The judicious often complain of the confrontational approach between civilizations on the subject of communication. They complain about the ‘burning of bridges’, but what can be done to put an end to this confrontation? Arguably, one of the main solutions is to focus on the common ground between civilizations.

This first step towards commonality was part of the subject of our previous lectures on the problem of communication (or miscommunication) between Islamic and other civilizations. Here, we say that cultural contact is needed to highlight what is shared between two parties, which might otherwise be hidden or unclear for them. It may be that giving the two parties the chance to inform each other of their common ground facilitates the process of communication itself and enables them to discuss the points on which they differ as well. The shared points that parties can focus on can be employed in two main areas: human values and religious values.

Human Values

All people look for peace and justice and equally hate injustice and tyranny. What one does not accept for oneself he should not accept for others. This is the human conscience, which we must revive through highlighting the values in which all believe.

There are certain criteria upon which people do not differ. Such criteria are built on logic and reason, which Descartes describes as “the best thing distributed among people.” They are also built on the principles of human nature, made by Allah with which He has made men. It is the issue known in Islamic philosophy as the issue of judging matters to be either good or bad. Al-Qadi Abdul-Jabbar al-Mu`tazili stated that: “Judging matters to be either good or bad is one of essential knowledge created by Allah in humans.” Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn Al-Qayyim opined that acts are either good or bad by nature, and the mind recognizes this goodness in some of them and badness in others.

In his book Madarij Al-Salikin, Ibn al-Qayyim says: “Allah’s Saying, “…who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong,” (Al-A`raf 7:157) confirms that the religion with which Allah sent the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) orders what is judged by sound reasons to be good, and forbids what is judged by them to be bad.” Among those who considered judging matters to be either good or bad depending on reason were:

1)      the followers of Imam Abu Hanifah, and even this opinion is attributed to imam Abu Hanifah himself;

2)      Abu al-Khattab al-Kluzani and Abu al-Hasan al-Tamimi, who are two great Hanbali scholars; and

3)      the great Shafi`i scholars Abu Ali ibn Abu Hurayrah and Abu Bakr al-Qaffal al-Shashi al-Kabir.

The Imam of Al-Haramayn Al-Sharifayn (“the Two Sacred Mosques: the Sacred Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah”) accepted this concept in regards to human actions, but held that it does not apply to Allah’s Actions. This view supports Al-Ghazali’s theories. It can be said that Muslims create a link between good and goodness to a large extent. In short, those who depend on reason for judging what is good and what is bad make reason the criterion of values, which is common to all humanity. That is, justice is good, and unfairness is bad to the end. Descartes states: “Verily, reason is the best thing equally distributed among all human beings. The international document of human rights represents the most important attempt to employ the shared points between humanity.”

Religious values

In Islam, such values are determined by the Messengers of Allah. In the Qur’an, Allah says: “Say (O Muhammad): “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you”…” (Al-Imran 3:64) And: “…say (to them): “We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you; our Ilah (God) and your Ilah (God) is One (i.e. Allah), and to Him we have submitted (as Muslims)”.” (Al-Ankabut 29:46)

Hunter Mead describes western civilization as inherently Christian: “When we, philosophers, say “Christian”, we mean a “monotheist”. Believing in one God Who governs the universe which He created is the basis of religious thinking of the West. These commands, i.e. all the commands of God, apply to all people everywhere.” This belief is common, as pointed out by some fair-minded Christian clergies, such as Hans-Kyung when he said: “For Jews, Christians and Muslims, faith means that with all their strength and thought human beings here are unconditionally committed to submit and trust in God and His Words.”

In this article we will temporarily suspend our research on need and necessity, to look at the problem of communication between the Islamic community and its western surroundings. This week, I attended a conference in Istanbul held in response to an invitation from both the Turkish and British governments to study Muslim situations in the West. For my part, I sought to explain the oversensitivity that some segments of the European community have towards Muslim existence in the West.

I attempted to present the issue as follows. The variety of people’s colors, languages and beliefs represents a sign of the divine power, just as the flowers and natural landscapes represent a sign that man enjoys. But man is not always able to enjoy the variety of his own kind: “And also (there are signs) in your own selves. Will you not then see?” (Al-Dhariyat51:20-21) Man is able to look around, but he seems unable to enjoy the variety of mankind.

