Mohamed Mokhtar Ahmed

In March 2019, New Zealand - unusually busy - occupied the world with the horror of an extreme right-wing Australian massacre of Muslim worshipers inside two Christchurch mosques. In spite of the atmosphere of sadness applied by the horror of the crime, which caused the skins of millions to shudder, the manifestations of solidarity of the New Zealanders - in the evidence and scenes - with the Muslim community quickly hearts and minds, prompting to question the mystery of the spaciousness of the moral horizon characterized by the government and the governed, Impressive in their loyalty to the values ​​of human coexistence and citizenship rights as long as betrayed by their counterparts in the political doctrine and cultural drink !!

In this article, we will review - from the heirs of the Islamic historical experience - events and situations in which the parties of the "national community" united the sects and moments of joy and sorrow to see how the coexistence of all too often is merciful and united. The community at a wedding feast or a funeral of a person of scientific or community significance, or united their position of peaceful or warlike activity to raise a complaint of local tyranny or to push for foreign aggression, carrying their sacred books and religious symbols in harmony and peace ... without any doubt or surprise !!

Prophet's inheritance
The message of Islam - from the first day - the global discourse was universal call, and soon became the capital city of the State of the Prophet (r) multi - peoples and faiths where "people] [Blaat: Muslims, Jews, polytheists and hypocrites", then the Prophet 's Declaration - "The Imam of the Ummah and the Individual in the Religious and Secular Presidency", in the words of Imam Al-Baji (p. 474) - the "city constitution" defined the inhabitants of this city / state as "a nation without people".

The Prophet (peace be upon him) established the foundations of a tolerant coexistence between the components of the new "homeland", which is similar to the Qur'anic and societal directives of the Qur'an: "There is no compulsion in religion." God does not forbid those who did not fight you in religion and do not drive you out of your homes. (Sahih al-Bukhari), and he respects their merits (Sahih al-Bukhari), and treats them financially so that he borrowed from a Jewish merchant and died (p) and shields him (Saheeh al-Bukhari).

But he allowed his Christian guests to perform their rituals inside the Prophet's Mosque. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (751 AH) stated that it was "true from the Prophet (PBUH) that he sent down a delegation of Najran (9 AH) "It is taken from this story, including: the entry of people of the book mosques Muslims." The Imam al-Zahabi (d. 749) attributed to Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet said: "If you call one of the Jews and the Christians, say: More God is your husband and your child."

In the footsteps of this noble prophetic guidance, the Sahaabah and the followers followed and guided them with charity from the Muslims and other members of the Islamic nation throughout the periods in which the Ummah enjoyed its intellectual and cultural vitality. The leaders of the Islamic conquest gave the owners of the open land "safety for themselves and their accuser and their money, churches and crosses. One of them, and no one will be equal to them. " Historically, there was a "judge of the Christians" and a "magistrate of the Jews", which is called the term "Najd".

Imam Muhammad Ibn Katheer (d. 774) tells us that Muslims and Christians took part in Damascus for seven decades as one "temple" to perform their prayers, half of which was a church and the other a mosque. "The Muslims and Christians entered this temple from one door ... The west side to their church, and take Muslims to their mosque. " This was the "temple" which later became a mosque for Muslims when the two groups agreed on that in 86 AH, and has historically known to date as "Umayyad Mosque".

With the decline in the value of Muslims in the late second century, many balances of justice and honor have been disrupted, and societal injustices have become widespread under the weight of political strife and social crises and the rupture of the internal fabric. Then all of this deepened with the beginning of the fourth century of foreign factors represented in the external threats of the Islamic world with its mages and mages (the Roman attacks of the Byzantines, the crusades of the Crusaders and the wars of the Christians in Andalusia), and often linked to the non-Muslim component within it.

Reciprocal learning
Perhaps one of the first manifestations of positive coexistence between Muslims and others is the mutual introduction of science and knowledge that continues throughout the Islamic history. In the early days of Islam, many Muslims received different knowledge from Judaism and Christianity, which did not contradict the teachings and facts of Islam. An example of this is that the world of interpretation is the fighter of Bin Sulaiman al-Balkhi (d. 150 AH) who used to take the flag of the Koran and the Jews and the Christians, and despite what was said in a wound, his views on interpretation are not without any of the books of interpretation adopted by Muslim scholars!

As the Imam of the Mughazi Muhammad ibn Ishaq (T 151H) "carries on the Jews and Christians and calls them in his books 'the people of the first knowledge'." When Al-Mutawakil Abbasi (247 AH) in 235 AH issued his discriminatory decisions against non-Muslims, To learn their children in the writings of Muslims and [ordered] not teach them a Muslim. " This indicates that everyone was involved in the places of education.

