Practice What You Preach

Take the instance of a famous Muslim paper. Several years ago, it published a long article on the Hudaybiyah Treaty. It explained that the Treaty facilitated Islam’s victory over Arabia. According to the article, the crux of the Treaty was that, despite all kinds of provocations from their opponents, Muslims would unilaterally abstain from reacting. Avoiding confrontation, they would focus on constructive and positive work and would thereby gain success. In the words of the author of this article: During this period, while negotiations were on, the Quraysh continued with their efforts in different ways to provoke Muslims to start a fight, but the Companions all through exercised great self-restraint as directed by their leader and refused to fall into any trap. Once, a group of around 50 stealthily approached the camp of Muslims in the night and started pelting stones. The Companions of the Prophet, who had already been cautioned against reacting to such provocations, kept their cool and rounded up them all and produced them before the Prophet, who simply let them go. The article discussed in detail this spirit that informed the Hudaybiyah Treaty. It explained that because the Muslims did not get provoked despite the provocative situation, it enabled Islam to be victorious over Arabia. Interestingly, this very same Muslim paper which published this article has been consistently advocating precisely the opposite approach on the question of relations between Muslims and others in India. It has for long been instigating Muslims to get worked up in the wake of provocations. For instance, with regard to the Bhiwandi and Mumbai riots in 1984 (discussed in the previous chapter), it wrote that Mr. Bal Thackeray had insulted the Prophet and that, in reaction to this, Mr. A.R. Khan, a Muslim Member of the state Legislative Assembly (MLA), took out an angry demonstration and that some Muslims garlanded an effigy of Mr. Thackeray with worn-out slippers.