Islam and the Concept of Freedom in the West

By

 Ahmad Usman Kollere

akkor@yahoo.com

The foundation of life in Islam is built on “Five Pillars” and faith or belief in the oneness of Allah and the certainty of the prophet hood of Muhammad (pbuh) is the first and the most important pillar. This is the simple formula that is declared and pronounced in order to gain acceptance in Islam. Muhammad, peace be upon him, is a prophet and the last messenger sent by Allah, the most high, to bring glad tidings thereby becoming the seal of all prophets right from Adam, the first creation, and to herald in a new beginning to all those who were lost in the deepest darkness and ignorance of the omnipotent maker and sustainer of all that be, to the clearest glow of confidence, choicest way of life and eternal pleasure. That is the way of Islam and the path to total submission to the cause of Allah, the most high. Alongside this backdrop, it is obligatory to all believing men and women to display their uttermost love and respect to Allah, the most high, and his holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. A kind of love that outshines all kinds of love as described in a Hadith related in Sahih Al-Bukhari concerning Umar Ibn Khattab, May Allah be pleased with him which was narrated by Abdullah Ibn Hisham (ra) “we were with the Prophet (pbuh) and he was hobbling the hand of Umar Ibn Khattab. Umar said to him “O Allah’s messenger! You are dearer to me than everything except my own self” then the Prophet (pbuh) said “No by Him in whose Hand my soul is, you will not have complete faith till I am dearer to you than your own self.” Then Umar said to him “now by Allah you are dearer to me than my own self.” The Prophet (pbuh) said “now O Umar, you are a believer”. This is indicative that Muslims must safeguard from slander and any ills, the love, purity and sanctity of its prophet and his message from Allah, the one true God. In recent times, people particularly in the west, like talking about freedom as if previously there was none at all, ever since, the deviation of the devil (Satan) from the path of truth explains without any doubt, that God has given his creatures more than enough freedom. The very first things Prophet Adam observed, when he came to life, were that Allah has given Satan freedom of choice and that He, Allah is the most tolerant of all. Humankind is specially gifted and further strengthened by his Creator to live peacefully in this planet and in conformity to the manual of life, which is the holy Qur’an, thereby becoming the vicegerent of God. The Qur’an has explicitly spoken about the freedom of choice and conscience when it states that “There is no compulsion in religion”, (c2:v256) but that is not to say that we should accuse religion, ridicule and mock the attitude of its followers towards its object of worship. If that is done, it amounts to enjoying an unlimited freedom.


But, even in the jungle where there are no rules, no standardized guidance, no beliefs or any adherence to divine injunctions, no fraternity or any neighborliness, and no consideration or any sort of collective responsibility, there is equally no any unlimited freedom. This is solely because to everything there must be limits and restrictions.


No sensible person will like to accommodate disrespect, slander or lying against his parents, or even his relations not to talk of an entity that shaped and formed his article of faith. People should know that, Muhammad (pbuh) is the “role model” of all Muslims and every Muslim is a messenger to the messenger of Allah because his sayings and deeds are well guarded in Islam. Apart from that, all other prophets are revered and sanctified in Islam. Thus, no any Muslim dares to slander the name of Jesus or Moses. It may interest some people to know that the display of varying images of Jesus, peace be upon him, is also blasphemous and a source of concern for the Muslims. But on the other hand, it appears the Christians consider it fine and adorable. It is worthy to observe that, even Mustapha Akkad, the film maker, who Produced and Directed “The Message” or “Ar-Risaala”, the most celebrated film on the message of Islam, never contemplated showing even the closest companions of the Prophet of Islam. In the same way, even the BBC in its news, on the issue of the recently offensive cartoon published by a Danish newspaper, did not clearly show these pictures because I believe the BBC as the world’s most reputable media organ must be respecting Muslim views. Accordingly, for every freedom there must be a resultant responsibility because the attitude and responsibility towards faith should always be like the Qur’an said “Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion” (c109: v1-6). If one says he does not believe in the message of Muhammad (pbuh), then that person is allowed to go ahead freely and make his life, but if on the other hand he goes further to abuse, ridicule, or slander the Messenger of Allah, that is an overstep of bounds which requires an immediate notice of trespass of this freedom.


Nowadays, it is easily observable that people intentionally hide under the guise of freedom of expression to attack, provoke and stir up Muslims in their various communities, in order to present the scenario that Islam is a religion that supports turbulence and confusion but not peace. If we are not seeking the truth, then what does it imply to have freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of choice, and all other freedoms? According to Ali (ra) the 4th caliph “the right of freedom of speech consists of speaking the truth”. Western idea or concept of freedom and liberty is blatantly offensive and dangerous to Islam, and by extension to the whole world, because Muslims constitute a great population of the world as we live today and the number is harmoniously on the increase by the day. Seemingly, all other religions of the world are comfortable with that, and this further goes on to tell that Islam stands out as a distinct faith. Again, western media in totality is shamelessly detrimental and inimical not only to Islam but to all religions. As an important agent of social change, this media promotes and supports materialism, anarchism and of course secularism which heralds irreligiousness and negates any sacrosanct concept. The quest for freedom in the west has landed its advocates to serious social problems and dangerous confusions which knows no sociologist. For instance, the idea of extended family in the west is now eroded, even the nuclear family itself which is the bedrock for kin group relations is been overtaken by single parenthood, people are now witnessing a shift from not only heterosexual relationships but same sex marriages (an injustice to nature), perhaps soon people will start witnessing the departure of affinal relations. And if all these values were allowed to go forsaken, no one knows what it would include in the future, cyber marriages or cyber families? Probably the world would be in an indeterminate state, but nobody is praying for that to happen.


The world is indeed in require of great positive changes that are far away from the ill-motivated, evil inspired and devil driven freedom. The universality of religion and family as important social institutions must not be traded for devilish beliefs; these institutions must be protected from defamation and disrespect. The UN, as a worldwide body of diplomacy and coexistence, must map out a workable solution to this all important matter, whereby sanctity of objects of worship are nurtured and guaranteed, whereby followers of religions of the world remain calm and not provoked so that all people will be brought amicably to close ties. We crave for Allah to give us freedom from the snares of this world and the devil, as called upon by Usman Ibn Affan (ra), and freedom from polytheism, irreligiousness, slavery, ignorance, and offence.

 Ahmad Usman Kollere

Maiduguri.