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.
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