Perhaps this is the reason that this assembly of scholars and wise men have come to this city: to study this issue. A number of questions must be asked: Why do we prevent ourselves from seeing the beauty in each other? Why do we feel unable to bear one another? Why don’t we feel at ease with each other? Why does one cast the other outside of the earth and wish death upon him? Why do people kill one another?

It is despair, frustration and madness. It is man in his animal, primitive and brutal nature. When a man hates another, he will prefer animals over him. An Arab poet once said: “When a wolf howled, I felt company; but when I heard a human voice, I was about to fly.” Despite our ability to subjugate the chaotic universe through the advances forged in science, we have not been able to tame the aggressive nature of man. But, why this aggressiveness? Why bear malice? Are we not partners in life in this universe? Do we not inhale the same air and sustain on the same food? Isn’t our God one and our forefather one? This is what the heavenly messages, in which we believe, say.

Don’t we all love to live and to be happy and hate death and unhappiness? If so, then what is the problem exactly? Is it the problem of having different values? Is it the problem of having different cultures? Is it perhaps the problem of real and unreal interests? Is it a case of inexpressible psychopathy? Or is it a problem of misunderstanding and xenophobia? Who is responsible? Can we say that all are responsible or that we are all innocent? There are many questions. However, firemen do not ask who lit the fire; they simply extinguish it. This is what we will attempt to do.

Paradoxically, many sound-minded persons, from both academic backgrounds as well as lay people, desire to change this situation. But the key to spiritual communication is still amiss. The crisis is one of communication. Thus, we are here to search for the key. We do not have a magical key; only words of wisdom and caution. We will not be able to provide a plan to disentangle the confused emotions; and even if we did provide such a plan, we will not be able to carry it out. What are going to provide? This is what we will attempt to answer in the coming article.

Charitable organizations are such organizations that foster charitable activities in an organized and voluntary way, with ethical and non-profit motives. These are the features and characteristics that distinguish charitable organizations from governmental institutions of social solidarity and other society-service organizations.

Services provided by charitable organizations aim at the general welfare of humanity. They provide help for the poor and the needy, healthcare for the sick, condolences for the aged, housing for the indigents, schools for the students of knowledge, and workshops for unemployed persons to work at or dedicate endowments to encourage scholars and scientific discoveries. These activities, in addition to the role of the governments, are indispensable in civilized societies to face the necessary needs of the society and its development.

This introduction is necessary to understand the role of charitable organizations in general. As for charitable organizations in Islam, they are inseparable parts of the Muslim community because they are deeply rooted in its heritage, values and principles. Thus, charitable institutions are indispensable due to the reasons discussed herewith.

The Value of Charities

Muslims are committed individually and collectively by an explicit Qur’anic text to give part of their wealth in charity every year. This wealth may be in the form of trade, agriculture, animals, or metals. Almighty Allah says: “And those in whose wealth there is a known right, for the beggar who asks and for the unlucky who has lost his property and wealth.” (Al-Ma’arij70:24-25) As such, charitable giving is a duty, rather than just a voluntary act.

Zakah is the third pillar of Islam, after the testimony of the Oneness of Allah and the performance of Prayer. This is the first thing that those who question the role of these organizations have to understand. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions applied this by establishing endowments for the benefit of the needy and wayfarers. Malik (may Allah have mercy with him) said: “These are their endowments (indicating to their endowments in Medina.)”

Muslims have followed their example throughout history. There have been a variety of endowments thereafter; and with their funds great universities and hospitals were established to take care of orphans, widows and the destitute. This is well-documented in Islamic history and Europeans knew of endowments through their contact with Muslims in the Middle Ages. Such a provision for the needy in Islam has created a relationship of solidarity between the rich and poor classes of society. This has historically driven away the ghost of revolution, which continues to plague other societies that fail to give due attention to charitable activities.

Charitable deeds have deep roots in the Islamic history and have been an element of stability and equilibrium in Islamic society. As charitable organizations work in full transparency and deal with the public, they can never deviate from their course; just as good cannot turn to evil. Such trustworthy organizations add value to a stable society.

