The Qur'an and the Secular Mind; A Philosophy of Islam (2008) - Shabbir Akhtar

30 Quranic Islam and the secular mind
as we see in Joseph’s speech to his fellow prisoners (Q:12:37–40), preach a universal
message identical to Muhammad’s message. All ethnic Jewish narratives are
universalized; Jewish traditions of restrictive import are given in a modified comprehensive
form. For example, after an account of the first murder (Q:5:27–31),
the Quran comments that ‘we ordained for the Children of Israel that anyone who
killed a single person, except for murder or mischief in the land (i.e., just cause),
were like someone who murdered the entire human race and, likewise, anyone
who saved a single life were like someone who saved the whole of humankind’
(Q:5:32). Jewish tradition knows this maxim in the restricted ethnic form: the
murderer of a single Israelite has committed genocide, that is, unjustly killed all
the seed of Israel.
Muslims accuse the Jews of a religious superiority complex. Ironically, many
would convincingly accuse the Muslims of suffering from it: they mistake a
psychological condition for a faith by frequently putting themselves forward as
paragons for others to emulate. Provided they ‘order right and prohibit wrong’, the
Quran itself calls Muslims ‘the best community raised for the benefit of humanity’
(Q:3:110), a view that is, in the contemporary world, restricted to Muslims. And
it is an unwise self-image. Communities that insist on their own total uniqueness
excite in others the desire for persecution. The next time there are gas chambers
in Europe, we know who will be inside them.
The scripture condemns, to turn to the other people of the book, what it sees
as egregious doctrinal errors in Christian dogma, errors that lift Christian belief
from the realm of pardonable mistake to that of the unforgivable blunder of outright
disbelief (kufr; Q:5:17, 72–73). But the Quran admires the moral character
of Christian communities of the time, commending some Christians for their
outstanding learning, piety, and humility (Q:5:82–5) and citing conspicuous compassion
as a distinguishing mark of Christians but only insofar as they followed
Jesus (Q:57:27). The Quran condemns, however, the misuse of public wealth by
monks and priests (aḥbār) and anchorites (ruhbān; Q:9:34).
Sincere Christians are, condescendingly, seen as morally good but doctrinally
confused. Many Christian missionaries think that the Quran pays tribute
to Christian behaviour in order to win them over, a plausible enough claim: some
Christian sects of the time were ripe for conversion to a simpler faith. The Christian
to Muslim inter-faith conversion movement is historically the largest movement of
its kind. Modern Muslims insist that colonialism is treasonable to the cause of Jesus
and that these generous Quranic passages are to be read in the light of the caveat
about following Jesus since most Christian nations today (as in the past) have been
only nominally Christian, eager and ready to besmirch their Christian credentials.
The quality of the exchanges with Jews and Christians varies from authoritarian
dismissal to searching and challenging engagements. One Medinan passage
(Q:3:72) refers to a remarkable strategy by some Jews and Christians: ‘A faction
among the people of the book say, “Believe in the morning in the revelation
sent to believers – but reject it by the end of the day. Perhaps the believers will
turn back [to paganism]”.’ The Quran is unimpeachably alert to such plots and
intrigues and unfailingly offers cutting rejoinders (Q:2:94–6; 5:18, 59–64). It is an