Chapter Fourteen

if a Muslim does something wrong, Muslim ulema intellectuals should speak and write against it. Likewise, if a Hindu does something wrong, Hindu leaders should speak and write against it. It is just as when a child does something wrong, his parents are the first to admonish him. His parents do not wait for their neighbours to come to their house and scold their child. In any case, even if these people do come and scold their child, it will not have any positive impact on him. It is human nature that one generally takes the admonishment of people one considers one’s own in a positive way, and, accordingly, reforms oneself. In contrast, one generally takes the criticism of people one considers as the ‘other’ as an insult to one’s honour, and so it does not have a positive impact. It is very necessary to keep this practical wisdom in mind with regard to the issue of community unity. Community, Nation and Nationalism In the context of what we are discussing here, there are certain Islamic terms whose clarification is necessary. Clarifying their real import can help in promoting better relations between Muslims and others. On the other hand, a wrong understanding of these terms can only further magnify the distance between them. One of these terms is qaum. From the Quran we learn that every prophet addressed his disbelieving addressees as ya qaumi, which can be translated as ‘O my people!’ From this we learn that the believers and non-believers can share the same nationality, to use a modern term. The fact is that one’s nationality is related with one’s homeland, not with one’s religion. The term to denote adherence to a common religion is millat, while the term to denote sharing a common homeland is qaumiyat. In today’s world, one’s homeland is considered to be the basis of one’s nationality. This is also the teaching of Islam. According to Islam, too, one’s nationality or qaumiyat is based on one’s homeland.