ASK MAULANA

What should be the approach of a Muslim towards verbal attack over social and other media? These kind of talks on social and other media are based on vested interests and political motivations. Muslims should not retaliate on any negative remarks and should instead focus on positive dissemination of ideas. They must remain peaceful, polite, and take guidance from the following verses of the Quran: Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. (41: 34) The true servants of the Gracious One are those who walk upon the earth with humility and when they are addressed by the ignorant ones, their response is ‘Peace’. (25: 63) To what extent are Islam and secularism reconcilable? Islam and secularism are fully compatible. As per the encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, secularism is a policy of non-interference in religious matters. In a secular government, every religious community has the right to follow its own faith. This was demonstrated even by the Prophet Muhammad when he drafted the Madinah charter, according to which different religious groups were allowed to have their own personal law. The true meaning of secular personal law has been alluded to in the following verse of the Quran, according to which, people of other faiths could follow their own Holy books to judge their matters: We have revealed the Torah, in which there is guidance and light. By it the prophets who were obedient to Us judged the Jews, and so did the rabbis and the priests, according to God’s Book which had been entrusted to their care; and to which they were witnesses. (5: 44) But why do they come to you for judgement when they have the Torah, which enshrines God’s own judgement? (5: 43) The Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad make it clear that secularism and the teachings of Islam are alike. Groups that claim otherwise are completely mistaken in promoting un-Islamic ideas of religious superiority. o