The Religion of Peace

time, God commanded the end of this artificial system so that the doors of goodness could be opened to humanity. The Quran sets forth this commandment: Fight them until there is no more [religious] persecution, and religion belongs wholly to God. (8:39) In this verse, ‘persecution’ or, in Arabic, fitna, means the ancient system of political coercion that, at the time when this verse was revealed, prevailed all over the world. And here the term ‘religion’, or, in Arabic, deen, means God’s creation system based on nature. This means that the artificial system of coercion should be ended and, according to God’s creation plan, the natural condition should be established wherein everyone will have freedom to act and will be able to undergo the test of life in a free environment. Through the struggles and sacrifices of the Prophet and his Companions, the ancient coercive system was demolished, and a new system, which God wanted, emerged. This was a great change, a unique revolution that changed the face of the globe. Islam overthrew the traditional order of history. This revolution was so vast that it could not come about all of a sudden. And so, with God’s special help, it carried on in the form of a process. This revolution of the early period of Islam was a push, as it were, that was given to history. After this, history began moving in a particular direction. The process that started with Islam in the seventh century then carried on, reaching its culmination in the 20th and 21st centuries. Thereafter, it became impossible for the old-style coercive system to be re-established in the world. This is no mere coincidence. The fact is that because of the developments in the last two centuries, the world has witnessed enormous changes that block the possibilities of oldstyle empires being established anywhere. The factors that allow for such empires to be established now simply no longer exist.