Islam and Peace
Co-existence of Religions in India
~ 149 ~
It is interesting to note that prior to 1947 in
undivided India, it was non-Muslims who were the
biggest publishers and distributors of Islamic
literature. It is even more interesting that in divided
India, it is still the non-Muslims who are to the fore
in this field.
There are, of course, examples of religious
intolerance, but these have always been the result of
discord between two communities rather than
between two religions. It has sometimes happened
that members of one religious community have
entered into dispute with members of another
community over matters relating to their own
individual or group interest (as opposed to religious
interests) and then used arguments garbed in
religious terminology to support their standpoint.
Similarly, members of a certain community have
been known to raise an issue publicly to serve their
own political or material ends, again in the process
using religion to further their own, individual,
selfish interests. This is not religion. It is the
exploitation of religion.
