RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND CONVERSION
An Islamic Perspective
Introduction
THERE is a heated debate on the issue of religious conversion, some being pro-conversion and others against it. This debate is based on a misunderstanding. Both the parties take conversion as proselytization, that is, one person attempting to change the religion of another person. But this is misleading. It portrays conversion as a bilateral issue, however it is not so.
To make one’s choice is everyone’s birthright. Today, this right of an individual has been established as an international norm. Every person is free to choose his education, his job, his business, his life partner, and so is the case of religion as well. Religion is also a matter of individual choice. No one has the right to apply curbs to religious freedom.
Modern concept of human rights says it is an individual's inalienable right to choose one's religion. It is affirmed in the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and accepted by all the nations. The right to choose one’s religion is also upheld by the Constitution of India.
Religious Conversion
Conversion in Islamic thinking takes place in a person’s life as a result of intellectual revolution or spiritual transformation. It is not leaving one religious tradition for another. Conversion is the individual discovering the truth after an exhaustive search and then by choice, abandoning one religion for another.
Modern concept of human rights says it is an individual's inalienable right to choose religion.
Conversion, in its broadest sense goes much further ; it is a universal principle of nature. It is a historical process—healthy and inexorable and attempting to put a stop to it would be like trying to put a stop to history itself. Who in this world has the power to do so? Conversion is the birth of a new entity resulting from the encounter between old and new schools of thought. This is a universal law established by nature itself.
Marx had wrongly called this dialectical materialism; It is a dialogue- Study of human history reveals one process always at work. Karl conversion process. That is, when two systems of thought clash, an intellectual revolution ensues. This dialogue-conversion process is the single ladder to all human progress. Whenever any revolutionary change has occurred or a group of people have succeeded in performing some great creative role, it has always come in the wake of this same dialogue-conversion process. There is no single form of this process. It can be religious or non-religious in nature. In the history of the last fifteen hundred years we find two major examples—one of religious conversion and the other of secular conversion.
The history of the Arabs provides the example of religious conversion. By the sixth century, A.D., the Arabs were leading a confined tribal life under the polytheist system. Then in the beginning of the seventh century Islam, the religion of monotheism, appeared. As a consequence, intensive dialogue began between the monotheists and polytheists. This dialogue assumed such an aggressive character that it came to the point of collision. As a result a new way of thinking was born among the Arabs, which kept growing till it took the form of a great intellectual revolution.
Conversion is the birth of a new entity resulting from the encounter between old and new schools of thought.
This intellectual revolution, the discovery of a new idea, resulted in the emergence of a new personality among the Arabs. In the words of a European historian, every one of them acquired such a revolutionary personality that their entire people became a nation of heroes. Within just fifty years they brought about that historical event which is called by a historian “the miracle of all miracles.” In The Making of Humanity Robert Briffault (1876- 1948) puts this in a nutshell: “But for the Arabs, the western civilisation would never have arisen at all.”
Another example is that of European Christian nations. After the crusades, a historical process extending several hundred years, these nations too went through a conversion process. This conversion was secular rather than religious. Intense conflict took place between science and religion. One report of this conflict can be seen in the book: History of the Conflict between Science and Religion by John William Draper (1811-1882).
This encounter continued for several hundred years in the form of dialogue and conflict until a new intellectual revolution was produced within the European nations and they finally bade good-bye to the old and opted for the new. This revolution known as the Renaissance, enabled the European nations to emerge from the medieval to the modern age of science. The truth is that the human mind is a treasure house of unlimited power. In normal situations the human brain remains in a dormant state. It is only external shocks which awaken it, and the greater they are the greater the intellectual revolution within man. This shock treatment produces in man what psychologists call brainstorming. This brings about an intellectual change, a conversion that elevates a normal man to the level of superman who is then able to perform great feats.
Religious conversion is only a small part of this whole process. When the dialogue-conversion process is set in motion it cannot have limits set to it. It is not possible to allow one kind of conversion and to prohibit another. Being a stormy process, it is boundless.
TWO KINDS OF RELIGIOUS CONVERSION
It must be appreciated that there are two major kinds of religious conversion—inner- faith conversion and inter faith conversion.
In normal situations the human brain remains in a dormant state. It is only external shocks which awaken it, and the greater they are the greater the intellectual revolution within man.
Let us take an example of inter-faith conversion. A multi-lingual Bengali Doctor of Philosophy, Nishi Kant Chattopadhyay, initially studied philosophy, then all major religions, faced intellectual confrontation with different faiths. Finally, he made an intellectual discovery, as a consequence of which he left his ancestral religion, in favour of Islam and changed his name to Azizuddin. He wrote a book, Why I have embraced Islam, which describes in detail the story of his intellectual development.
