The Root Cause of Riots

2. Avoidance of Protest Gradually Changes the Status Quo: The Prophet lived in Makkah for thirteen years after he received his prophethood. During this period, a group of people embraced Islam, but the majority continued to be diametrically opposed to it. At that time in Makkah, Dar-al-Nadwa was its political centre. The Makkan leaders held meetings here and decided unanimously to boycott the Prophet Muhammad. When they failed to apply a brake even with this method, they decided to assassinate him. At that time, the Prophet Muhammad did not launch a campaign to capture Dar-al-Nadwa, the centre of his opposition. The Prophet did not even commence hostilities against these Makkan leaders. There was no fight to the finish. Instead what he did once again was to accept the status quo and quietly leave that place for Madinah, which became the centre of his activities. As history tells us, extraordinary results were produced through this superb and far-sighted strategy. 3. Internal Harmony Results in External Expansion: At that time in Madinah, three religious groups existed— Muslims, Idolators and Jews. Here too the Prophet Muhammad did not directly confront the status quo. Instead, he issued a charter which is known as Sahifa-al-Madinah in the history of Islam. In this situation he adopted almost the same kind of policy as that known as non-interference in modern times. He declared that every religious group would enjoy full freedom in religious and cultural matters, and that the systems in Madinah will be run on the basis of the policy of mutual respect. Consequently, the Prophet found an opportunity to consolidate his mission without unnecessarily setting himself