We read the books of translations that Yahya ibn Jazla, a prominent Christian doctor (T 493 e) "was reading on the father of Ali bin al-Walid Al-Mu'tazili and accompanying him." Abu Muhammad al-Ghannawi al-Nisibi al-Shafi'i (660 e) was cut off at his home ... "He called upon all Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Samarra to read it." And Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Jazri al-Shafi'i al-Qusi (d. 711) "stood up to read it and read it to Muslims, Jews and Christians, It was agreed by al-Sabki and narrated from him. "

According to the translation of Abd al-Sayyed ibn Ishaq of Israel (d. 715 e) that "Dian the Jews (= their religious leader), and he loved the Muslims and attend the councils of modern and heard Almsi, and then guided by God and the safest." Some of the Christians and Jews attended the "Sufi Hearings" among the Muslims. Al-Zahabi said that "the leader of the silk community" Sheikh Abul Hassan Al-Hariri (645 AH) forbade his companions from closing the door at the time of hearing until About Jews and Christians. "

Unite in crises
Among the images of co-existence is what was issued by Muslim scholars and judges from fatwas to promote the injustice of the rulers on their parish, especially non-Muslims, including that the Mufti of al-Maliki and the judge of Egypt in Harith bin Maskin (250 CE) were considered by the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'moun When he rebelled against his authority in AH 216 AH, al-Harith refused to fight them, saying: "It is not permissible for you." Al-Maamoun said to him: "You are Tess." Ibn al-Wardi stated in his history that in 721 AH there was a sedition in Cairo in which some churches were surrounded by some churches. Vvvtoh Tazirhm ".

Even the Swiss Orientalist Adam Metz (1917) says that "Muslim policemen often intervened among the Christian teams to prevent them from fighting." He cited two examples of this, referring to the attempt by Al-Ma'mun to impose religious freedom legally for the Christian denominations, even if the number was 10. Churches on it!

One of the recurring phenomena in Islamic history was not in the major cities of protest demonstrations against the injustice of the authorities and their injustice to the people or insecurity and stability, and it was common for the participation of all religious communities. One of the strangest incidents that took place in Damascus and carried the whole range of the Holy Book and participated in the prayers inside the Umayyad Mosque!

Al-Maqrizi (845 AH) stated that in 363 AH, Abu Mahmoud Ibrahim bin Ja'far al-Barbari al-Katami, commander of the Fatimid Egyptian army, entered Damascus. He was troubled by the security. When the situation worsened, the march of the people led by the sheikhs of the country continued. And called for the provision of security, and in which "Muslims opened the Koran, the Christians Bible, and the Torah, and gathered in the mosque and protested the prayer, and walked the city is published on their heads!"

When the Minister Al-Buwahey Abi Al-Fadl Al-Shirazi (who was dismissed from the ministry 362 AH and died later) became more stressed, he said: "There is a lot of supplication for him in the mosque, in the churches and in the sale." When the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim (411 AH) ruled against his patronage in Egypt in AH 395 AH, "the Cathimites met and begged him, as well as all the other writers, workers, soldiers, traders, Christians and Jews, and asked him to pardon them." Al-Maqrizi added that the pardon was issued in a "book record" of him [a copy of the Muslims, a copy of the Christians, and a copy of the Jews].

In 394, a senior Christian official intervened in the Fatimid state to lift the oppression of the Muslim Shamans and others. He used his relationship with "the six kings, the sister of the ruler (the Fatimid Caliph), and he has a certain sponsorship. Including the Sham and its people ... of injustice and injustice and injustice, which is not usually like in the old times and not talk .. When the book arrived .. entered the governor was consulted in matters and work in her opinion does not contradict advice to her.

University sorrows
And the manifestations of solidarity between the followers of religious communities; sometimes expressed solidarity and sympathy in moments of sadness and times of war, reached the extent of participation in the funeral of the funeral of the dignitaries, and fighting in the wars and the necessities of shelter and relief The oldest evidence of this and the strangest thing in the " Al-Muhaddam Ibn Abi Shaybah (297 AH) narrated from Imam al-Shaabi (1066 AH) that "the mother of al-Harith ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabia (al-Makhzoumi) died and was martyred by the companions of Muhammad. Sabbah al-Habashiyyah "and her death in Mecca.

