Islam from a Buddhist point of view.. The Dalai Lama speaks
He said that the extremist interpretation of religion is more unfair to Muslims than it is to others
The Dalai Lama is the Pope of Buddhists, so to speak, just as Francis is the Pope of Christians. His word is heard not only in Tibet, but throughout the Buddhist world, and even beyond. He is one of the wise men of the present age, and one of the major spiritual figures who is respected on an entire global level. “The Dalai Lama” is his nickname, not his real name, and it literally means “sea of science” or “sea of wisdom.” As for his real name, it is Tanzan Gyatso, and it does not mean anything to others and no one knows him by it.
In this study, I will rely mainly on his following book: “Islam, Christianity, and Judaism: How Can We Live in Peace?” Towards universal brotherhood among religions. This religious leader believes that the specificity of Islam that distinguishes it from others lies in the very strong relationship between a Muslim and his Lord. Here there is absolute and unconditional acceptance of divine transcendence in language, thought, and form. This divine transcendence is accompanied by God’s closeness to the believer, as the noble Qur’anic verse says: “...And We are closer to Him than our jugular vein.” Therefore, God is near and far at the same time. Islam requires its adherents to believe in the infinite, eternal and immortal nature of God. Any depiction of God is prohibited, because that encourages the worship of idols, which Islam strictly forbids. Therefore, there are no pictures in Islamic places of worship. One of the characteristics of this religion is that the Muslim surrenders himself completely to the divine will and submits to it without discussion. Hence the word “Islam”.
But the important thing about Islam that caught the Dalai Lama's attention is the Holy Qur'an's emphasis on mercy and tolerance. He was surprised that every surah of the Qur’an begins with this noble verse: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” However, the common image of the true religion currently is that it is a religion of cruelty, violence and horror! How did that happen? How did things turn upside down? Before the Dalai Lama answers this question, we note that he pauses at length on Surah Al-Fatihah, and even provides it in full translation. He expresses great admiration for the occurrence of the words “The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” more than once:
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.
Most Merciful.
Malik on the Day of Judgment.
Beware of worship and Thine aid we seek.
Guide us to the straight path,
the path of those upon whom You have bestowed grace, not those upon whom You have incurred wrath, nor those who have gone astray.”
Why does the Dalai Lama stop at this point more than others? Because the concept of compassion or compassion and compassion constitutes the basic value in the Buddhist religion to which he belongs. A religion that calls for compassion and mercy toward servants and beings can only be a great religion. Hence the secret of his admiration for Islam and his amazement and astonishment when he discovered or learned about it for the first time. He thought it was a religion of force, violence, beating, and killing, but then he discovered the exact opposite. He says that he did not discover Islam until late, and he was surprised by what he discovered and admired it greatly. His first visit to an Arab Muslim country took place in 2005, where he was warmly received in Jordan. He was greatly impressed by the call to prayer that came out of the mosques. On one occasion, a Muslim sheikh said to him: “Anyone who kills another person cannot be a true Muslim. Killing oneself is completely forbidden in the Qur’an. Where the noble verse says: (Whoever kills a soul for other than manslaughter or corruption in the land, it is as if he killed all of mankind, and whoever saves a life, it is as if he saved all of mankind).” Another sheikh told him that a Muslim should love God's creatures as God loves himself. Then he comments: “This is wonderful.” Then he adds: “Of course, the language that Islam uses to express universal sympathy or compassion is different from that used by Buddhism. But the concept is ultimately the same. Then the psychological impact it has on the individual's morality and behavior is identical in both cases. “It is consistent with the Buddhist principle that calls for universal compassion, compassion and compassion for all human beings and beings.”
In the end, the Dalai Lama does not hesitate to ask this question:
If the facts of Islam are like this, if it begins each of its surahs with the phrase: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” If it calls for compassion and mercy toward His servants, then where did all this terrifying, distorted image of it spread? ? And why? The great Buddhist sage believes that the reason is due to the literal and superficial interpretation of some verses calling for jihad and fighting. He believes that the literal interpretation of these verses is not consistent with the Holy Qur’an’s focus on the attribute of “God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” There is no doubt that a literal reading of these difficult, problematic verses is possible and possible. Extremist movements rely on it, and from it derive their striking power and audacity to kill and slaughter. But there is another reading of the Holy Qur’an, and the evidence is that some Muslim scholars told it that jihad can be interpreted on the basis of struggling against the soul that is tempted to do evil, not on the basis of war and fighting. In other words, there is the internal, spiritual jihad that political Islam often forgets.
