Abu Dhabi: Islam is all about justice, equality and peace, it is not about forms of rule.
It teaches that human beings have a moral obligation to live in harmony with one another, according rights to all human beings regardless of race, colour or creed and requiring its followers to show respect and tolerance even to those who do not share their faith, scholars said yesterday (Sunday).
Scholars told the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies held in Abu Dhabi that caliphate rule is not a pillar of Islam, but rather an organisational option.
“Islam did not set a rigid form of government, but rather fundamentals that, once followed, the governance becomes good,” Dr Mokhtar Juma, Egypt’s Minister of Islamic Endowments, told the forum in its third edition.
Juma stressed the issue of the Caliphate not being a religious fundamental but rather a sheerly organisational process.
Abbas Shoman, the deputy shaikh of Egypt’s Al Azhar institute, agreed and said the people of Sunnah believe that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) had not named a specific person to succeed him as Caliph, but rather left it to his companions.
The scholars’ remarks come as Daesh escalates its battles in several parts of the Middle East with the declared goal of establishing what it calls an Islamic Caliphate, claiming to copy the system of government succession that followed the death of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in 632AD.
Abdullah Bin Bayyah, President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, said the Prophet recognised and praised Negus (Najashi), the king of Abyssinia (Ethipia). The Prophet never asked the King of Ethiopia to come under Islamic rule.
Bin Bayyah said the main piece of political literature inherited from the Muammadan period is Al Saifah, the document often known as the constitution of Madinah, the text of which is attributed mostly to the Hijrah episode of 622 to 624 AD.
This constitution speaks of the believers as forming one ummah (community), which also includes the Jews of Madinah. Although composed of tribes, each of which is responsible for the conduct of its members, the ummah as a whole is to act collectively in enforcing social order and security and in confronting enemies in times of war and peace.
Bin Bayyah said the most pressing need for scholars, intellects and politicians is to collaborate and address the need for peace. “There is no other option whilst we see the ongoing spread of destruction, death and sectarianism,” he added. The world is facing a wave of extremism, sectarianism and violence as a direct result of our failure to promote Islam’s culture of peace and mercy.
This year’s forum seeks to explore the best ways to find peaceful solutions to rectify the negative and distorted image of Islam in some parts of the world. In addition, the forum is a ground-breaking initiative that will serve as an intellectual endeavour to refute extremist ideologies with a culture of peace and tolerance, which has been a driving force of Islam.”
“The importance of the third forum is to continue our efforts in crystallising the primary narrative of Islam, so that our religion is not hijacked by extremist voices,” Bin bayyah said.
He added incorrect ideas have always posed a threat for Islam. “However, the forum will promote a positive change through the use of Islamic legal methodology and create awareness about Islamic values and guidelines which has always been subject to criticism and conflict,” Bin Bayyah said.
Given the limited nature of political stipulations in the Quran and the Hadith, Muslims have had to borrow and to improvise in developing their political systems. These systems, however, have been inspired by Sharia (Islamic law), as represented in the Quran and the Sunnah; by Arabian tribal traditions; and by the political heritage of the lands Muslims conquered, especially the Persian and Byzantine traditions. The influence of the first source was more noticeable during the era of the first four rashidun (rightly guided) caliphs (632–661AD), the second during the Umayyad dynasty (661–750 AD), and the third during the Abbasid (749–1258 AD) and Ottoman (1281–1922 AD) dynasties.
The Minister of Egypt’s Islamic Endowments stressed that not all Muslim caliphs were good, citing the example of the Abbasid Caliph Abdullah, infamously known for the killing of Umayyad people for their identity.
Dr Mohammad Mattar Al Kaabi, secretary-general of the forum, said it was high time that all Muslims reconciliate with their nation states.
Earlier, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, told the forum a successful nation state is founded on strong institutions, good governance, social justice and the principle of citizenship.
Highlights of the forum
The forum focuses on seven topics of discussion:
The concept of nation state in the Islamic history; past and present
The Islamic nature of a state
The concept and context of a nation state,
The state’s sovereignty in an age of globalisation
The nation state’s role in strengthening and promoting peace
The UAE experience,