Examples of inner-faith conversion are several. Men and women born in Muslim families later left their family religion to turn into secularists or even atheists in some cases. However, sooner or later they approached a turning point in their lives when they came back to Islam as sincere practicing Muslims.
To sum up, conversion is a universal and inescapable law of nature. A study of psychology and history tells us that to give a new impetus to an individual or a group and to bring about a moral revolution, what is most effective is the sense of discovery. This feeling of having discovered some unknown truth, awakens the dormant powers of the individual. This feeling turns an ordinary man into a superman. It is such supermen who cross the ocean, who scale mountains, and who by their heroic character let history enter a new age. Today human history is once again facing a deadlock and is in need of such people. Charged with new human power, they will give a strong push to human history to enter a new and better age.
Conversion in Islam
During his prophetic career in Makkah, wherever the Prophet saw a gathering, he would make it a point to address the people thus: ‘O people, say there is no god but God and you will attain God’s grace.
At first glance this may seem an invitation to people to change their religion. But the study of the Quran tells us that it was an invitation to a transformation in thinking, instead of a change of religion.
In the first phase of Islam, some Arab Bedouins had accepted Islam just by reciting the kalimah, or the creed of Islam, while they had not undergone any change in character at a deeper level. The Quran admonished them in strong terms:
‘The Arabs of the desert say, “We have believed.” Say to them, “You have not believed yet; say rather, “We have accepted Islam, for the true faith has not yet entered into your hearts.” ( 49: 14 )
The feeling of having discovered some unknown truth, awakens the dormant powers of the individual.
Conversion to Islam means a thorough transformation of the person and not just a change of religion in the everyday sense. The Quran refuses to give its seal of approval to conversions which are mere formalities. In ancient Madinah about 300 people had become Muslims by reciting the Islamic creed. Apparently, they even said their prayers, and fasted, but they did all this in a hypocritical manner, paying only lip service: their inner state did not correspond to their outward pronouncements.
They claimed verbal allegiance to Islam, but they lacked the Islamic spirit. The Quran brands the ‘Islam’ of such people as a falsity:
‘When the hypocrites come to you, they say: “We bear witness that you are God’s apostle.” God knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and God bears witness that the hypocrites are lying.’ ( 63: 1 )
Religious conversion is the result of a realisation. When the individual’s search for truth finds a convincing answer, his heart is intensely moved. His eyes are filled with tears. His whole existence is moulded in the hue of truth. He emerges a new and different person, having undergone a transformation. That is why the Quran uses no synonym for conversion. To express the act of conversion, more meaningful words have been used; for instance, the dawah mission (the communication of the message to others) of Islam finds mention in the Quran in these words:
Conversion to Islam means a thorough transformation of the person and not just a change of religion in the everyday sense.
‘A light has come to you from God and a glorious Book with which He will guide to the paths of peace those that seek to please Him. He will lead them by His will from darkness to the light; He will guide them to a straight path.’ ( 5: 15-16 )
Those who enter the fold of Islam, influenced by their study of the Quran, are described thus:
Can one who knows that what ever has been sent down to you from your Lord is the Truth, be equal to one who is blind? It is only those who are endowed with insight who pay heed. ( 13: 19 )
According to this verse, the real conversion takes place when the convert is aware he has entered the phase of gnosis and leaving behind the phase of ignorance. That is why a tradition of the Prophet speaks of the period prior to Islam as a period of ignorance.
Then there is the parable of the tree:
‘Do you not see how God compares a good word to a good tree whose root is firm with its branches in the sky, yielding its fruit every season by God’s leave? God gives parables to men so that they may become mindful. But an evil word is like an evil tree torn out of the earth, and has no stability. God will strengthen the faithful with His steadfast word, both in this life and in the Hereafter. He leaves the wrongdoers in error. God accomplishes what He pleases.’ ( 14: 24-27 )
These verses tell us the difference between one who has found the truth and one who has failed to do so. The latter is like the shrub growing on the upper surface of the soil: it is short-lived, either vanishing on its own or being pulled out, of no use to mankind. The former resembles a profitable, fruitful tree putting its roots deep down into the earth. It seems that it is for the earth and the earth is for it. Receiving sustenance from the earth and atmosphere, it benefits people immensely. Rooted as it is in the earth, it has a desirable and meaningful existence.
Religious Freedom in Islam
In 1948 the United Nations gave the world its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a universal charter for individuals as a matter of fundamental human dignity. Article 18 of this declaration reads as follows:
‘Everyone has the right of freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
The real conversion takes place when the convert is aware that he has entered the phase of gnosis and leaving behind the phase of ignorance.
These ideas are in accordance with the principles of Islamic teaching, where man’s intellectual development is firmly believed in and any system which favours intellectual development will, of necessity, uphold freedom of thought. Without this there would be no fruitful development of the human personality.
