New Age Islam
Wed Nov 13 2024, 12:18 AM

Islam and Sectarianism ( 23 Oct 2021, NewAgeIslam.Com)

Comment | Comment

Destruction Of Temples Is Forbidden In Islam: Sheikh Hasina Must Focus On Punishing The Islamist Criminals And Protecting Hindu Minorities. Indian Muslims Are Not Her Concern.

Muslims Must Raise Our Voices Against Bangladeshi Criminals And Stop Them From Justifying Their Actions By Citing Violent Occurrences Against Muslims In India

Main Points

1.    Sheikh Hasian said that the offenders would be severely punished and that the country's Hindu community would be protected.

2.    She also asked India to take strong measures against criminals.

3.    Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh cannot be justified by comparisons to Muslim persecution in India.

4.    Islam forbids the destruction of sites of worship, churches or temples.

......

New Age Islam Staff Writer

23 October 2021

According to a BBC Urdu report, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said two days after the attack on a Hindu community temple during Durga Puja in Bangladesh that the offenders would be severely punished and that the country's Hindu community would be protected. The government of Sheikh Hasina is constantly talking about the safety of the Hindu community in Bangladesh, but the way the Prime Minister tied Hindu security to the Indian leadership on Wednesday was unprecedented. Sheikh Hasina has also asked India to take strong measures against criminals.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also Read:   Abbas Siddiqi's Communalism Is Dangerous: Muslims in West Bengal Should Beware Of His Militant Mindset, Throw Him Out Of Furfura Sharif Shrine Management; He Is No Sufi

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

----

Sheikh Hasina should rethink her words, in my opinion. She must focus on punishing the criminals while ignoring the concerns of Indian Muslims. Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh cannot be justified by comparisons to Muslim persecution in India. Only the guilty will be punished, according to Islam, and it is not allowed to oppress anyone unjustly. Bangladesh is a country where Hindus are a minority and have some sites of worship that the Bangladeshi government is responsible for protecting. In this essay, we will express Islam's perspective on the preservation of non-Muslim sites of worship in the hopes that the extremists who attacked the temples will remember Islam's forgotten message and refrain from further nefarious acts.

Islam forbids the destruction of sites of worship. It guarantees the security of non-Muslims’ churches, temples, and other places of worship both within and beyond Islamic territory. Through his directives, contracts, agreements, and accords, the beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) conferred a constitutional status to this protection. The Prophet's provision of religious rights and freedoms to the people of Najran is remarkable and compelling evidence in this regard.

 The Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said,

“Indeed, Najran and her allies are under the protection of God and the Messenger of God is ensuring them. They must be safeguarded in terms of their riches, lives, lands, and religion. This covers their priests and monks, as well as those who are present and those who are absent, as well as their delegations and the likes. They will not be forced to change their (religion), nor will any of their rights be relinquished. There will be no fear or danger among them, and no monk, priest, or attendant will lose what he has, whether it is bountiful or poor.” (This Hadith was cited by Imam Abu Yusuf Hanafi in al-Kharaj, 78)

Non-Muslims had the same rights as Muslims during Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq’s caliphate. Hazrat Abu Bakr would tell the leader of any army before they embarked on a military campaign, “Do not sow corruption in the earth and do not disobey commands...Date palm trees should not be drowned or burned. No animal should be killed. A fruit-bearing tree should not be cut down. A church should not be demolished. Do not harm children, the elderly, or women. You'll soon come across persons who have sequestered themselves in cloisters; leave them to participate in whatever it is for which they have sequestered themselves.” (Narrated by Imam Bayhaqi in Sunan Al-Kubra, Imam Malik in Muwatta etc)

Hazrat Abu Bakr told Yazid b. Abi Sufyan when he was sent to Syria, “Do not ruin any house of worship and don't kill an elderly, frail man, an infant, a youngster, or a lady” (From Sunan Kubra, narrated by Imam Bayhaqi)

Hazrat Umar bin Abd al-Aziz used to advise his officials, according to a hadith recorded by Imam Shaybani, by saying,

“Do not demolish any church, cloister or Zoroastrian temple” (Kitab al-Hujja ala Ahl al-Madina and Imam Shafi’I in Kitab al-Umm 7:320)

Classical jurists and Mufasserin cite Quranic verse 22:40 to support the concept that Muslims are prohibited from destroying the sites of worship of non-Muslims with whom they have signed treaties both within and outside Islamic territory.

Allah Almighty says in the verse,

“[They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right - only because they say, "Our Lord is Allah." And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.” (22:40)

“The houses of worship for non-Muslim citizens must be defended by the believers,” Hazrat Hasan Al-Basri says in the commentary to this Ayat. (Ahkam Al-Quran by Imam Al-Jassas 5/83)

Ibn Khuwaiz said: “This Quranic verse contains the prohibition of demolishing the churches of non-Muslim citizens, their temples, and their places of worship,” Imam Qurtubi wrote in his Tafsir-e-Qurtubi under verse 22:40.

Imam Tabari records the following covenant of Hazrat Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam, which guaranteed the safety of Christians in Jerusalem, their lives, their property, and their places of worship:

“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, This is what is granted of security by the servant of Allah, Umar, the commander of the faithful, to the people of Jerusalem. He grants them safety for their lives, their property, their churches, and their crucifixes, for their ill, their healthy, and their entire community. Their churches will not be occupied, demolished, or reduced in number. Their churches and crucifixes will not be desecrated and neither anything else of their property. They will not be coerced to abandon their religion and none of them will be harmed” (Tareekh At-Tabari 2/449)

According to a popularly cited incident, an Umayyad ruler named Walid b. Abd al-Malik took a plot of land belonging to the Church of Damascus and turned it into a mosque. When Hazrat Umar b. Abd al-Aziz learned of this, he ordered that part of the mosque be demolished and the land returned to the Christians. The following is an excerpt from one of the relevant reports:

Translation: “When Hazrat Umar b. Abd al-Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him) became the Caliph, the Christians complained to him about Walid’s seizure of the property of a church. Hazrat Umar dictated orders to his governor there, commanding him to return to the Christians the portion that was added to the mosque” (See Futhul Buldan p.150)

The aforementioned pieces of evidence are noteworthy and reinforce the idea that Islam forbids the destruction of non-Muslim sites of worship both within and outside Islamic territory, and during peace and conflict.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Also Read:  Targeting Hindus in Bangladesh Must Stop

-------------------------------------------------------------

The extremist Muslim individuals that attacked the temple of Bangladesh should take this essay's message and reflect on their mistakes. They have done a grave wrong, and the Bangladeshi government must punish them according to the law.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh should rethink her words and teach her offenders the following Quranic verse:

 “...And do not let the hatred of a people for having obstructed you from al-Masjid al-Haram lead you to transgress. And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty” (5:2).

For Indian Muslims, Indian law still applies, and we have a majority of Muslims and non-Muslims who stand together to speak out against injustice. As a result, we Muslims must raise our voices against Bangladeshi criminals and stop them from justifying their actions by citing occurrences against Muslims in India.

URL:  https://www.newageislam.com/islam-sectarianism/hasina-indian-muslims-temples-islamist-criminals-/d/125633


New Age IslamIslam OnlineIslamic WebsiteAfrican Muslim NewsArab World NewsSouth Asia NewsIndian Muslim NewsWorld Muslim NewsWomen in IslamIslamic FeminismArab WomenWomen In ArabIslamophobia in AmericaMuslim Women in WestIslam Women and Feminism

Loading..

Loading..