Charitable organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as in other countries, have undertaken promising services for the benefit of Muslims and non-Muslims. These services include curing the sick, teaching the ignorant, arranging workshops for the unemployed and cooperating with Western charitable organizations that attest to their success in the field of humanitarian work in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Africa.

It is worth mentioning here that such humanitarian services are still unfortunately subject to suspicion on the basis of racial prejudice. Arguably if an individual in society goes astray, it is that individual who should be held responsible for their actions. However, in the current climate, all Islamic organizations (charitable included), and indeed the whole Muslim nation or Islam itself, is being held responsible for the acts of the few. This ‘quick to generalize’ attitude cannot be anything but unjust, because it is not based on accurate information. It is just a form of conjecture and surmise that practices the habit of impugning Islam and Muslims, conducted by organizations that have unambiguous and identifiable goals and ends.

The Muslim response to such conjecture should not be to cut back in charitable activities or to shun goodness, but instead we should form charitable institutions of obvious and constructive goals that benefit the society. Initiatives such as Prince Abdullah’s charitable institution for the provision of suitable housing and Prince Sultan’s city for humanitarian services give the practical response to the unjust campaign against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

We must ask, how can Islamic charitable activities be under such scrutiny and accusation from the West whose effective leader, the United States of America, itself brags about its pioneering role in charitable activity? In 1989 charitable institutions grew to over 32,000 institutions with assets of 137 billion dollars. Rockefeller 1902, Karnigy 1906, Ford 1936, and Johnson 1936 are just some of the ancient institutions that engage in different fields of humanitarian activities including education, health care and preaching. The US federal government encourages these global institutions by exempting them from taxes, yet fails to place any basic trust in international Islamic charities.

It cannot be denied that charitable activities and institutions are indispensable. Contrary to any rumors, they provide elements of stability and balance. Moreover, they are a kind of worship and a translation of the message of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that has come to worship the True God through the true religion and to establish mercy with people. Hence, these institutions should keep working actively in full transparency and unambiguous clarity so as to prove to the whole world the originality of charitable activities in these and other Muslim countries. We must remove ourselves from any doubts and false accusation of terrorism that sham propaganda perpetuates, not only against charitable institutions but also against Islam itself.

Praise be to Allah and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
On both religious and humanistic grounds, we are grieved by the decision of the Swiss people to prohibit the construction of minarets for mosques in the Swiss Confederation.
We perceive in this decision a new obstruction on the road to coexistence and integration among the various ethnic and religious segments in this country, which is, in the minds and hearts of many Muslims and others, an exemplary model of harmonious coexistence that transcends the stereotypes that some people hold of others.
We also perceive a failed hope – in the most progressive of democracies, which is studied in universities and seen as the best practitioner of democracy in the world in the area of constitutional practices – for such a democracy to issue an undemocratic and unconstitutional decision.
We say undemocratic because democracy represents a system of equal opportunity and equality for all, and [this decision represents] the devaluation of ethnicity, color, and religion in its interaction with its citizens. And it is unconstitutional because the constitution supports these concepts—and makes them a standard for cooperation.
Switzerland used to represent all of that. And perhaps, it still does. That is, at least, our hope and desire.
In light of that, we will address the following four messages:
One is to the Swiss people, the owners of the deep-rooted history in resolving ethnic and linguistic disputes. Our hope is that they will commit to introspection. For a wise man once said, “Turning back to truth is better than continuing one’s march into falsehood.” Similarly, we hope they will make a different decision that ennobles and increases the nation’s human capital in the future and not plunge them into backwardness; a decision that appropriately mirrors their history and serves their true interests, not one that is born of emotion and racism.
The second message is for the Swiss government. We offer gratitude for its notable stance in expressing its opposition to the extremist points of view and for inviting us to utilize the appropriate constitutional and legal means to appeal this decision.
Our third message is directed to Europe. Thanks to all of those who continue to cling to the principles of morality and humanity and those who defend human rights in the simplest of its expressions, and especially the European Union, the Vatican, and other commissions. And special thanks go to the Swiss clergy.

