Quran And Roots of Tolerance
In a brief note, Hossein Rouhani Sadr, an Iranian expert in the field of Islamic history, has reviewed a book about links between Quran and tolerance written by Iraqi researcher Majed al-Qarbawi. Here are excerpts from the note:
Quranic researches are putting efforts to offer solutions to introduce reforms in Islamic communities through using verses and narrations. Majed al-Qarbawi, with his roots in Iraq and the Middle East, is familiar with the destructive hostilities.
He urges the readers to open dialogue about the foundations of violence, internal feelings, and collective wisdom as a solution to fight violence and intolerance. Inaccurate readings of Islam and the Quran try to introduce tolerance as a fake, non-Islamic, and imported concept that seeks to destroy the values of the religion.
Those who always engage in violence and wage wars seek refuge in these false readings and only view only those limited verses that have been revealed under specific circumstances, skipping the verses that urge for kindness and mercy.
Qarbawi believes that thinkers in the West have spotted the issue of violence, conducting research in this field. His book tries to introduce an Islamic perspective on tolerance according to the Quranic verses and the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that stress the concept.
Only tolerance can save the man from more bloodshed, violence, and extremism that has filled today’s world, the writer believes.
Credulity, lack of wisdom, failure to understand Islam, and clinging to the surface meanings of some Quranic verses increased the danger of extremism, the author says, adding that this has led to a false image that portrays Islam as terrorism. Extremists believe that the community is on the path of deviation, corruption, and destruction. They only see people’s apparent beliefs and observance of religious rites as the criteria to judge them.
Elsewhere in the book, the author criticizes the thoughts of Egyptian theorist Sayyid Qutb, noting that movements that followed his line of thoughts see the communities deviated and seek a harsh response to that.
The writer points to the importance of tolerance and mercy, noting that the concept of mercy and kindness have been mentioned 550 times in the Holy Quran.
Qarbawi’s book is full of references to Quranic verses as well as hadiths and these sources can help Islamic thinkers offer theories about tolerance in Islam.
