Interfaith Dialogue in Islam

How can the Quran be considered perfect if it requires Hadith (the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad) to clarify it? N othing in life is self-explanatory. It must be understood that as a book of wisdom and guidance, the Quran principally deals with basics. It is the Hadith which gives the details and necessary explanations of Quranic injunctions. It is as if the Quran is the text and the Hadith its commentary, the Quran being the theory and the Hadith the practice. Both are equally essential for the following of religion. Do you think political Islam is compatible with Western values? Political Islam is based on a self-interpretation and has nothing to do with Islam. Political Islam rests on authoritarianism and is certainly not compatible with Western values, which are based on freedom and democracy. Islam is a religion of nature and operates on the principle of freedom. Just as nature does not follow the course of authoritarianism, similarly Islam does not encourage authoritarianism. Islam recognizes individual freedom. But this also means that everyone is free to misuse their freedom. It is this misuse of freedom that creates problems. In such a scenario, those who misuse their freedom may be made to understand and persuaded with reason. However, abolishing their freedom is not the solution advocated by Islam. Can someone be an Islamic scholar but not a Muslim? Y es, it is possible. The prerequisite for a non-Muslim would be to be totally objective in his pursuit of knowledge and the prerequisite for a Muslim would be to be completely Godfearing and unbiased as he treads the path of knowledge. These are conditions for both kinds of Islamic scholars. Without these conditions neither Muslims nor non-Muslims can become scholars of Islam, in the real sense. Is Wahhabism true Islam? N o, it is not Islam. Wahhabism is extremism and extremism is not permitted in Islam. An example of this extremism is that there were several houses of the Companions of the Prophet in Makkah and Madinah, the most important one being that of Hazarat Khadija in Makkah where the Prophet had spent his early life. People used to visit these places to experience the early history of Islam and the life of the Prophet. When Wahhabis came into power, they razed down these houses on the plea that people would start holding these places sacred or associating sanctity to them. The Wahhabis thought that such sacred veneration of