By MIKE GHOUSE
There is a widespread perception that Muslims are intolerant of other religions, and that such intolerance is inherent in our teachings. Indeed, “pluralism†is often claimed as a “Western†and “secular†value that is antithetical to Islam itself, rather than a fundamental Qur’anic value at the very heart of our tradition.
But what, exactly, is pluralism, and why is Islam perceived as an anti-pluralistic religion, intolerant of other traditions? Pluralism is simply an attitude of respecting the otherness of our fellow human beings and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of us. Pluralism is living your religious, social, political, and cultural life and letting others live theirs. It’s about celebrating such diversity, but it’s also about getting to know one another. God asks Muslims not merely to tolerate those who are different from us, but to commit ourselves to engaging with them; to work and live with mutual assistance and respect. This is something that runs against everything that extremist groups like Daesh believe. They mercilessly slaughter minority faith communities, such as the Yazidis, ignoring the Qur’anic imperative to embrace diversity, and the acknowledgment that “the plurality of religious paths to the One is . . .a reflection of the spiritual infinity of the One.â€
Islam presents God as a common God, the God of all creation. He is not a God of Muslims or any one group of people. The Qur’an starts with, “All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds†(1:1). There is a reason why this is the very first verse of the Qur’an—it is to reaffirm that the creator God belongs to all of humanity, and cannot be exclusively claimed by Muslims or any one faith.
Indeed, in the Qur’an, God said, “Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life. And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto, you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you were wont to differ†(5:48).
This verse has often been misunderstood to mean that only one community will cross the finish line, while the others will not. However, here the expression “every one of you†denotes the various communities of which mankind is composed. Thus, the Qur’an impresses upon all who believe in God, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, that the differences in their religious practices should make them “vie with one another in doing good works†rather than lose themselves in mutual hostility.
This concept is similar to the phrase emblazoned on the Great Seal of the United States, “E pluribus unum,†meaning, “One out of many.†The phrase is similar to a Latin translation of a variation of Heraclitus’ 10th fragment, “The one is made up of all things, and all things issue from the one.†By God mandating that we get to know each other, this is another way for us to see the Divine in the other, and for us to acknowledge the hand of creation.
The Qur’an also emphasizes that no single community will earn God’s grace.
“Those who believe, those who are Jewish, the converts, the Christians, the Zoroastrians, and the idol worshipers, God is the One who will judge among them on the Day of Resurrection. God witnesses all things†(22:17).
God also mentions that God does not make any distinction between any of the prophets:
“Say, ‘We believe in God, and in what was sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs; and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and all the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are submitters’†(2:136).
As Reza Shah-Kazemi writes, “Both universal revelation and human diversity are not seen as accidents of human experience but as expressions of divine wisdom. God is absolutely one yet immeasurably infinite, the human race too is one in its essence yet infinitely variegated in its forms.â€
UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNS OF GOD IS PLURALISM
Although God breathed the breath of the Divine into all human beings, endowing all of us with the faculties of sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch, He also chose to create us in different tribes, communities, nations, and by extension, faiths, races, ideas, shapes, and colors:
“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted†(49:13).
Given that diversity, we are bound to have conflicts and compete for resources. So, He adds more guidance in the verse: the best ones among you are those who will take the time to know each other. He knows that committing ourselves to knowledge about others leads to understanding, and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of different points of view, resulting in harmony and peace.
Furthermore, God created the world in perfect harmony and balance, and gave us the abilities to manage our affairs:
“The sun and the moon run on precise calculations. The stars and the trees submit to Him. The skies, He raised high and has established the balance that you may not transgress in the balance. But weight with justice, and do not violate the balance. The earth, He laid out for all living creatures. In it are fruits, and date-palms in clusters. And grains on flourishing stems and fragrant plants. So which of your Lord’s blessings do you both deny?†(5:5–13).
All God asked of us was to keep His creation intact, and restore harmony and balance if they wither.
The Prophet Muhammad had a singular determination—for all people to live in harmony. He honored and respected people of different religions, and protected minorities. He sought to restore God’s balance by re-making society into one where no individual had to live in apprehension or fear of another; where one could live his or her own life and let others live theirs. In our day, if we can learn to accept the otherness of others, and respect the God-given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts will fade and solutions emerge.
America has flourished because of its commitment to pluralism. Islam flourished because of a commitment to the pluralism inherent in its teachings. Those societies that have embraced and celebrated pluralism, rather than merely accepted it, tend to flourish most.
