Non-violence and free belief in Islam

Prior to Islam's dawn, slavery was a main pillar of the world's economic system, dominated by the two superpowers of the time, the Roman and the Persian Empires. In Arabia, the Arab tribal system was no exception to that norm.

As the slavery system at that time reached the peak of its decadence and injustice, it was ripe for decline, if not collapse. So, the Islamic call for the eradication of slavery was timely, but its total eradication could not have been but a gradual, long-term mission and challenge which would require the efforts of all humanity. That call is manifested in the 13th verse of the 49th Surah Al Hujuraat (The Dwellings) in the interpretation of the meanings of the Quran, published by Dar-us-Salam Publications: "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2)]. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware."

Meanwhile the 6th verse of the 109th Surah Al Kaafiroon (The Unbelievers) states clearly about freedom of belief: "To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islamic Monotheism)."

In practice, the black slave before Islam, Bilal Bin Rabah Al Habashi was to be freed and referred to by all Muslims as Sayduna Bilal meaning in Arabic Our Master Bilal. He has been called as such till today because of Islam. The second Caliph of Islam, Omar Bin Khattab, who wrote The Covenant of Omar after entering Jerusalem, was another example of treating non-Muslims well and guaranteeing freedom of worship.

Demand for justice

Those two major components of Islam's message were like soaking rain that fell on barren land — in no time they made the drought soil cracks disappear and green shoots dominate the landscape. By looking at Islamic history through this prism we can: (1) Comprehend and rationalise the sequence of events that led to the establishment of the Islamic state in less than 30 years. (2) Reason why the handful of early Muslims were able to spread the message across Arabia and later on defeat the Persian and the Roman Empires. (3) Understand why Islam spread to areas where not a single Muslim soldier went but only traders. (4) Why Muslim rule was not to be in many parts of the world as people still largely held on to their beliefs. (5) Learn that brute force was irrelevant in the face of mass freedom and demands for justice.

Based on such a reading, we can conclude that: (1) Principle of non-violence is Islamic. (2) Mahatma Gandhi learnt it by reading the biography of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the history of Islam. But that can never take away anything from Gandhi's achievement of wresting the independence of the Indian subcontinent from Britain, which in turn can never be compared with the achievements of the Islamic state for: (a) He had the backing and support of the huge population of the Indian subcontinent. (b) Independence of the Indian subcontinent did not alter the world's military balance.

In Islamic history, we can also not fail to notice that: (1) The Tatars who invaded the Middle East led by Genghis Khan were to become Muslims later on. (2) Islam had an impact on modern law and in the form of the Baha'i belief in Iran and lesser effects that could be noticed among other beliefs. (3) Many jumped on Islam's bandwagon and opened their little shops selling their own understanding for love or money in one way or the other, emulating the Church, contrary to Islamic practice, securing themselves roles as intermediaries between the Almighty and His creation.

Today, after the The End of History by Francis Fukuyama, The Clash of Civilisations by Samuel P. Huntington and the events of 9/11, we have started to hear about the need to have a home grown French and American Islam as a backlash to the false, media-created Islamophobia, because of Bin Laden and other groups' stories and images that are more to do with negative world politics than Islam.

But today's peaceful demonstrations in the Arab world calling for freedom and justice cannot be studied or analysed in a balanced manner without taking into account lessons from the dawn of Islam's history. Especially given that the peaceful demonstrations in Yemen have made the phenomena clear beyond any doubt; it was largely peaceful despite the fact that individuals and tribes in Yemen are well-armed.

Throughout Islam's history, the message of peace has been too big to be tarnished, contained, branded or franchised by any sect, state, nation or region. It is a universal message, to all mankind. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: "The essence of the message I carry is to complement moral values."

Unfortunately in modern times, slavery has been reinvented, repacked in new, colourful packages, on a greater, grander scale, as mass imperial slavery that dwarfs pre-Islamic era slavery. Its eradication is a mission and challenge for all humanity. 

Saqr Bin Zayed Bin Saqr Al Nahyan is a Dubai-based author.