In 1967,Martin Luther King, Jr. published a monumental essay titled “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos Or Community?” Dr. King ended this essay by stating. “We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation.” We, Muslims too believe that as members of a single humanity, as people of faith, we have a choice, a choice we need to make today and every day.
Pluralism is the great challenge of the day not just for Muslims, but for all of humanity: can we find a way to celebrate our common humanity not in spite of our differences but because of them, through them, and beyond them? Can we learn to grow to the point where ultimately “we” refers not to an exclusivist grouping, but to what the Qur’an calls the Bani Adam, the totality of humanity? (Qur’an 7:26, 7:27, 7:31, 7:35, 7:172, 17:70, and 36:60) Challenging, undermining, and overthrowing the pre-Islamic tribal custom of narrowly identifying oneself with those who trace themselves to the eponymous founder of a tribe, the Qur’an here describes all of humanity as members of one super-tribe, the human tribe. This is a great challenge, and yet what choice do we have but to rise up to meet it?
Can we live up to the challenge issued to us by the Prophet Muhammad, and rephrased so beautifully by the Persian poet Sa‘di? Can we envision each other as members of one body, to feel the pain of another as our own? Only then will we be worthy of the name “human being.”
Human beings are like members of one body created from one and the same essence. When one member feels pain, the rest are distraught. You, unmoved by the suffering of others, are unworthy of the name human!
These days, of course, a lack of pluralism goes far beyond simple disagreement. All too often, fanatic bigotry finds expression in brutal violence. At times, this violence is deployed by paramilitary terrorist groups. At other times, it is unleashed by nation-states and their armies. Along with the world community, Muslims should stand firmly against all attacks on civilians, whether that violence comes from a terrorist group or a nation-state. Does it matter to those who have lost loved ones whether the instrument of death was held by a terrorist or a state-sponsored army? The twentieth century was by far the bloodiest in the history of humanity. May it be that in the twenty-first century – admittedly already off to a rocky start – we find a path to pluralism and a peace rooted in justice.
The courageous words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who stated: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral; begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. . . Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. . . .Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Muslims no less prominent than the incomparable Rumi have also echoed this emphasis on nonviolence, “Washing away blood with blood is impossible, even absurd!”
The humane vision of pluralism articulated so eloquently above is a powerful issue for contemporary Muslims. It is no exaggeration to say that Muslims, for so long members of a pluralistic civilization that turned everyday interpersonal ethics into a choreographed exchange of civility, kindness, and generosity, are in real danger of losing their manners. It may seem odd to hear activists talk about the importance of manners, but I firmly hold that one of the most important measuring sticks of pluralism for us Muslims is the way that we treat each other. It is past time for us to restore the humaneness of interpersonal ethics (adab).
Ah, adab. . . that most essential, basic, and glorious of Muslim interpersonal codes. Adab is the compassionate, humane, selfless, generous, and kind etiquette that has been a hallmark of refined manners in Muslim cultures. Almost anyone who has ever traveled to areas that have been profoundly influenced by Muslim ethics has no doubt seen great examples of this wonderful way of being welcomed and put at ease.
It is precisely this compassionate humaneness that is missing from so much of contemporary Islam these days. Sadly, some of us Muslims are often quite rude to one another: not only do we brand each other as infidels, we oppress each other, we also cut each other off in speech, and are quick to anger. Words like kufr (infidelity), shirk (associating partners with God, i.e. polytheism), and bid‘a (heretical innovation) flow far too easily from our tongues. The finger that used to point up at the end of prayers towards the Heavens now points most frequently at another Muslim. That same index finger that used to be a reminder of Divine Unity (tawhid) is now a symbol of accusation and takfir (branding another an infidel). What we are losing in all of this incivility is our very humanity.
Here again Gandhi had a keen observation: “As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion overriding morality.”
Part of pluralism is measured by openness to engage sources of compassion and wisdom, no matter where they originate. No less a figure than Hazrat ‘Ali, the first Shi‘i Imam and the fourth Sunni Caliph, has stated that one should evaluate a statement based on what it says, not who says it. The great Muslim philosopher al-Kindi stated, “We should not be ashamed to acknowledge truth and to assimilate it from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former generations and foreign peoples. For him who seeks the truth there is nothing of higher value than truth itself; it never cheapens or abases him who reaches for it, but ennobles and honors him.”
At times it is easier to hear first other wisdom traditions that have elaborated on certain themes before returning “home” to seek out long marginalized and exiled sub-traditions. Studying Christian liberation theology, for example, might ultimately help us recover voices that speak out on behalf of the oppressed in Islam. Taking a close look at Taoist teachings might remind us of long-forgotten Islamic teachings on the necessity of living in harmony with nature. This talk does not mean that we become a liberation theologian of Christianity, or a Taoist. Rather, we sometimes need a refresher course to remind us that such concerns have also been part of the spectrum of interpretation in Islamic thought. Our task could then consist of bringing back to the foreground concerns that have fallen off the radar, so to speak.
Living in the twenty-first century, Muslims should consider that it is no longer sufficient to study only the Qur’an and hadith. In addition to those essential founts of wisdom, we need to be conversant with Rumi and Ibn al-‘Arabi, Plato and Ibn Sina, Ghazzali and Hazrat ‘Ali, Chomsky and Abu Dharr, Gandhi and Arundhati Roy, Rabi‘a and Maya Angelou, Robert Fisk and Edward Said, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Elie Wiesel, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, Allama Iqbal and Ghalib of South Asia and Eqbal Ahmed. These readings will broaden the mind and outlook leading to bigger hearts, and bigger intellects too. As big as humanity.
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