When Imam al-Zahid Mansur ibn Zazan al-Wasiti died in 128 AH, "he went out in his funeral, the Jews, the Christians and the Magi, weeping for him." Al-Hafez Ibn Asaker reported that he went to the funeral of Imam Al-Sham Al-Ouzai (v 157) "the nations of the Jews, the Christians and the Copts." It was also quoted as saying: "When Abu Ishaq al-Fazari died, I saw the Jews and the Christians urging the dust on their heads, which they had received."

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463 e) said that the day of the death of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (241 e) "the funeral and mourning took place in four classes of people: Muslims, Jews, Christians and Magi." In the Islamic West, the golden Imam (d. 749 e) quoted the Andalusian historian Ibn Beshkwal (d. 578 e) that the great Andalusian world Obeid Allah ibn Yahya ibn Yahya al-Lithi al-Qurtubi "was seen on the day of his death (298 AH) "He said.

Ibn Assaker also reported that "the sheikh of Persia in his time" Mohammed bin-light al-Dhibi Shirazi Sufi died in 371 AH "and gathered in his funeral Jews, Christians and Magi." Al-Zahabi said that when the ascetic world Ibn Abi Nasr, nicknamed "Al-Afif" (year 420 AH), came out, people were in his funeral. "There was a group of people in his hands who were singing and honoring the Sunnis, and his funeral was attended by all the people of the country, even the Jews and the Christians."

Common battles
In many cases - Christians in the armies of some of the Muslim sultans who participated with them in just or unjust wars. A positive example is that when Sultan Ghayath al-Din al-Seljuki (644 AH) confronted the rebellion movement of the Turkic Baba who claimed the prophecy in 638 and mobilized 6000 knights to spread his call, the Sultan sent to his killers an army in which he was a group of Franks who served him, And they took their own and fought against the Kharijites and they revealed them and threw the sword in them and killed them with rain. "

We compare this with what happened five years later (in 642 AH) when the kings of Damascus, Homs and Karak-Ayyubids allied with the Crusaders against their Muslim brethren, the Sultan of Egypt, Najm al-Din Ayoub bin Sultan al-Kamil al-Ayyubi (d. 647 AH), and went under the flags of the Franks and on their heads the crosses.

The teachings of Islam have enjoined the protection of non-peaceful citizens, "preventing those who harm Muslims and infidels, and rescuing families from them." In fact, it has happened that leaving the Muslim dissenters intellectually in captivity is a punishment for them, while all those who were prisoners of the "Muslim people" were killed. In the events of 231 AH, al-Tabari reported that in the events of 231 AH he witnessed the redemption of the Muslim prisoners in the Romans in Constantinople. The Abbasid caliph, who was confident in the mission of redemption, sent the Muslim prisoners to examine the creation of the Qur'an.

In the year 541 AH, the Crusaders took over the city of Al-Raha. "They took the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims," ​​he said. "The Muslims gathered ... and all the prisoners were saved." Just as the Crusader occupier did not distinguish between the owners of religions in its oppression, Muslims did not differentiate between them in the protection and separation from families.

The story of Ibn Taymiyyah in the release of Jewish and Christian prisoners who were captured by the Tatars in their attack on Damascus in 699 AH, in his letter to the Christian King of Cyprus Sargon: "The Christians all knew that I ... I addressed the Tartars In the release of the prisoners ... allowed [their king Gazan] to launch the Muslims He said to me: But with us Christians took them from Jerusalem, they do not call, I said to him: [but] let all of you with the Jews and Christians who are our family, we denied them and do not let captive Not from the people of the family or the people of the Dhimmah We have launched from the Christians, God willing, this is our work and our charity and punishment on God.

Protection and relief
One of the forms of solidarity with great influence was that non-Muslims provided their Muslim brothers with relief or harboring fugitives from a danger to their lives originating from local or foreign authority. When the Andalusian Imam Talut ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Maafari, who came to al-Zahabi as "one of the working scientists" From the pursuit of the Prince of Andalusia, the first Umayyad rule (T 206H) "A year disappeared when a Jew, and then came out and the intention of the minister Aba Bassam to disappear with him Vslmh to power."

The Prince did not remain silent on this painful irony and said to his minister: "Save him a Jew and cover him for his place of science and religion, and betrayed by your intention and saved his debt" !! Then the prince sacked the treacherous minister and rewarded the loyal Jew "and increased his charity." The story says that he was a Muslim who was influenced by this good punishment. His story became "the most appropriate of the fulfillment of the obligation" in all of Andalusia.

