ASK MAULANA

ASK MAULANA Your Questions Answered You say that the formula for managing religious differences should be to ‘follow one religion and respect all’. Can you please explain what ‘respecting’ all religions means in the Islamic context, given that there are several beliefs/practices in other religions that are condemned by Islam—e.g. idol worship and polytheism in popular Hinduism, the Christian Trinity, the Jain and Buddhist denial of a creator God? Since these beliefs and practices in these religions are condemned by Islam, in what sense do you, as a Muslim, respect these religions? Islam believes in discussion, and not in condemnation. In every field, there is an accepted principle that while giving respect to the other party, there should be scientific discussion on differences. The same is required in religious matters. Mutual respect is a matter of social ethics. At the same time, it is possible for people to hold different opinions. If there is difference of opinion, there should be peaceful dialogue on it. Differences are not an evil. Differences are a means for intellectual development. If there is no difference, there cannot be any discussion, and hence no intellectual development. Both parties must admit this natural fact. Discussion is not bad. But it is certainly wrong to turn discussions into debates. You give a great deal of stress to intellectual development, and in fact you seem to suggest that it is similar to, or perhaps identical with, spiritual development. What exactly do you mean by ‘intellectual development’? How is your understanding of ‘intellectual development’ different from how, say, an atheist intellectual or academic would define it? I believe in mind-based spirituality. So, according to my perception, both spiritual development and intellectual development are one and the same. There is no real difference between the two.