ABSTRACT
To my mind, one of the most cogent signs of human progress and adherence to humanist values is the way a civilization treats its minorities. To the same extent that the protection of these minorities is a mark of human civilization, their persecution and the violation of their rights, particularly their right to personal security, private property and freedom of worship, is a sign of backwardness and barbarity. Muslims can be justifiably proud that Islam has a noble tradition of treating religious minorities, especially Christians, according to the most advanced norms of civilized behaviour. In more than one passage, the great book of Islam, the Holy Quran, deplores as sinful the coercion of people to embrace a faith other than theirs, even if that faith is Islam. According to the sura67 of al-Baqara (The Cow), There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error.’ Other suras are also unequivocal in deploring the use of coercion to convert people to one single religion: ‘And if thy Lord willed, all who are on the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?’ (verse 99, sura of Yunes [Jonah]); ‘If Allah willed, He could have brought them all together to guidance. So be not thou among the foolish ones’ (verse 35, sura of al-Anaam [The Cattle]); ‘Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve’ (verse 29, sura of al-Kahf [The Cave]).
