Respecting Religious Beliefs
For many centuries, war has been waged in the name of faith. All throughout the world, this is still on ongoing epidemic. Many of the colonists who first came to America came to try and and escape from religious persecution, and when our Founding Fathers signed the Constitution, they understood the danger of state-enforced religious and therefore wrote the First Amendment in their efforts to promote religious freedom and protect the rights of all people to worship in peace, regardless of their religious affiliation. However, over the years I often asked myself: "What did the founders of the various faiths of the world have to teach about interacting with those of different faiths?"
As I examined the scriptures, I have learned that each teacher had differing views on this subject. In the Gospels, Jesus boldly proclaimed in John 14:6 that he was the way, nobody came to the Father except through him. He urged his Disciples to preach his message of salvation to all nations, and to this day, the followers of Jesus continually do this, seeking to bring the Good News to all people who have not yet heard it, or do not understand it. However, when it came to interacting with the "non-believers," Jesus never instructed his followers to be insulting or condescending. Jesus interacted with the outcasts of society, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, because he knew they were most in need of God's mercy. However, he also urged this same grace and compassion to be shown to all people. He healed Romans, told the parable of the Good Samaritan to show that all were capable of Good, he even healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman, even though the Canaanites were the ancient enemies of the Jewish People. Jesus showed us through his actions that one cannot simply preach the faith, they must live it.
The Apostles of Christ adhered to this message. In the First Letter of Peter, the Apostle Peter urged the followers of Jesus to share the Good News with gentleness and respect, and not to repay negativity with negativity. When the Apostle Paul interacted with pagan Greeks in Athens, he was interacting with idol worshipers who had vastly different beliefs from Paul's Jewish upbringing, but Paul learned how to find common ground with the pagans. When he noticed the alter to the Unknown God in Acts 17:23, Paul used this in his message, to tell the Greeks that this God that they did not know was actually the one True God that can grant salvation. Even when problems such as famine arose, the Apostles urged the Christian community to provide care for all those in need, not only for those of their religious community. While their charity was to provide physical relief to those in need, the preaching had the purpose of granting spiritual salvation to all who are willing to accept it. It is a very powerful message with the purpose of not only providing physical charity, but of spiritual fulfillment.
So as time went on, I began to understand that while many who professed to be Christian did not always do a good job at following their teachings, those who founded the faith urged us to share our faith, but to share it in a good way, with respect, and with positive action, but I then began to wonder, "What did the founders of other faiths teach on this subject? So I took a look at Buddha. Unlike Jesus, Buddha did not teach any article of faith or sin, but taught that the root of evil is ignorance and false views. He taught that man is his own master and no higher power sits in judgement. Man had the power to decide for themselves over whether or not to consider the teachings of Buddha to be a faith teaching, or a philosophical one. Only by separating yourself from all desire can you obtain spiritual fulfillment. Nevertheless, Buddha also advocated charity toward all people, taught to only spread the beliefs by preaching. He advocated charity for all people not just specific people. Buddha likewise advocated right action, and part of that right action was right speech. Thus, Buddha urged his followers to refrain from lying, slander, rudeness, and disrespect. So despite their differences, it's safe to say that both Buddha and Jesus would agree with each other on the issue of right speech and right action when interacting with those with beliefs different from theirs.
Now let us consider Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Islam, like Christianity, is a monotheist religion that traces its origins back to Abraham, and like Christianity, it actively seeks converts. However, many feel after reading the Islamic sources that Muhammad's approach in interacting with people of a different faith was quite different than that of Jesus. In Surah 6:108, Muhammad instructed his followers not to insult the non-Islamic religions. When Muslims were doing this in Mecca, their faith was insulted right back. Muhammad, not wanting Islam to be insulted, instructed his followers to cease insulting the beliefs of the pagan Arabs. However, I found this to be a bit problematic. It seemed that Muhammad initially had no problem with his followers insulting the pagan Arab beliefs, he only ordered them to cease after the pagan Arabs began returning the insults. This Surah was initially delivered in Mecca, when the Muslims were a minority within the community. Muslim scholar Ibn Kathir confirmed this, stating that Muhammad ordered his followers to stop insulting the the pagan Arab Gods only after they threatened to insult Islam in retaliation. This also confirmed in the modern Islamic sources such as The History of al-Tabari: Volume 6: P. 93, which stated that Muhammad openly preached Islam and the pagan Arabs let him preach in peace and did not begin denouncing him until he began denouncing their Gods and chastised him for insulting their faith and traditions.
