People of the Book
Harun Yahya
(About Hayrettin Karaman’s piece saying that one should not enjoy close relations with non-Muslims)
We are already facing the danger of division. That is a problem of Turkey’s. It would be very wrong to now bring up another field of division, to encourage Muslims toward separation in another area. There were pagans in the time of out Prophet (saas), and Christians and Jews, and Muslims used to live alongside and preach to them. The teacher is a very worthy man, but it is amazing he should have used this kind of language. It is amazing he felt the need to do so. So what is preaching then? One preaches to non-believers, to Christians. There is a commandment in verses. One must preach to all the People of the Book. There have always been non-believers among Muslims, and people have preached to them. What kind of idea is a conception of isolated Islam? That does not exist in Islam. Preaching is one of Muslims’ main duties.
Surah Hud, 109
“So be in no doubt about what these people worship.” Allah says they have very different beliefs. They ascribe equals to Him, He says
“They only worship as their forebears worshipped previously.”
They were polytheists and sick in mind, “They worship as their forebears worshipped.” He says they have the same character and system. “We will pay them their portion in full, with no rebate!.” Allah says He will give them their just desserts.“We gave Moses the book,”The Torah. “and people differed concerning it.”What do they do? They make additions to the Torah and give it a totally different form. “had it not been for a prior Word from your Lord, it would already have been decided between them.”Allah says He will punish them. But there is also a promise. He says He is in no hurry. “They are indeed in grave doubt about it (the Qur’an).”They are undecided one way or the other, He says. Do the People of the Book have a responsibility toward the Qur’an? The verse makes it quite clear. Allah says it is wrong for the People of the Book to doubt the Qur’an. Some people say they have no responsibility toward the Qur’an, that Christians and Jews have no such responsibility. But Allah says they do. Allah regards it as wrong for them to be skeptical and tells us to have sincere belief, insha’Allah.
We will be a world power around 2023. Foreign countries will not be our subjects. We are friends and brothers. We are in the same situation. Nobody is superior to anyone else. You cannot say: “I am a manager. You are inferior to me.” We say, "we are servants." "You are our brothers. We want to help you” we say. Everyone is equal. We will not give any blessings to Christians. It is Allah Who will do that. Their churches are open. They worship. Nobody interferes with them. There is no compulsion in religion. Nobody can pressurize anyone else. You cannot compel Muslims, nor Christians, nor Jews. Nor can you patronize them. You cannot say, “We are your rulers but are very kindly going to let you worship.” Allah has ordained that they can worship as they please. We would like them all to be Muslims. And if they choose to, that is most excellent. But there can be no compulsion. If they are unwilling, then we respect that. We have respected them for 1400 years, and will continue to do so. We brought them over from Spain. But we did not then tell them we were superior to them. They lived like royalty, really. We always showed them love and respect. We opened our homes and lands to them. Superiority lies in faithfulness. If a Muslim is faithful, Allah will appreciate that in the hereafter. We cannot be sure of ourselves in this world. Anyone can go to hell. But we would like the People of the Book to be Muslims. That is the good news of the Qur’an. But without any compulsion. And we make no claims to any racial superiority.
