Respect urged for holy books
by mahmood on 17/04/06 at 11:15 am · email · print
Islamic scholars are urging careful handling of the Holy Quran and other Islamic literature, along with mutual respect and understanding, to promote inter-religious harmony.
The advice follows an incident in which a European man was dismissed by his Bahraini employer after allegedly throwing a copy of translations from the Quran into a waste bin.
They were part of a package produced by Discover Islam for visitors to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix last month.
It is believed that the man, a restaurant manager, has since left the country.
“We don’t distribute any material to anyone who isn’t interested,” said Discover Islam volunteer Syed Ali.
“It would be considered imposing on them and we do not believe in doing so.
“If someone shows a contemptuous attitude when disposing of such material, surely anyone who witnessed it would feel hurt and his reaction to it would not be normal and this could lead to unpleasant circumstances.
“The very purpose of distributing the material is to share the knowledge, but if a person is mentally unprepared, it isn’t sharing.
“The Quran is not like any ordinary book and people should give it respect, reverence and special care and it should not be kept in an unclean place.”
Mr Ali urged people to pass on unwanted Qurans or Quranic literature to a Muslim friend.
“A copy of the Holy Quran should be given to a Muslim friend instead of disposing of it,” he said.
“He won’t refuse it and will accept it, being aware of the holiness of the book and the way it should be handled.
Respect is the key word, said Parliament second vice-chairman Shaikh Adel Al Maawda.
“Life depends on mutual respect between people,” he said.
“If someone is not interested in hearing or reading about the Quran, they should make it clear in the beginning.
“Not everyone understands how important the Quran is to Muslims, but a person who has lived in a Muslim country should know how important it is to Muslims.
“If someone doesn’t say they are interested or not in Islamic material, they can keep the material where they find it, or pass it on to a Muslim friend or colleague.”
Mutual respect is a good behaviour guide, said Shaikh Adel.
“Some Christians may not have seen the inside of a church for years, or may not read the Bible, but if you threw a Bible in the bin, they would definitely defend it,” he said.
“Basically, what people should aim for is a respect for beliefs in a country where expatriates know how religious people are and how much love they have for their religion.
“If they don’t understand the holiness of the book, then we cannot blame them.
“You cannot ask someone to love another religion, but you can ask them to respect the feelings of others.
“He may or may not like it and may even find it horrible, but he should at least respect it.”
Shaikh Adel also encouraged the use of common sense in deciding behaviour or a course of action, especially in relation to location and local traditions.
“There is also the need for human common sense,” he said.
“There are certain things that a person would definitely not do at someone else’s residence, but mutual respect will help him to find boundaries to his behaviour.
“There is no harm for a woman to wear a bikini in London, but there would be harm in her doing so in the streets of Manama and definitely in the streets of Riyadh.
“What expatriates need to do is ensure that their rights do not contradict our rights.”
Sharia scholar Shaikh Nizam Yaquby stressed that adherence to local laws, especially in regard to religion, was paramount in maintaining religious harmony.
“Every country has their own codes of laws, conduct and behaviour and there are certain red lines that no one can pass,” he said.
“Anyone in a Muslim country should respect the laws set by the state and region.
“He is free to follow any religion he wants in his own home, but he is not free to insult the religions of others.
“The Quran is the word of Almighty God and disposing of the text in front of a Muslim is an offence to any Muslim.
“If any country issues a decree and people insult it, it is an offence to the king and the people of the place.
“For instance, in America, anyone who burned an American flag would be jailed and to Muslims the Quran is more than a mere flag.”
Expatriates should be sensitive to local beliefs, said Shaikh Nizam.
“Anyone living in a Muslim country should have knowledge of the customs and beliefs of the country he is living in and abide by their laws,” he said.
“This does not mean that we discourage the discussion and the debate of the Quran with Islamic scholars and teachers, but they need to be discussed in a proper manner.
“But to insult the Quran, or the Prophet Mohammed, is an offence to any Muslim.
“The Muslim people hold the Quran and the Prophet in very high respect and they have a very dear place in their lives.
“For many Muslims, the Quran is more dear than our children and even more dear than life itself!
“Therefore for someone to dispose of the Quran would be a grave insult and would not be acceptable by the state.”
Shaikh Nizam said that the
man dismissed from his job had achieved nothing by behaving the way he did.
“We should also ask what was the reason for the man’s behaviour,” he said.
“It was his choice to choose to believe or not to believe, but there was no need to insult anyone.
“All he has achieved is to harm himself and is now a bad ambassador for his country.
“If a man disposes of the Quran without the knowledge of anyone else, then the issue is between him and Almighty God.
“We aren’t in an age where books can be banned, but are instead in the age of the Internet, where the Quran can be downloaded and printed.
“But if a person does dispose of the Quran in a public place and in front of other Muslims, then he will be held in account by the law.
“Instead of disposing of them, someone could gift the books either to bookstores, schools, second-hand shops, or even to Discover Islam volunteers.”
Every holy book should be given due respect, considering its contents, said Shaikh Nizam.
“Muslims believe that every holy book is sacred,” he said.
“It is not only the Quran, even the Bible is considered holy because it contains the name of Almighty God and the Prophets.”
GDN :: Alistair Bapista :: 17 Apr ’06
