A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHRISTIAN
ALLEGATIONS AND CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY
Dr. Maulana Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman AI-Ansari AI-Qaderi (R.A.)
Preliminary Observations:
Every religion possesses a certain type
of moral Idealism. Of course, there are differences among religions in respect
of the form and the content of that idealism. But noble ideas and ideals are
nevertheless found, however defective in, individual cases their setting, their
projection, or their range. Going, however, beyond theoretical assessment into
the practical aspect of those ideals, we may consider their worth in the light
of the question: 'How far have those ideas and ideals influenced the respective
followers of those religions and brought blessing to humanity in practical
terms?'
If we compare Islam and other religions
in this perspective of evaluation, it will be possible to assess the nature and
worth of the Qur'anic moral Idealism. For that purpose, we may place Islam and
Christianity in the scale of comparison, especially because the Christian
propagandists have been, in the past and in the present, foremost in attacking
Islam on that ground — others being only their imitators or camp-followers.
And those attacks have continued from their side during the past millennium
ceaselessly and violently without regard for either Justice or Truth. We have
already made certain references to Christian misrepresentations. We may quote
here one more — one, which is more recent and which comes from an eminent Christian
religious dignitary who has been acclaimed as "one of the greatest
missionary-statesmen of the twentieth century", viz., Rev. Dr. Glover. In
chap. IV of his publication: Progress of Worldwide Missions (Harper &
Bros., New York, 1960), he makes the following observations:
"He (Muhammad) was an Oriental and a
Potentate .... He was nurtured in the faith that his hand must be against every
man. His Arabian armies were possessed by a wild fanaticism and a thirst for
plunder and conquest. The Prophet's injunction to them was to exterminate all
heathens ..."
"The sword of Mohammad and the Koran
are the most stubborn enemies of civilization, liberty and truth, which the
world has yet known."
We have already quoted Max Weber's
statement. His allegations relate to the establishment of feudalism, serfdom,
slavery and subjection of women by Islam.
The above and other similar calumnies
have been actually repeated ad nauseam, because Western orientalists, historians,
religious writers, missionaries, journalists, and others have been ceaselessly
working under a planned effort to malign Islam and the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(%) — seemingly convinced that, through widespread and continuous repetition,
even totally false statements can accomplish the alienation of humanity at
large from goodwill for Islam and the demoralisation of the rising generations
of Muslim intelligentsia. The latter, because of persistent westernisation
during the past one-and-a-half century of Western domination of the world of
Islam and the impoverishment of the agencies of Islamic knowledge and
inspiration, are more under the intellectual and cultural influences of the
West than of Islam. Hence, the adversaries of Islam hope that, side by side
with political and military intrigues, thrusts, and assaults, which, engineered
by them, have continued unabated to this day -though changing their forms
according to circumstances, their anti-Islamic propaganda might finally
succeed in weakening Islam to an extent that it may no more be able to
challenge their faults and the evils which they endorse.
In his Age of Faith, Will Durant has
tried, as a good Christian, to tender a lame apology for all that cruelty and
blatant dishonesty, though he himself could not escape it on numerous
occasions. But, the very term 'religion' loses all grace if there is no
adherence to principles of truth and justice by its upholders. Hence, the
entire anti-Islamic Christian-Jewish propaganda is a standing disgrace for the
very name of Religion.
In our discussion here, we shall confine
ourselves only to the testimony of believing Christian scholars, although their
appreciation of Islam can in the very nature of the case be only very meagre,
and in certain respects very defective, while in others even non-existent. As
for Islam's own stand, the present work has projected it on the basis of
Islam's scripture itself in all its basic dimensions.
Confining ourselves to Dr. Glover's and
Max Weber's allegations, we shall project the realisation in history of the
values of mercy, tolerance, regard for freedom of conscience and respect for
human dignity in such of their dimensions as bear reference to the allegations
made; and because the said allegations have been projected in the perspective
of the supposed superiority and sublimity of Christianity, we shall present a
comparative evaluation in terms of Muslim as well as Christian history. (Dr.
Glover's allegation that Islam is the enemy of civilisation has been already
dealt with in the previous chapter). As for the complete rebuttal, it emerges
at relevant places in the present work in connection with the exposition of the
Qur'anic philosophy and code of life. Hence, the statements that follow should
be read in conjunction with it.
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