Religious freedom was key component for Muslim Ummah

Craig Considine is a Lecturer of Sociology at Rice University. Image from sociology.rice.edu

Texas, (IINA) - Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) believed that freedom of religion and civic rights were important components of the “Muslim Ummah,” according to an analysis of the Prophet’s covenant with Christians, Futurity: Research News from Top Universities reported.
Craig Considine, a lecturer in Rice University’s sociology department in Texas, studied “The Covenants of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with Christians” and found that these agreements established freedom of religion and civic rights for Christians living within the “Ummah” (Arabic for “community”). He argues that the covenants can be used to develop a stronger democratic partnership between Muslims and Christians in the Islamic world and elsewhere.
His analysis appeared in the journal titled Religions.
“These covenants were designed to protect and even defend peaceful Christian communities, not attack them,” Considine says. “The research clearly showed that contemporary Islamic states that mistreat and discriminate against Christians cannot be justified in light of the Prophet (PBUH) covenants.”
The covenants were written between 622 and 632 CE. Considine says it is assumed they were written because of the Prophet's desire to build alliances to bolster his new community and because of his positive interactions with members of the Christian faith.
The paper explores the Prophet’s covenants with the monks of Mount Sinai, the Christians of Najran, the Christians of Persia, and the Christians of the World.
In “The Covenant of the Prophet with the Christians of Persia,” the Prophet was emphatic on the issue of complete religious freedom.
Considine says a similar if not identical passage is found in the three other covenants addressed in this paper.
“Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) made it clear that freedom of religion is an inherent right for Christians living in a Muslim Ummah,” he says.
Considine also notes that the Prophet (PBUH) believed that a Muslim Ummah must also extend civic rights to Christian religious leaders, as discussed in “The Covenant of the Prophet with the Christians of the World”:
“Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not want to inflict harm on Christians, nor interfere or encroach on their privacy or private property,” Considine adds. “For the state to give preference to one or more groups means devaluating citizens based upon their ethnic or cultural backgrounds.”
Considine says documents have been located in obscure monasteries around the world and books that have been out of print for centuries.
Considine says the rediscovery of these documents provides an opportunity to give new birth to Islam and regenerate the essence of Islamic teachings. He hopes that the findings will have a positive impact on the impressions of Muslims in today’s and will combat anti-Muslim sentiments.
SM/IINA

Let's block ads! (Why?)