Guru Granth Sahib: A Model For Interfaith Understanding
by Dr. KAZI NURUL ISLAM
Though all the religions of the world teach love, preach sympathy for others and encourage Man to exercise utmost self-restraint and have most profoundly been a source of inspiration for the highest good of mankind, the world today is torn by conflicts, enmity and religious hatred. In this predicament, a lasting and peaceful society is impossible unless different faiths are understood in their proper perspectives. Therefore, it is necessary that people belonging to different faiths understand each other better. This necessitates a constant dialogue and effort to generate moral and hearty religious thinking.
The advocates of all the religions of the world emphasize the importance of certain virtues and moral values. Only these can foster unity and cohesion of mankind. But the moral and religious values cannot be invoked by force. This can be achieved through the exchange of words, kind words, sincere words and loving words that can reach the deepest fathoms of the heart.
There is no religion without peace and no peace without religion. We must admit that peace and religion are complementary to each other. When the good of all is desired with an undivided mind peace will definitely be ours. But people belonging to different faiths, in most cases, have betrayed religious ideals and commitment to peace. The time has come when this betrayal must be corrected. And this can be and should be done through knowledge, dialogue and demonstration of the fact that love, compassion, selflessness and the inner force of truthfulness have ultimately greater power than hatred, enmity and self-interest.
There was a time when various religions, precisely because of their own convictions, were unable to cooperate and were even antagonistic to each other. But the times have changed to a great extent. Improvement in the means of transportation has made the earth smaller. Now religions, in-spite of historic differences, must seek to unite all men for the attainment of world peace. Unless the peoples of faith come closer to each other the irreligious and antireligious forces will gain the upper hand. And this may lead to the further breaking up of the moral fibre of the human society. But at all cost we must preserve the moral aspect of the texture of human society.
Religious people represent a vast majority of the peoples of the world. But unfortunately, we are a confused, divided and silent majority. The religious people of the world have been quite silent for long, and their silence has worked against human welfare. Our division, our timidity, and our silence left the mighty forces of terrorism, fanaticism, racism, poverty, and war unchallenged. Our silence has been paid for by the suffering of millions, for whom we should have been advocates, friends, and spokespersons.
The time has come when religionists, instead of antagonizing each other because of what we once thought was a religious conviction, should cooperate with each other in order to contribute to the cause of peace for mankind.
Before I explain my own position as to what makes me feel that the Guru Granth Sahib is a model for interreligious understanding in today's world, let me speak a few words about the attitude of Islam towards other religions. I believe, this will help us to understand Guru Granth Sahib's attitude towards other traditions better.
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