In the course of the conflict with the Crusaders, the siege on the Muslims in Acre intensified in one year. Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (586 AH) ordered a ship laden with supplies to help them, and cooperated in carrying out the mission of breaking the siege. "Muslim men and Christians from Beirut" With tight planning until it entered Acre despite the guarding of the hardened Crusaders. Ibn Katheer told us that when the Tartars invaded the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad in 656 AH, people hid "in mosques, mosques and interconnection, and none of them survived except the people of the Dhimmah of the Jews and the Christians, and those who sought refuge" from the Muslims.

A century ago, during the revolution of the Egyptians in 1919, the English occupation entered the Coptic Church of Sergius, the Al-Azhar Mosque. It was the first Christian to rise in history, where he delivered several political speeches in the presence of senior Muslim scholars.

Joys and joys
For example, the historical reception organized by the Mamluk Cairo for the first Abbasid successors in Egypt, dubbed "Mustansir" (660 AH), was the arrival of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) His motorcade - on 8 Rajab 659 AH - Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars (676 AH) met with him, "with him the minister, the judge of the judges, the witnesses and the presidents, the readers and the believers, the Jews in the Torah and the Christians in the Gospel."

After the liberation of the city of Acre last of the Crusader occupation in 690 AH by the Mamluk Sultan Ashraf Khalil bin Qalawun (d. 693 e), ending the era of the crusades in the historical sense; entered Ashraf Damascus "and left one of the people of Damascus ... ... as well as scholars, judges, preachers, sheikhs, Christians and Jews. "

The fatwas in the books of Islamic jurisprudence concerning the festivals of non-Muslims suggest the spread of the phenomenon of Muslims attending these festivals, including Muslim women. The fakih al-Muhtasib Ibn Abdoun al-Tajeibi al-Andalusi (527 AH) called for "banning Muslim women from entering the churches" on Christian occasions and weddings .

According to the geographical traveler Al-Maqdisi al-Maqdisi al-Bishari (d. 380 e) that "the Christian holidays, which Muslims know and appreciate the chapters: Easter at the time of Niroz, Pentecost time of freedom, and the birth of cold time, and the time of the time of Barbara Barbara," and feel the publicity of these holidays and freedom available to their owners In its establishment. When the modernist al-Khatib al-Baghdadi dated the death of the linguistic world, Abu Amr al-Shaibani (one of the elders of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal) said that it was 210 AH on the day of the sunnah - a neglected day - a feast of the Christians.

It is also common in the story of Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (t 181e) with Bahram al-Majusi, who uttered "a general feast for Muslims, Christians, Jews and Magi." Shahabuddin al-Hamawi (d. 1098 AH), in his book "The Wink of the Eyes of the Insights", on the fatwas of Shaykh al-Islam Abi Hassan al-Sa'di al-Hanafi (d. 461) that " On their mosques and gives paint their saddle, and lend to Muslims, and called people once to call ... Vahdha many of the people of Islam, and gave him some gifts.

He saw the traveler and the Andalusian jurist Ibn Jubeir (614 AH) when he visited the city of Tire in Lebanon, a Christian wedding in its harbor, and accurately described the details of what was observed that "Muslims and other Christians of the principals have returned in their way two rows (s) look at them and do not deny them "He said. In the year 1156 AH, the supervisor of the accounts of the state of Damascus, Fathi Effendi Aldftari ceremony on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter, "and seven days each day singled him: [...] and the third day to the sheikhs and scholars, [...] and the fifth day to the Christians and the Jews.

A hundred years ago, after the sectarian strife in Aleppo on 28 February 1919, the historian of Aleppo and poet Kamel al-Ghazi (1933) says that "it is dangerous for some of the three great men to seek to confirm between these boredom of old love and allegiance; The incident has distorted their fortunes or left a trace of hatred or grudge in the hearts, and the great men of boredom from the scholars and priests meet once a week, exchanging the words of tahad and tahbeh during their meeting.

Charity and endowments
It is a manifestation of mutual righteousness also ratified the benefactors of the people of each religion on the poor religion and monitoring other endowments to them; the Prophet accepted the charity non-Muslims citizens of the State of Islam, but the first stop in the history of Muslims was the wealth of wealthy Jews of the city, The invasion of Sun (year 3 AH) in defense of the city, and called his people to fight, he said: "O Jews, and God you have learned that the victory of Muhammad to you right."