What is perhaps more important is the Islamic concept of predetermination. Man is born free while every other animate or inanimate object is subservient to God’s will. Nothing in the heavens or on earth, except man, can decide the course of its own existence, this having been eternally predetermined. Everything, save man, must follow the path laid down by God, Islam requires man to make his own quest for truth. He should be fully conscious of this and impose upon himself as religious duty, to find that true nobility of character. External commands are for robots, not for fully mature human beings.
Real, live, human beings can never come into existence in an atmosphere of blinkered constraint. What truly moves the human psyche is the feeling that their achievements have been the result of their own personal deliberations. Their opinions and beliefs are their own. This freedom of choice leads to their development as fully integrated personalities.
Compulsion Impermissible
According to the Quran, ‘There is no compulsion in religion.’ ( 2: 256 )
This verse expresses a fundamental principle of Islam. If a person believes in the truth of something, he has every right to proclaim it, provided he supports it with logical arguments. His task is complete once he has described his belief clearly. But he has no right to compel others to accept it.
Freedom for All
Likewise, the Quran states:
‘Say, the truth is from your Lord. Let him who will believe it, and let him who will reject it.’ ( 18: 29 )
This states that truth should be accepted or rejected by one’s own decision, and not by imposition. The resulting belief is valid, since it is the outcome of one’s own conscious decision. Forcing its acceptance upon unwilling or unprepared individuals is the negation of truth. Truth is acceptable only when man’s reason, his intellect, attests to its being so. Imposition of a truth is the recognition of force. It is an insult to truth itself if people are bludgeoned into accepting it. A preacher’s mission is to convey the truth to the members of his congregation. Once that is done, he has fulfilled his religious obligation. It is not his task to compel others to accept what he says. It is significant that in the Quran, God thus admonishes the Prophet:
Real, live, human beings can never come into existence in an atmosphere of blinkered constraint.
‘Remind them, for you are only one of the warners. You are not at all a warder over them.’ ( 88: 21-22 )
This shows the respective roles of the preacher and his audience. It is the task of the preachers to convey the word of God, but his audience have the right to reject his message. The most that the preacher can do to convince his audience that he brings them the truth is to offer them logical arguments.
Respect for Others’ Religions
A few Companions of the Prophet of Islam, in their zeal to propagate the new faith, began to abuse those who worshipped other gods. But this incurred God’s displeasure, and a verse was revealed commanding them not to do so. ( 6: 108 )
The freedom of religion advocated in this verse is a policy of mutual benefit. If we wish freedom for ourselves, the price we must pay is to grant the same right to others. There can be no exclusivity about freedom if there is to be justice in this world. By granting others their legal rights, they will be willing to reciprocate. But if we abuse or coerce, the result would be no religious freedom.
Truth is acceptable only when man’s reason, his intellect, attests to its being so.
How far Islam goes along the road to religious freedom is made clear by an event in the Prophet’s lifetime. The famous eighth century biographer, Ibn Ishaq, records how a delegation of Yemenese Christians came to see the Prophet of Islam and had a long dialogue with him in his mosque in Madinah, which went on until the Christians’ hour for prayer. They desired to worship according to their rites, in this mosque considered to be second in importance only to the Masjid-e-Haram in Makkah. As they were beginning their orations, one of the Muslims attempted to stop them from praying in the Christian way. But the Prophet intervened, permitting them to complete their prayers inside the mosque.
The Rights of Others
Islam gives serious consideration to religious freedom and takes pains to avoid infractions. There is an incident which illustrates this point. Umar Faruq, the second Caliph, travelled to Palestine at the request of the Christians to finalise the agreements between them and the Muslims. T.W. Arnold in his book, The Preaching of Islam, relates how
‘In company with the Patriarch, Umar visited the holy places, and it is said while they were in the Church of the Resurrection, as it was the appointed hour of prayers, the Patriarch bade the Caliph offer his prayers there, but he thoughtfully refused, saying that if he were to do so, his followers might afterwards claim it as a place of Muslim worship.
He obviously foresaw later generations of Muslims being inspired to build a mosque on that very spot, thus setting up restrictions upon religious freedom. Umar’s discretion is all the more remarkable for being the ruler of Palestine he could have done anything he wished. A man with less insight and forethought would have regarded praying inside the Church as harmless and that could in no way be interpreted as depriving anyone of his rights. Umar, in fact, moved a stone’s throw away, and said his prayers at a discreet distance from the Church. Muslims did indeed come to this city later on, and as he had foreseen, built their mosque at the exact point where he had said his prayers. The mosque exists to this day, but presents no obstacle to Christian worship. It is true that in later times certain excessively zealous Muslims converted a number of non-Muslim places of worship into mosques. Such actions are to be deplored as deviations. Says Arnold,
‘But such oppression was contrary to the tolerant spirit of Islam.’
Imposition of a truth is the recognition of force. It is an insult to truth itself if people are bludgeoned into accepting it.
Islam is the name given to teachings of the Quran and the Hadith, the finest example of living up to this standard was set by the Prophet and his Companions. The deeds of later generations, judged by these criteria, will be sadly deficient in true Islamic spirit. Those who make no attempt to live up to the Prophet’s example are in no way representatives of Islam.
Religious tolerance requires that everyone be allowed to present his thoughts, and be given a quiet hearing. The truth is not to be forced upon one, but something which one is gently assisted to go in quest of personal discovery. In this respect, Islam is the greatest upholder of religious freedom.
The age of religious persecution has been replaced with that of total religious freedom all over the world. Post World War II, all the nations of the world came together to form the United Nations. They issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This charter emphasizes that
‘Every man or woman enjoys the right to opt for any religion according to his or her will, and may propagate it peacefully.’
This declaration was accepted and signed by all the nations of the world. This Declaration of the United Nations was made part of the constitutions of all the signatory nations. For instance, the Indian constitution, written after 1947, included article No. 18 in which every Indian citizen has been granted the freedom to practice and propagate his religion.
It will not be out of place to give the following news clip from Times of India Nov 20, 2015: 83% of Indians bat for religious freedom: Pew survey
NEW DELHI: India is among the countries that have highest support for religious freedom, with eight out of 10 Indians believing that it is very important to have the freedom to practice their faith compared to a global median of 74%, according to a survey by Pew Research Center.
The Indian Tradition of Tolerance
Tolerance is an integral part of India’s tradition and shapes its national identity. India has a long history of tolerance, and is a multi-religious society. Almost all the major religions thrive in India with total harmony. India has proved to be a peaceful haven for different religions and cultures.
Islam gives serious consideration to religious freedom and takes pains to avoid infractions.
This composite nature of the Indian society is not by accident. It is directly due to the Indian way of thinking. India believes in plurality. and in the words of the great Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, “the manyness of reality.” Hindus comprise the majority of the Indian population. The Hindu religion is based on Advait Vad, that is, monism. Monism means that divine reality is one, manifested in different ways. The Hindus believe that everything in the cosmos is an ansh, or part, of divinity. They believe in the concept of an indwelling god, that is, every human being has a content of divinity. Due to this concept, the Hindu mind accords equal position to every man and woman. This is the genesis of the culture of tolerance in India.
Due to this mind set, the authorities of Hindu religion have given Islam a very honourable status. For example, Dr Bhagavan Das (1869-1958), a well-known Hindu scholar and author of several works on philosophy and religion, writes in his magnum opus, Essential Unity of All Religions: “The word Islam has a profound and noble meaning which is, indeed, by itself, the very essence of religion. Derived from salm, peace, shanti, it means ‘peaceful acceptance’ of God; calm resignation, submission, surrender.”
The different religions of India have their own distinct history of how they reached this land. Islam reached India toward the end of the seventh century AD, that is, in the same period that is regarded among the three golden periods of Islam. This first group of Muslim Arabs came from Iraq by sea-route and settled in Kerala, a coastal state of India. Due to the above-mentioned Indian spirit, this group was hailed with respect. The Indians conferred on them the title of Mappila, which means a highly respectable person. Jawaharlal Nehru, in The Discovery of India, observes that when the Arabs came to India, they brought with them a brilliant culture.
Tolerance is an integral part of India’s tradition and shapes its national identity. India has a long history of tolerance, and is a multi-religious society.
Due to this reason, Islam found a very favourable atmosphere in India. Tara Chand, an eminent scholar of Ancient History and Culture has documented the advent and influence of Islam in India. His major contribution to Indo-Islamic culture and philosophy is the work Influence of Islam on Indian Culture. The book, first published in 1922, has become a classic on this subject for researchers and historians.
The Indian Constitution, which came into effect in January 1950, gives Muslims equal rights of citizenship and there is no discrimination on the basis of religion.
The President of India holds the highest office in the country. He is the head of the state and the first citizen of India. In the history of independent India, four Muslims have, to this date, held the office of the president. These were: Dr Zakir Hussain (1967-1969), Mohammad Hidayatullah (July-August 1969), Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1974-1977) and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (2002-2007).
If there are some problems faced by the Muslim community in India, they are due to the law of nature. Differences are a part of the law of nature. Thus, it is but natural that there are problems in every society, including a Muslim society. It is impossible to have a country totally problem-free, and certainly India is not an exception.
(The above article is an abridged version of the paper of Dr. Farida Khanam, presented at South Asian Institute of Advanced Christian Studies-Bengaluru). o
