JEDDAH, 23 June — We often read in Arabic newspapers such comments as “Had Hitler completed his mission...” or “Hitler was not given the opportunity”. By their comments, they are expressing a wish that Hitler had succeeded in exterminating the Jews. At the same time, they seem to have overlooked the fact that Jews are ‘People of the Book’ and further, that Islam prohibits the extermination of any community or the oppression of any religion.
It is indeed unfortunate to hear or to read such comments and ideas in the Arab and Islamic world. The hallmark of an Islamic state is respect for other people and their religions. The Shariah tells its followers to do justice to the oppressed even if they are non-Muslim. Good dealings with, and respect for, other communities and religions are the fundamental features of an Islamic cultural personality. History is a witness to that as the best example was in Andalus — modern Spain — and it lasted for eight centuries. It was an example for many other civilizations. Andalus — where both Christians and Jews lived peacefully — has not been the only example of Islamic coexistence. It has been repeated in other parts of the Islamic world — the Indian subcontinent, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia. The harmonious relations between the groups resulted in the creation of a rich and innovative culture. For several centuries, this culture made important contributions, which spread over large parts of the world.
This model Islamic society was not one which appeared in a small area in a distant place for a few decades and then disappeared like a mirage. Nor was it one which became a legend, living on in the proud boasts of generations which never saw it. On the contrary, it was a lively and effective society which met and overcome many challenges.
If the racist ideas which are now being circulated had been applied to the challenges we have encountered in our history — such as the Crusades or the expulsion of Muslims from Spain or ethnic cleansing in the Balkans — there would have been no Christians in Muslim countries. If we accuse all Jews and demand their extermination for the wrongdoing of some, then why don’t we demand the extermination of all Christians in response to the massacres committed by Christian colonialists from Europe?
Have the colonialists succeeded finally in transforming us to what they were and having us look at people as belonging to different classes and groups? Have they been able to root the Islamic spirit from us? I will not say “the Islamic structure” as we still hold to Islamic patterns. The question is, however, whether we have become Westerners in an Islamic mold. If that is the case, then we Muslims have been defeated by adopting Western racist thinking. Too many Muslims oppose racism only when Muslims are the victims. Every person who calls himself or herself a Muslim should ask the following question: Do I reject all forms of injustice or is it only when the victims are Muslims?
(Reem Mohammed AlFaisal is a Saudi photographer. She is based in Jeddah.)