A True Conception of Islam

A True Conception of Islam

1988 4 April 13-14 A True Conception of Islam (526) It is horrifying to see how many people there are in this world today who are ready to hate others in the name of Islam, and how few there are who are ready to love others for the sake of their religion.

Many “revolutionary changes” have marked the Iranian scene since the theocratic coup of 1979. One of the less obvious, but nevertheless heavily symbolic innovations is the inter-weaving of the flags of the U.S.S.R., the U.S.A. and Israel into the carpeting on the staircases leading up to the National Assembly and other buildings of public importance. The object of this exercise is to ensure that the flags of the “enemies of Islam” are trodden underfoot by all the multitudes who enter and leave these various buildings. The modern upholders of Islam would appear to feel that it is their religious duty to desecrate the symbols of pride and glory of non-Muslim nations. But isn’t this a philosophy of unmitigated hatred? And, as such, what does it have to do with genuine, Islamic principles?

The ignoble perpetrators of this macabre witlessness would do well to turn their sick minds to the study of the lives of the Prophet of Islam and his companions. They would find that these men of God were so intent upon saving everyone from eternal perdition that they would include even their enemies in their incessant prayers for God’s guidance. They would generously return love for hate in the hopes that their ill-wishers would have a change of heart, and allow themselves to be brought closer to Islam. They never humiliated those who made them the target of their spite, for they considered that this would have the effect of driving their adversaries even further away from Islam and into irremediable bigotry. They even treated degraded and degenerate Individuals with respect in the hopes that, by ignoring the obliteration of their true natures, they could bring about their moral regeneration. They particularly avoided treating the fallen as if Islam could never be theirs. On the contrary, they always made a point of teaching them that it was well within their reach. This was the idealistic example set by the Prophet and his companions, but, today, it is regularly ignored and flouted by contemporary Muslim leaders.

It is horrifying to see how many people there are in this world today who are ready to hate others in the name of Islam, and how few there are who are ready to love others for the sake of their religion. Similarly, there are innumerable ‘devotees’ who take pride in their so called Islamic beliefs, but where is the man who is willing to bury’ his pride as is taught by true religion? There is great eagerness to trample the “enemies of Islam” underfoot, but where is the zeal there ought to be for bringing people closer to God? This is what Al-Risala aims to do: its message is directed not only to unbelievers and wrongdoers, but also to self-styled believers who have a warped and erroneous conception of Islam. We invite those who truly wish to serve Islam to join us in our sacred mission.