Islam and Peace
Religious Harmony
~ 135 ~
Although Islam believes, in the oneness of reality it
lays equal stress on the practice of tolerance in
everyday dealings, even if it means going to the
extent of permitting non-Muslims to come to an
Islamic place of worship for religious discussion,
and if it is time for their prayers letting them feel
free to perform their worship according to their
own ways in the mosque itself.
Tolerance has been the rule throughout the history
of Islam. It has, in fact, been one of the main
underlying causes of its successful dissemination.
Here I quote from the Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Islam achieved astonishing success in its first
phase. Within a century after the Prophet’s death
in a.d. 632 (the early generations of Muslims) it
had brought a large part of the globe – from Spain
across central Asia to India – under a new Arab
Muslim empire.
And this is the part which I wish particularly to
stress:
