"People
are either your brothers in religion or your equals in humanity," said the
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar HE Dr Ahmed Al-Tayyeb. Al-Azhar University in Egypt is a well-respected centre for Islamic learning that believes in presenting correct Islamic thought based on moderation.
In The Muis Lecture 2018, themed The Unifying Force of Religion, held in May, Dr Al-Tayyeb said Muslims should reach out to everyone, no matter what their beliefs are.
According to the Grand Imam, the Quran establishes that many divine messages have been delivered, for a single religion with Islam as "the last ring in the chain of a series of divine messages". With this as the context, Dr Al-Tayyeb noted that:
- Diversity in religions, races and languages is a divine natural law, as quoted in the Quran 11: 118-119.
- Freedom of belief follows from this diversity. "It is not plausible in the light of the divine wisdom that God informs us that He has created his servants of different religions and at the same time orders us to make them adopt one religion by revoking their freedom of belief," he said, citing various parts of the Quran including a phrase 2:256 regarding religion and compulsion.
- Given that freedom of belief and differences among humanity are the natural order of things, Muslims should not be "eliminating the other who is different" nor "imposing a unilateral vision or culture on others".
He also discussed the conditions of war, how Muslims should treat Christians and Jews, collectively known as the "People of the Book", as well as people who are not "of the Book", in addition to how Muslims may interpret religious teachings in modern times.
Explore:
Read the transcript (translated into English) for The Muis Lecture 2018, which was organised by Muis Academy. A question-and-answer session was also transcribed. (PDF)
Watch the video excerpt
Hashtags: #ResilientMuslims, #SpreadMercy, #MuisLecture
In The Muis Lecture 2018, themed The Unifying Force of Religion, held in May, Dr Al-Tayyeb said Muslims should reach out to everyone, no matter what their beliefs are.
According to the Grand Imam, the Quran establishes that many divine messages have been delivered, for a single religion with Islam as "the last ring in the chain of a series of divine messages". With this as the context, Dr Al-Tayyeb noted that:
- Diversity in religions, races and languages is a divine natural law, as quoted in the Quran 11: 118-119.
 |
| Source: Muis Lecture 2018 transcript. Dr Al- Tayyeb. |
- Given that freedom of belief and differences among humanity are the natural order of things, Muslims should not be "eliminating the other who is different" nor "imposing a unilateral vision or culture on others".
Explore:
Read the transcript (translated into English) for The Muis Lecture 2018, which was organised by Muis Academy. A question-and-answer session was also transcribed. (PDF)
Watch the video excerpt
Hashtags: #ResilientMuslims, #SpreadMercy, #MuisLecture