After Muhammad fled to Medina with his followers, his message of interaction with the pagan Arabs changed again. When Muhammad now received the command to wage war (Jihad) on the Polytheists, the insults of the pagan Arabs faith came back in full force. Muslim Scholar Ibn Abbas confessed that once the war was launched, the command issued by Allah in Surah 6:108 was abrogated. In The History of al-Tabari, Voluem 8, Page 76, Urwah, who was one of the Pagan Arab leaders approached Muhammad, calling for an end to hostilities telling him that if he won, he would be detested for waging war on his own tribe, and if he lost, he would lose all that he has. Muhammad's closest companion, Abu Bakr, who became the First Caliph, told Urwah to "Go such the Clitoris of al-Lat," who was one of the pagan Arab deities. Muhammad never reprimanded Abu Bakr for this. Now this is really disturbing, as there is no record anywhere of Jesus, his Disciples, or Buddha ever issuing such a slanderous statement to those of another faith. I never read in the Book of Acts of any occasion when the Apostle Paul made such a derogatory remark to the pagan Greeks.
In Bukhari, 42:87, Muhammad's final insult came when his army conquered Mecca. When Muhammad went to the Kaaba, he smashed the 360 pagan Arab idols that were around the Kaaba. While it was true that in the New Testament Jesus drove the money changers out of the Holy Temple, he did so because they were desecrating what was supposed to be a sacred house of worship. In Bukhari, it was Muhammad who was doing the desecrating.
So it seems that Muhammad followed a pattern. He urged tolerance when the Muslims were in the minority, but that was only in the interest of self-preservation. When he gained power, he seemed to preach great intolerance, and his own actions as well as those of his Disciples (Abu Bakr) reflected this. So while our nations founding fathers desired tolerance, and the founders of Christianity and Buddha urged us to share the faith, but with respect and decency, Muhammad it seemed, had no desire for tolerance and only preached it when it best served his community at a certain time and place. Now to be fair, many Muslims in the world are strong advocates for tolerance and respect, but many feel this way due to the influences of worldly ideas that did not come from Muhammad.
Sources:
The Holy Bible
The Qur'an
Sahih Bukari
What the Buddha Taught
The History of al-Tabari
As I examined the scriptures, I have learned that each teacher had differing views on this subject. In the Gospels, Jesus boldly proclaimed in John 14:6 that he was the way, nobody came to the Father except through him. He urged his Disciples to preach his message of salvation to all nations, and to this day, the followers of Jesus continually do this, seeking to bring the Good News to all people who have not yet heard it, or do not understand it. However, when it came to interacting with the "non-believers," Jesus never instructed his followers to be insulting or condescending. Jesus interacted with the outcasts of society, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, because he knew they were most in need of God's mercy. However, he also urged this same grace and compassion to be shown to all people. He healed Romans, told the parable of the Good Samaritan to show that all were capable of Good, he even healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman, even though the Canaanites were the ancient enemies of the Jewish People. Jesus showed us through his actions that one cannot simply preach the faith, they must live it.
The Apostles of Christ adhered to this message. In the First Letter of Peter, the Apostle Peter urged the followers of Jesus to share the Good News with gentleness and respect, and not to repay negativity with negativity. When the Apostle Paul interacted with pagan Greeks in Athens, he was interacting with idol worshipers who had vastly different beliefs from Paul's Jewish upbringing, but Paul learned how to find common ground with the pagans. When he noticed the alter to the Unknown God in Acts 17:23, Paul used this in his message, to tell the Greeks that this God that they did not know was actually the one True God that can grant salvation. Even when problems such as famine arose, the Apostles urged the Christian community to provide care for all those in need, not only for those of their religious community. While their charity was to provide physical relief to those in need, the preaching had the purpose of granting spiritual salvation to all who are willing to accept it. It is a very powerful message with the purpose of not only providing physical charity, but of spiritual fulfillment.
