Asslamo Allaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
I have now lived in the West for nearly ¾ of my life, interacting regularly and on a daily basis with Non-Muslims with diverse backgrounds and opinions.
I have also lived and worked in Saudi Arabia where majority of the natives believe every Non-Muslim wears a cross, is an Israeli supporter, bent on destroying Islam and harming Muslims. The Fatwaas of permissibility of consuming the commonly available meat and marrying local woman also stem from the misunderstanding that majority of the Non-Muslims in the west are Ahlul-Kitaab (people of the book).
Anyone who has ever lived, worked or studied in the west knows that most people are either agnostic or Christian by name and employment laws don’t require registration or tracking of religion in any field (of employment) let alone in abattoirs so your cow/lamb/sheep could be slaughtered by a Jew, or a Christian or a Hindu, or a Muslim or an Atheist so it’s ridiculous to assume that because the meat is available at an American or British Supermarket it was slaughtered by someone from Ahlul-Kitaab (people of the book) and similar is the case of most women i.e. they are Christian but in name!
Anyways, back to the subject... :- )
Whether we should continue to reside in these lands or migrate (make Hijrah) to Muslim lands could be the subject of another “interesting” blog but we are where we are as I write today. Our relationship with Non-Muslims is governed by the unanimous and agreed upon principle in Islam that we are not supposed to have close and intimate relationships with Non-Muslims.
[3:28] The believers must not take the disbelievers as friends instead of the believers. And whoever does that has no relation with Allah whatsoever, unless you (do so) as a protective measure (in order to) save yourself from them. Allah warns you of Himself, for unto Allah is the return.
However, some of our brothers and sisters take this verse to the extreme and imply that we are supposed to have a visible frosty interaction with Non-Muslims and the clear and blatant Anti-Islamic foreign policy of Western Governments has played a large part in this understanding. We live here and pay our taxes and in return we see our innocent brothers and sisters being bombed, sanctions being placed upon them so they can’t access basic food or medical care, our sisters being denied the right to wear Niqab (or even Hijab) in these lands when all their lives they have done nothing wrong and speak English, French, German just as well as anybody else. We live here, do our jobs, pay our taxes, obey the laws and yet our places of worship are being denied the right to be build (London Markaz), our Holy book is being burnt (Pastor Terry Jones) our beliefs are being twisted and misrepresented on the media (constantly) and we are continuously being asked to prove ourselves to be “American” or “British” or “French” or whatever when the rest of immigrants are not subjected to these tests.
The case of Indian Muslims is even worse when they are the natives of India, lived in the same city and neighbourhoods for generations and yet their “Indian-ness” is continuously questioned. While David Cameron is visiting India he chose to visit the site of Amritsar massacre (less than a thousand victims) but I don’t expect him to mention the 400,000 Indian Muslims who fought for the British Empire during the 1st world war alone!
The situation is grim and the circumstances taxing, nevertheless we are meant to obey the laws of Allah (SWT) and the methodology of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) for all times. Our purpose of interaction to Non-Muslims should be with the intention of Dawah and Dawah shouldn’t be misunderstood to mean bombarding Non-Muslims with Shaykh Ahmed Deedat (RA)’s pamphlets and videos rather, next time when you are putting groceries in your trolley (at the supermarket) or putting fuel in your car and if you have behaved as a Muslim you have planted the first seed of Islam in the mind of the Non-Muslim whom you have just interacted with! He (or she) has just seen a bearded man with a woman in a headscarf and kids behave impeccably without hysteria as Fox news would let him (or her) believe!
At work, your Non-Muslim colleagues see you take the time to pray, don’t curse or use abusive language, don’t flirt or use lewd language with women, check ingredients on everything before you eat and they see you work hard, not scam and they witness this consistently every single day!
In your neighbourhood, your Non-Muslim neighbours see your house tidy helping the neighbours and enquiring about their well being.
All of them also witness that you clearly articulate your opposition to invasion of Muslim lands and clearly articulate your opposition to Gay Marriages, Prostitution, Drugs & Alcohol so they know that you are different to less than 5 vigilantes trying to impose Shariah law in London which they must have witnessed due to disproportionate media coverage.
Unfortunately, there are no visible signs of Islam on many of our brothers (no Beards), no visible signs of Islam on many of our sisters (no Hijab) and no meaningful, sustained and articulate discussions about Islam so the floor is left wide open for:
1. Biased Media
2. Extremist (tiny) minority with no interaction with Ulamah and no consideration for Islamic principles on Non-Muslim interaction
3. Secular/Modernists and for them anything goes!
We need to shun our inferiority complex, discard our shame for adopting the Sunnah and make no compromises on our stance due to undue media pressure in our interactions with Non-Muslims. Next time when you are at work or at School or putting fuel in your car remember the following verse of the Qur'aan:
[16:125] Invite (people) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good counsel. And argue with them in the best of manners. Surely, your Lord knows best the one who deviates from His way, and He knows best the ones who are on the right path.
We believe in what Allah (SWT) & His Prophet (Peace be upon Him) has stipulated for us and we make no apologies for it, we just need to articulate it a little better and smarter and that my friends is the summary of principles interaction with Non-Muslims!