Page 95 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

The Case of Present-Day Muslims

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t is said that Muslims all over the world are engaged in
Iviolence. Some Muslims are engaged in passive violence
while others are engaged in active violence. Just thinking in
extremist terms may be described as passive violence, while
adopting the gun culture may be described as active violence.
This phenomenon pertains to Muslim practices and has
nothing whatsoever to do with Islamic teachings.
The fact is that, according to the Quran, Muslims are
witnesses of God before mankind, or shuhada ʿala an-naas
(2:143). It was the same duty as was given to the Jews. As the
Bible says:
‘Therefore you are my witnesses, said the Lord.’
1
In Chapter 3 of the Quran this fact is set forth in these
words:
‘God made a covenant with those who were given the
Book to make it known to people and not conceal it.
But they cast it behind their backs and bartered it for a
paltry price.’ (3:187)

The Jews were the People of the Book, but in the later
period of their history they completely forgot their duty and
discarded the concept of being witnesses. They replaced it
with the concept of Jewish supremacism. Exactly the same
has happened with the Muslims. They now think in terms of
Muslim supremacism.
The Muslim thought that developed in the later period
of Muslim history all stemmed from this notion of Muslim
supremacism. It can be summed up as: Nahnu khulafa Allah fil
arz (We are the vicegerents of God on earth).

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