We call on those organisations and peoples to challenge the views that have begun to surface in Europe from fanatical right-wing parties that are striving to ignite violent conflict and popularise historical resentment; things that do not support the success of dialogue and the dousing of the fires of tension in the world, a world that has no need for more fires.
And we call on those of goodwill to create a space for tolerance, accord, and coexistence. Construction is not happening only in Europe; it is happening throughout the globe. We are calling on all people of sound minds and wisdom to not content themselves with timid calls [to right action]. They should, instead, be more active and engaged.
The fourth message is to the Muslims of Switzerland especially, and to those of Europe in general. We offer our blessing in observing your maturity, wakefulness, and prudence. And we invite you to represent the values of your great religion: perseverance, tolerance, and forgiveness. “Yet if anyone is patient and forgives, that is determination that will resolve affairs.” (Qur’an, 42:43).
Therefore, alerting one’s brothers and sisters to [the following] principles appears to be a necessity in both particular and general circumstances:
1- There should be a rational and wise increase in public relations activities which support humanistic principles and the rights of citizenship.
2- There should be legal initiatives that support the principles of fairness and the constitution.
3- There should be political and popular campaigns that seek the support of all citizens as well as various human rights and religious organizations.
4- There should be a distancing of one’s self from falling victim to agitation in any form and on focusing one’s energies on the judicial process, while reminding the Swiss people that the flag of Switzerland bears the most Christian symbol: the Cross. The flag flies in the lands of the Islamic world and the Muslims find no discomfort upon seeing it. Muslims also love [Swiss] chocolate and the fascinating Swiss landscape, but such a landscape would be even more beautiful if it had a few minarets. Minarets do not symbolize any treacherous intent. They symbolize nothing more than turning one’s self to the Creator, the Majestic and Sublime.

5- This is an opportunity to manifest the values of tolerance and human fraternity in Islam. Islam is the religion of peace. And our Lord, Majestic and Sublime, is Peace (Al-Salam). And He invites us to the Abode of Peace (Dar al-Salam). So we are not to lose hope that the human heart of the citizens will be awakened; history relates a number of examples of abhorrence transformed into affection. Once in European history the Catholics found themselves agitated over the presence of the Protestants, so they oppressed them. Both denominations thereafter were agitated over the Jews. And today the turn of the Muslims has come. However, the just loving nature of the human being will gain the upper hand. For, our Lord, Majestic and Sublime, allows for us to be optimistic, as He says, “Perhaps God may establish friendship between you and those of them you regard as enemies: and God is able; and God is most forgiving, most merciful.” (Qur’an, 60:7). He also says, “… promote what is better, and then one between you and whom there was enmity will be as friend, a relative.” (Qur’an, 41:34).
Likewise, our advice to you is to reply consistently with what is more attractive in word and deed, advancing proof in the most beautiful fashion, and with affection in place of enmity.
May peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.
Professor `Abdullah `Umar Nasif
Chairman of Muslim World Conference

Chairman of Board of Trustees of Global Centre for Renewal and Guidance – London
Prominent Scholar `Abdullah Bin Bayyah
Chairman of Global Centre for Renewal and Guidance – London
Vice-chairman of International Union of Muslim Scholars

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and his companions.

Islam is a call for peace.

Almighty Allah said “Allah calls to the abode of peace.”

The media carried news that Canada declared the discovery of a terrorist group that had the intention of carrying out acts of sabotage in Canada. This group is said to be Muslim. Thus, we would like to lay emphasis on the following:

First, we strongly condemn these acts, ideas, and motives and declare their contradiction with the Islamic values that call for human coexistence and tolerance and definitely prohibit all sorts of transgression against souls and properties.

Second, we would like to commend and appreciate the efforts of the Canadian government and how it treats Canadian Muslims.

Third, we commend the spirit of coexistence and tolerance that distinguishes the relation between different segments of the Canadian people, Muslims and non-Muslims, as one people, one state, and one nation with no distinctions between its citizens on religious or ethnical basis as we noticed during our visit to Canada.

Fourth, we call upon Muslims to condemn strongly these ideas, acts, and behaviour and to stand as one solid rank in the face of this terrorist minority that distorts the image of Islam and Muslims. We also call upon the Canadian government and people to avoid generalisation in their discourse and to be assured that Muslims are good citizens, for their religion raises no problem with regard to coexistence and integration under the law and mutual respect. Lastly, we would like to express our solidarity with the Canadian people with its different classes and components of all religions against any behavior that calls for violence and hatred and threatens security and social peace.