Imam Ibn Ishaq (151b) stated that the Jew was a tawdry man who witnessed and said before the battle: "If I hit a Muslim, Muhammad would do what he wanted." Ibn Sa'ad, in 'Laylat', attributed to 'Umar ibn' Abd al-'Aziz that "the walls of the Prophet "The seven that stood] were [of the funds of Mahirig" This, and Ibn Katheer said it was "the first stop in the city." This is despite the fact that the biographers did not agree to prove his Islam, and apparently he killed a Jew because Muslims usually do not mention the Prophet (PBUH) in his name, but rather by his title: "Prophet of God" or "Messenger of Allah".

Ibn Jubayr describes us in his journey - during the days of the Crusader Crusaders on the coast of the Levant - about the merciful treatment that the inhabitants of Mount Lebanon met with Christians from their followers of the Muslim worshipers. "It is surprising that the Christians near Mount Lebanon, if they saw some of them cut off, Of the Muslims brought them food and good for them, and say: those who cut to God Almighty Vtjb participation. The Muslim traveler has alerted this paradox to the logic of his time. He wrote: "If the treatment of the Christians against the accuser is such treatment, what do you think of the Muslims with each other?"

When the sign of the Sham Muhammad Karad Ali (1953 AD) about the 'mountain ridge' in Lebanon said that "to this day an old mosque of the tenth century built by one of the princes of Lebanon, and still Deirion (= owners of the monastery of the moon Christian) are keen on his safety and pledge him to architecture, even if he did not have a prayer "!!

The coexistence of these components led to strange results from cultural citation and even worship. In 288 AH, the level of Nile water in Egypt was lower than the level required for agriculture. "Muslims, Christians and Jews went out to coordinate." Sheikh al-Faqih al-Zahed Abu al-Tahir local (633 AH) was the preacher of the Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas in Egypt, "the belief of the people of his time even the Jews and Christians and Tbarkhm plan." Such was the prevalence of circumcision between the Christians of Egypt and Andalusia, as well as the writing of Basmalah in the introductions of their books, and titles of religious titles similar to the titles of Muslim scholars such as "Muwafaq al-Din" and "Shams al-Din" !!

One of the strangest examples of this is what the French traveler Laurent Darvio (1702) wrote in his memoirs in his book "Describing Damascus" during the seventeenth century. "There is in our time a group of Armenians living in Entebbe, "They read the Koran and teach it to their children ... and enter the mosques and pray there ... as they baptize their children and respect the cross and celebrate the Christian seasons."

The other side and the
 conclusion; we stand on these moments and stop at those stations - aware of the other side of the experience that is colored by the argument rather than the cooperation, and the fight instead of dialogue. However, we believe that the images of compassion and cohesion, which we present here are easy examples of which were preserved by the records of published history, were, in spite of their origin, the basis of the founding principle of the relationship between the constituents of the countries of Islam since its inception outside the Arabian Peninsula. Equity and redress "and base" what they have for us and what they have on us. "

As for other forms of grievance, in different terms, they reflect the historical practice of the value principle in its moments of weakness and moral decency, abandoning the values ​​of righteousness and reward: the use of the texts of religion to justify the encroachment of the rights of brotherhood, the covenant and the neighborhood, Community coexistence, or a reflection of the grievances of politics, power and loyalty to a supportive local government or foreign invasion.

All this, that injustice - whatever its source is Muslim or non-Muslim - suffered by all Muslims and non-Muslims, and prejudice and discrimination practiced by all denominations and Islamic communities even against each other in response to the temptation of sectarian fanaticism The alliance with foreign occupation exercised by Muslims and others .

An example of the injustice of power to all, including their scientific symbols, is what Ibn Taghri Bardi (874 AH) reported in the year 791 AH: "The [Prince] Muntash [killed 795 AH] was sentenced to the death of the Patriarch of Nazareth and charged with money, And then asked Muntash Sheikh Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Rukraki [judge] Al-Maliki [793 AH] and obliged him to write the fatwa in the order [coup against] King Zaher Barquq (801 e) "He said.

Suffice it to mention the images of injustice among Muslims - out of sectarian fanaticism - these statements issued by some of their scientists who belong to a class that is supposed to control the provisions of the balance of Kftah science and justice; the judge was a partner Nakhai (v 177 e) says "to be in every neighborhood Of the living] in Kufa [Khmer is better than to be a man of the owners of Abu Hanifa ".

The Hanafi world Muhammad ibn Shuja al-Talaji (266 AH) saw that "the companions of Ahmad ibn Hanbal need to be slaughtered" !! So what is the difference between religious beliefs, who have often known as "the excess freedom and the firmness" in the institutions of the economy and corridors of power !!