IS ISLAM SPREAD BY SWORD Islam means peace Islam comes from the root word ‘salaam’, which means peace. It also means submitting one’s will to Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one’s will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt). 1. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the adhaan, that is the call for prayers. 2. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians Muslims were the lords of Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian. 3. More than 80% non-Muslims in India The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non- Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the sword. 4. Indonesia and Malaysia Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, “which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?” 5. East Coast of Africa Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, “which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?” 6. Thomas Carlyle The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book “Heroes and Hero worship”, refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: “The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword! Every new opinion, at its starting is, precisely in a minority of one. In one man’s head alone, there it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword, and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must first get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can.” 7. No compulsion in religion With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Qur’an says in the following verse: Pls share to friends muslim and nonmuslim “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error” [Al Qur’an 2:256] To be continue
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 05:36:09 +0000