The Holy Qur’an is a divine book of guidance sent by the Almighty for the progress and salvation of the whole humanity. Being the word of God, this book deserves the special attention of world leaders, decision makers and think-tanks to find solutions to problems facing mankind.
The Qur’an brought about a revolution in the life of Muslims, especially during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his caliphs. It transformed the Bedouins of Arabia into makers of civilization. Nevertheless, the many enemies of the faith have launched campaigns against it since its revelation 14 centuries ago.
Following 9/11 attacks in the US, some falsely and unfairly accused the Qur’an of being the main source of terrorism and extremism by quoting its verses out of context.
Dutch right-wing MP Geert Wilders produced an anti-Qur’an film named “Fitna” which accused the holy book of spreading hatred and intolerance. The MP has also called for a ban on the holy book.
Abdullah Basfar, secretary-general of the Holy Qur’an Memorization International Organization (HQMIO), an affiliate of the Makkah-based Muslim World League, expresses his surprise at the distortion.
“This smear campaign is totally against the mission and message of the Holy Qur’an. Contrary to what they say, the Qur’an promotes peace, justice, tolerance and goodness, and offers solutions to the problems of humanity. It seeks the happiness of the whole world. It is a divine light that removes the darkness of evil and corruption,” he told Arab News.
Basfar said that some Muslims were partly to blame for fueling this smear campaign. He urged the believers to practice the teachings of the Qur’an in all walks of life.
“Muslims should be kind to others, engage in righteous activities and cooperate with other people,” he said. “They should also extend a helping hand to all people, promote moral values and fight crime, corruption and terrorism. The Qur’an states there is no compulsion in Islam. It is a religion of freedom, nobody is forced to follow the Islamic faith.”
Speaking about the film “Fitna,” Basfar said the director consciously took passages out of context. “The film quoted Qur’anic verses out of context to tarnish the image of the Qur’an. The film, however, had an opposite effect: It encouraged many non-Muslims in the West to study the Qur’an to see whether it really called for violence. Many of them later embraced Islam.”
Muslims should be proactive in their response to such films, Basfar said. “They should produce films and documentaries exposing the false allegations made against Islam, its Prophet and holy book, and explaining the meaning of verses wrongly quoted in ‘Fitna.’”
Extremists have been doing a disservice to Islam by giving ammunition to enemies through their irresponsible actions. “Islam instructs Muslims to do justice to non-Muslims who are not at war with them,” he added. “The Qur’an has told Muslims to fight those who fight against them, for self-defense. It does not say fight every non-Muslim. Even while fighting, it says, Muslims should not exceed the limits. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to advise Muslim soldiers not to kill women, children and the elderly and not to destroy trees and places of worship.”
Basfar urged the people of the world to look at Islam and the Qur’an fairly for their own benefit. “After the global financial crisis, some Western thinkers and economists called for the introducing of the Islamic banking system. Interest, the sale of debt or the sale of goods one does not possess are some of the reasons for the present crisis. Islam prohibited such business activities a long time ago.
“The world should be humble to learn what God has taught it through Islam. Millions of dollars have been spent to treat AIDS without people listening to what the Qur’an has said to solve this problem. Millions of dollars have been spent to fight the menace of drugs that has killed thousands. People should know that the Qur’an has a solution to this problem.”
According to Basfar, the enemies of Islam have resorted to campaigns to stop the spread of Islam. “But these campaigns have failed to stop the growing popularity of Islam, because it is a divine religion,” he said. “It is spreading in Europe, especially among women. People should think why Western women are embracing Islam even after the strident hate campaigns telling people that it oppresses women and does not protect their rights.”
“After 9/11 even more churches were converted into mosques,” said Basfar. “Having a mosque in a residential neighborhood is good for stability, promoting moral values and preventing crime. Westerners should welcome Islam for their own social and economic progress. It is their choice and they should not miss the opportunity.”
Basfar praised Westerners for their exemplary qualities of kindness, justice and good behavior, and adherence to democratic values. He hailed the American people for electing Barack Obama as their president and hoped Obama would stop the massacre of Muslims in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. “We hope Obama will cooperate with the Arab and Islamic countries on the basis of mutual respect and trust. We hope he will stop these wars that have killed millions of innocent people,” he added.
Basfar’s organization — established in 2000 — has played a huge role in spreading the message of Qur’an across the world. It runs more than 60 model Qur’an memorization institutes in Africa, Asia and Europe. Students are also taught Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence, Hadith, Tawhid and Islamic history.
“We provide scholarships to graduates of these institutes to pursue higher studies in medicine, engineering, management and other courses,” he said, adding that the HQMIO has so far given more than 1,000 scholarships to its students. The organization also sponsors Qur’an learning centers at mosques.
“At present, we support nearly 1,000 such centers, mainly in Africa. More than 26,000 students are learning the Qur’an at these centers,” Basfar said.
The HQMIO holds 30 Qur’an recitation and memorization contests in various countries to encourage young men and women to memorize the Qur’an and understand its message. “We hold an annual competition for children below 10 in Islamabad which draws 1,000 boys and girls. High-ranking Pakistani officials attend the concluding ceremony,” he said, adding that a similar contest is held in Bangladesh. Contestants from 20 African countries attended a Qur’an competition in Sudan. The HQMIO plans new contests in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Croatia, the US, Brazil and Venezuela.
“Every year we conduct intensive courses for teachers of Qur’an memorization centers and prayer leaders (imams) in different countries with the cooperation of Islamic centers there,” Basfar said. The courses are attended by prominent Qur’an reciters from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and other Arab countries.
HQMIO organizes meetings and seminars for scholars and experts to exchange views on improving the performance Qur’an centers. A four-day international conference will be held in Makkah shortly to discuss plans to make the HQMIO a reference body for Qur’an memorization centers all over the world.
The organization has also established an online school, which was launched last Ramadan by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. Students in Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and other countries have joined the school (www.quranschool.net). “This school will be part of our centers in various parts of the world,” Basfar said.
He also disclosed plans to produce educational TV programs. “We have so far produced 30 episodes which have been a big success. Many satellite channels reproduce our programs,” he said.