the middle path.

The norm of relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims is that Allah does not forbid you from respecting other faith and communities who does not drive you out of your home or fight with you. Refer chapter 60, verses 8 and 9 in the Holy Quran.

Islam teaches “Universal Justice” for all mankind; not just for muslims. It’s the duty of a Muslim mandated by Allah to do and show justice to a human – doesn’t matter whether its Muslim or not.

Moving on to the causes or source for misunderstanding of Islam –

Many people mix the action of a person to their identity or their religion. That is, if a Muslim does a crime, it is attributed to Islam and not the person. Islam is blamed for the person’s action. Sometimes misunderstanding comes from the lack of knowledge or true understanding Islam. Some people mix cultural aspects of their background with Islam which end up in the misinterpretation of Islam. International media bases their understanding on these erroneous beliefs.

There is a trend to always go back to history and make decision based on it. Sometimes we need to think about the future and what is good and in the best interest.

Most of the time the media always tends to concentrate and project on the extremism that is practiced. This is a trend followed by media post 9/11 which makes others attribute “extremism” to a Muslim.

Most of the time, people tend to quote verses of the Holy Quran and Hadiths related to war without understanding its context.

How can we avoid such misunderstanding?

In Islam, the Holy Quran and the Hadith is the base for everything. Sometimes people don’t understand the basics and make their own interpretations. We can heat fatwas related by well known scholars which were never authorized.

The translations of the Holy Quran need to be based on the context rather a than word-to-word translation.  We need to understand the history and the context before quoting a verse of the Holy Quran or a Hadith.

An example of a misunderstanding of Islam is Jihad. There is a misconception that Jihad means “Holy War”. Actually the words “Holy War” is an oxymoron. Holy War is not the right translation of Jihad. Refer to the Holy Quran Chapter 2, verses 216 and onwards. The root meaning of Jihad is to struggle, to strive, to control; which can be against oneself, against our attitude of hate, lust, etc. The Quran in chapter 49 attributes Jihad to charity. There is instant where the Quran says sharing is another way of Jihad.

People usually attribute Jihad to its combative nature, which is actually the Arabic word “Qital”. When is combative Jihad allowed? It is allowed only for self defense (Holy Quran 2, 190) which is similar to the International laws. Combative Jihad is also allowed in case of oppression (Holy Quran 2, 190 – 194). Even though it’s permissible, there are conditions while in combative Jihad. No non-combatant should be hurt while engaged in combative Jihad. Prisoners of War (POW) needs to treated humanely, which is very similar to fourth Geneva convention. Our prophet taught these 1400 years back.

A second example of misunderstanding of Islam is that thinking of “kill all infidels”. If Quran teaches brotherhood, then how come it tells to go and kill infidel. If you refer to Chapter 29 verse 46 and Chapter 109 of the Holy Quran, you can understand that there is no such concept. This is all due to dangerous interpretation of Quran and the “cut-and-paste” use of its translations. That kind of translation is dangerous and helps no one. The concept of “go and kill all infidel” is a total lie and preached by Islamaphobias. A good example that can be used in this context is the marrying a Jew or a Christian. Islam allows marrying a Muslim to marry a Jew or a Christian. We don’t marry anyone to kill them on the first night! Another good example is the life of Prophet Muhammed – all his life he loved his uncle, Abu Thalib, who was a non-believer.

A third example of misunderstanding of Islam is that Quran tells to fight with people of the Book (Jews and Christians). Fighting with people who co-exist peacefully is totally strange to Islam. Refer Chapter 9 verses 25 and 125 of Quran.

A fourth example of misunderstanding of Islam is that Islam does allow friendship with Jews, Christians or any other non-muslims. The word “auliya” is used as a reference to this statement. The word “auliya” means protectors rather than friends according to the context where it is used. Chapter 5 verse 52 will help you understand that the context is protection and not friendship.

Where do we go from here?

We have to have right attitude, humility, admit failures while being proud of our success.

Reach out to one another. God does not want us to hate one another. He want us to understand one another, live peacefully without shedding any blood.

We need to mutually understand other religions and faiths. After all, all Books are from One God.

Never disconnect between peaces and justice – they go hand in hand. We need to do and show justice to have peace.

We need to cooperate with others in all good. Islam does not forbid us from cooperating with others for the benefit of the mankind. Try to use use the common energy to build a better community and future for mankind. 

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