So as time went on, I began to understand that while many who professed to be Christian did not always do a good job at following their teachings, those who founded the faith urged us to share our faith, but to share it in a good way, with respect, and with positive action, but I then began to wonder, "What did the founders of other faiths teach on this subject? So I took a look at Buddha. Unlike Jesus, Buddha did not teach any article of faith or sin, but taught that the root of evil is ignorance and false views. He taught that man is his own master and no higher power sits in judgement. Man had the power to decide for themselves over whether or not to consider the teachings of Buddha to be a faith teaching, or a philosophical one. Only by separating yourself from all desire can you obtain spiritual fulfillment. Nevertheless, Buddha also advocated charity toward all people, taught to only spread the beliefs by preaching. He advocated charity for all people not just specific people. Buddha likewise advocated right action, and part of that right action was right speech. Thus, Buddha urged his followers to refrain from lying, slander, rudeness, and disrespect. So despite their differences, it's safe to say that both Buddha and Jesus would agree with each other on the issue of right speech and right action when interacting with those with beliefs different from theirs.
Now let us consider Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Islam, like Christianity, is a monotheist religion that traces its origins back to Abraham, and like Christianity, it actively seeks converts. However, many feel after reading the Islamic sources that Muhammad's approach in interacting with people of a different faith was quite different than that of Jesus. In Surah 6:108, Muhammad instructed his followers not to insult the non-Islamic religions. When Muslims were doing this in Mecca, their faith was insulted right back. Muhammad, not wanting Islam to be insulted, instructed his followers to cease insulting the beliefs of the pagan Arabs. However, I found this to be a bit problematic. It seemed that Muhammad initially had no problem with his followers insulting the pagan Arab beliefs, he only ordered them to cease after the pagan Arabs began returning the insults. This Surah was initially delivered in Mecca, when the Muslims were a minority within the community. Muslim scholar Ibn Kathir confirmed this, stating that Muhammad ordered his followers to stop insulting the the pagan Arab Gods only after they threatened to insult Islam in retaliation. This also confirmed in the modern Islamic sources such as The History of al-Tabari: Volume 6: P. 93, which stated that Muhammad openly preached Islam and the pagan Arabs let him preach in peace and did not begin denouncing him until he began denouncing their Gods and chastised him for insulting their faith and traditions.
After Muhammad fled to Medina with his followers, his message of interaction with the pagan Arabs changed again. When Muhammad now received the command to wage war (Jihad) on the Polytheists, the insults of the pagan Arabs faith came back in full force. Muslim Scholar Ibn Abbas confessed that once the war was launched, the command issued by Allah in Surah 6:108 was abrogated. In The History of al-Tabari, Voluem 8, Page 76, Urwah, who was one of the Pagan Arab leaders approached Muhammad, calling for an end to hostilities telling him that if he won, he would be detested for waging war on his own tribe, and if he lost, he would lose all that he has. Muhammad's closest companion, Abu Bakr, who became the First Caliph, told Urwah to "Go such the Clitoris of al-Lat," who was one of the pagan Arab deities. Muhammad never reprimanded Abu Bakr for this. Now this is really disturbing, as there is no record anywhere of Jesus, his Disciples, or Buddha ever issuing such a slanderous statement to those of another faith. I never read in the Book of Acts of any occasion when the Apostle Paul made such a derogatory remark to the pagan Greeks.
In Bukhari, 42:87, Muhammad's final insult came when his army conquered Mecca. When Muhammad went to the Kaaba, he smashed the 360 pagan Arab idols that were around the Kaaba. While it was true that in the New Testament Jesus drove the money changers out of the Holy Temple, he did so because they were desecrating what was supposed to be a sacred house of worship. In Bukhari, it was Muhammad who was doing the desecrating.
So it seems that Muhammad followed a pattern. He urged tolerance when the Muslims were in the minority, but that was only in the interest of self-preservation. When he gained power, he seemed to preach great intolerance, and his own actions as well as those of his Disciples (Abu Bakr) reflected this. So while our nations founding fathers desired tolerance, and the founders of Christianity and Buddha urged us to share the faith, but with respect and decency, Muhammad it seemed, had no desire for tolerance and only preached it when it best served his community at a certain time and place. Now to be fair, many Muslims in the world are strong advocates for tolerance and respect, but many feel this way due to the influences of worldly ideas that did not come from Muhammad.
Sources:
The Holy Bible
The Qur'an
Sahih Bukari
What the Buddha Taught
The History of al-Tabari
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