By Arman Neyazi, New Age Islam
5 June 2021
Religion Provides A Code Of Conduct For A Human Being To Live In A Humane Society That Can Not Survive With An Individualistic Ideology
Main Points:
1. Religious pluralism is the basis of a lasting and ever fruitful human life.
2. Religions have cultivated human being into a society of humanity where all live in peace along with all the differences they inherit by birth.
3. The human being's being distributed in nations and having different customs, rituals, languages, food habits and lastly, the dress code is the beauty of the world.
4. Most of mankind lives with the impression of their religion being 'the best.
5. The human mind does not easily endorse a religious supremacist ideology unless he is coerced into it with the greed of worldly materialistic gains.
-----
Religious pluralism is the basis of a lasting and ever fruitful human life. Religion provides a code of conduct for a human being to live in a humane society that can not survive with an individualistic ideology. Religions have cultivated human being into a society of humanity where all live in peace along with all the differences they inherit by birth. The human being's being distributed in nations, meaning thereby, having different customs, rituals, languages, food habits and lastly the dress code are the beauty of the world. In absence of the differences, the world would have been colourless. Allah, the All-Knower has not distributed human being for bringing in 'Us Vs Them' but to make it liveable. The Holy Quran says:
O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into races and tribes, so that you may identify one another. (Surah Al-Hujurat - 13) — Mufti Taqi Usmani
The expression, 'Made you in races and tribe' is a perfect example of creating the beauty of 'pluralism'. 'So that you may identify one another' is a command to identify each other as brothers and sister no matter in what physical or colour attributes we may find them.
One can not find any example in any of the religions of disunity and divertive teaching, of hatred and jealousy with each other. The human being of one nation can not live hating human beings of other nations. One community can not prosper living a life of jealousy. Human beings negative attributes damage the chances of prosperity and development, spiritual, religious and humanly more of the person or the community concerned than those of the others. It is, therefore, more in our interest to have faith and believe in the ethos of a pluralistic society than having to live in a negative world, created by ourselves.
Islam Advocates Religious Pluralism
Most of mankind lives with the impression of their religion being 'the best. It is not their fault. As a kid, they are taught this lesson of 'supremacism' that translates into negative psychology of greatness in their character and characterism. First of all, society must take care of the kids being taught the religious ethos of every religion. This practice should be adhered to in every part of the world society. And there should not be any compulsion, whatsoever in their selecting a way of life, they desire to. Their education of all religions will provide them with a broad spectrum of social ethos based on religion or even without it. Islam propagates and encourages people to select their religion without any social compulsion. Consider what Allah, the Most Gracious commands in the following Ayaat of the Holy Quran:
And We have sent down to you the Book with the truth, confirming what is before it of the Book and a protector over it. Therefore judge between them by what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their vain desires diverging away from that which has come to you from the Truth (Haq).... (Al-Ma'idah-48) - Imam Iskender Ali Mihr
...."We believe what has been sent down to us, and we believe what has been sent down to you. Our God and your God is one, and to Him, we submit." (Al-Ankabut-46) - Ahmed Ali
Indian Society – A Pluralism Embedded Society
Indian society is one of the oldest societies in the world. Societies not believing and advocating in religious and social pluralism have a short span of life. To live and to get accolades in the world a person or a nation has to live for the people of the world not for himself. So is the social ethos of the country, India, where Hinduism lives with Islam, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism and maintains the most cordial relationship one can imagine of. Consider the pluralistic teachings of the religions in India that advocate the theory of ‘unity in diversity.
Hinduism
Hinduism regards all other religions as nana Panthas, as innumerable paths for spiritual realisation. It regards the choice of a Pantha as a matter of personal preference.
Hinduism categorically asserts: “Ekam Sat, Vipra Bahudha Vadanti” — the truth is one but is interpreted differently by the learned.
Sikhism
Do not say that the Vedas, the Bible and the Quran are false. Those who do not contemplate them are false. — Guru Granth Sahib page 1350
Some call the Lord "Ram, Ram", and some "Khuda". Some serve Him as "Gusain", others as "Allah". He is the Cause of causes, and Generous. He showers His Grace and Mercy upon us. Some pilgrims bathe at sacred shrines, others go on Hajj to Mecca. Some do devotional worship, whilst others bow their heads in prayer. Some read the Vedas, and some the Koran. Some wear blue robes, and some wear white. Some call themselves Muslim, and some call themselves Hindu. Some yearn for paradise, and others long for heaven. Says Nanak, one who realizes the Hukam of God's Will, knows the secrets of his Lord Master. (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Page:885)
One who recognizes that all spiritual paths lead to the One shall be emancipated. One who speaks lies shall fall into hell and burn. In all the world, the most blessed and sanctified are those who remain absorbed in Truth. (SGGS Ang 142)[55]
The seconds, minutes, and hours, days, weeks and months and various seasons originate from One Sun; O Nanak, in just the same way, the many forms originate from the Creator. (Guru Granth Sahib page 12,13)
Buddhism
All religions should reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-control and purity of heart. Rock Edict Nb7 (S. Dhammika)
Contact (between religions) is good. One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others. Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, desires that all should be well-learned in the good doctrines of other religions. (Rock Edict Nb12 (S. Dhammika)
Jainism
The Jainas have adopted the doctrine of Anekantavada — that is the doctrine of many perspectives.
(Religious pluralism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia)
Photo Courtesy/Can Islam Be French? Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State. By John B. Bowen, 2010, Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691152493
-----
Supremacist Trait is A Personality Disorder
Nothing is far from the realm of the human mind. The human being can strive and understand the human psychology that has many dimension of it. It should not be a tedious and near impossible job to understand the psychological lessons concerning our day to day life. It is in the human being psyche not to accept the superiority of others, especially if it affects the basics of everyday living.
Religion is one mentally ingrained thing that mankind does not like others to interference into. Knowing that the religion he is following teaches to live in harmony and peace, the concerned mind does not easily endorse a religious supremacist ideology unless he is coerced into it with the greed of worldly materialistic gains. This wrongfully endorsed conversion to any ideology is not lasting though temporarily it serves the purpose of the perpetrator.
The human being does not go with the idea of discord, tension and destruction in the society unless he is either unaware of the facts or is suffering from any form of religious radicalism. These are the only conclusions that one reaches about the religious anti-pluralistic ideology.
And Allah Knows the best.
----
Arman Neyazi is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/humane-trait-pluralistic-supermacist/d/124936
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism
No comments:
Post a Comment