Communal Egos and Inter-Community Conflict

supposed symbol of their communal honour. They have made them a question of their honour. If a non-Muslim procession playing music passes by their mosque, they take it as a personal insult. And if they manage to stop the procession, they imagine they have boosted their community’s prestige. This is an entirely un-Islamic approach. God and His Prophet certainly do not prescribe this. It is only their own egos that instigate some Muslims to behave in this manner. Their egos want to provoke them against other people, people who Muslims should be to inviting to God. These Muslims’ egos stoke the fires of communal hatred and make sure that they can never relate to others as Muslims should, because when Muslims and others are divided by intense suspicion and hatred, the task of dawah, inviting others to God, which Muslims should engage in, can never happen. Needless to say, far from being rewarded by God for stoking communal conflict, it is very much possible that by giving their communal foolishness a so-called ‘Islamic’ label, such Muslims will be punished by God. 12 Responding to Provocation through Patience Suppose a situation arises that threatens to turn into violence between two communities. There are two ways to respond to this. One way is by