In any case, the Dalai Lama tells us that it is the strict literal interpretation of these relatively few verses in the Qur’an that misleads people into believing that Islam is an exclusively violent religion. (I open a parenthesis here and say the following: Through my various readings, I noticed that most of the world’s figures are afraid, and even terrified, of some of the combat verses mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. They all beg us to reinterpret them by linking them to their difficult historical context that prevailed in the first prophetic period. Meaning Another, they ask us not to generalize it to all eras, especially to our current era.. Why? Because that means condemning others forever and ever and irrevocably permitting their blood. It means justifying all the blind bombings that randomly kill civilians on the pretext that they are infidels or non-Muslims. Even the great theologian Hans Kung, who is very open to Islam and its heritage, demands this from us. Consequently, Arab and Muslim intellectuals are required to find a way out of this thorny problem, the solution of which depends on removing the terrifying and distorted image that prevails about us and our religion throughout the world.
But let us return to the famous Buddhist leader and listen to him say:
“In 2008, I received an invitation from the Grand Mosque in Delhi, India, to attend a conference on terrorism. I was very pleased with this generous invitation. Among those present were senior sheikhs from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Jordan. In front of everyone, I said the following: (It is very important for all religious leaders in the world to declare that violence committed in the name of religion is something that is absolutely and without discussion rejected. Violence and true religion are two opposite things that do not go together. We should all tell our followers that compassion and mercy for human beings are two basic things for all religions. God’s mercy encompasses everything. But who can convince ISIS of that? If there is one thing that does not enter the dictionary of ISIS and ISIS, it is the concept Compassion and mercy. Look what they did to the poor Japanese hostage recently.”
Then the Dalai Lama goes on to say:
“The image formed exclusively of Islam as a religion of violence is wrong. But the senior sheikhs of Islam should take a clear, unambiguous and unequivocal position on it. They should say To their followers that there is no relationship between God and violence, or between Islam and exclusionary thinking, they should say that the extremist interpretation of religion is not only offensive to the Islamic heritage and distorts the reputation of Muslims, but is also contrary to the intellectual, spiritual and moral richness represented by the great heritage of Islam. “It is more unfair to Islam than it is unfair to others.”
Who can say better than that? But what the Dalai Lama missed is that the violent, even terrorist, interpretation of the message of Islam is the creation of political Islam movements, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, and all the more violent and brutal movements that branched out from it. This is frankly acknowledged by Professor Farid Abdel Khaleq, who was a member of the Brotherhood for a long time before he left them. Why? Because Islam, as it explicitly says, has a human dimension that contains compassion and mercy for servants if we understand the Holy Qur’an well. This is what the “Brotherhood” or some of them do not realize. (See in French the book: “The Muslim Brotherhood.” Written by Therefore, the reason for the failure of the “Brotherhood” is due to this very point: that is, to their neglect of the essence of the Holy Qur’an, which is based on mercy, forgiveness, and good morals, not on war, beating, violence, coercion, and coercion. “There is no compulsion in religion,” says the great text. But let us return again to the Dalai Lama and his position on us and our religious heritage. Fortunately, I finally signed the most recent interview he gave to the French magazine “World of Religions.” This was in New Delhi, India. It is known that he rarely gives interviews anymore. The important thing is that when they brought the question to the issue of ISIS, he was silent for a long time before answering, with worry and sadness on his face: “This is the most dangerous issue at the present time.” This is the biggest challenge facing humanity today. Everyone, east and west, is worried about this new phenomenon that was not expected. In fact, this is an old custom among some Muslims, but it has revived greatly in this era. In their overwhelming anger, these people are ready to kill even with an atomic bomb! If they had it, of course. They are very, very dangerous. Therefore, we must address the deep foundation of this disease because it is the root of the problem. The origin is the lack of religious dialogue within Islam, and then between Islam on the one hand and the rest of the religions on the other hand.”
Then the Dalai Lama tells us what it means: “Look at India. It is a huge country in which multiple religions and sects have coexisted for twenty centuries. Is this a little? It is true that clashes and undeniable problems sometimes occurred. But in general, there is a remarkable peaceful coexistence. Here in India there are Hindus and Muslims, Sunnis and Shiites, Jews and Christians, etc., etc., yet they rarely fight. Perhaps the credit for this was due to the existence of a very important concept in India, which is the concept: (non-violence). Gandhi used it as an effective political weapon. We Buddhists took it from him. “It is very important for peace to prevail in the world.”
Here the French journalist objected, saying: “But the Buddhists practiced violence against Muslims in Burma?” The Dalai Lama replied: “Yes, and this is what hurt me very much.” I have given orders to stop him immediately.”
Finally, I say: “People, listen and be aware. There is not one truth in the world, but rather several truths and religions. They are not contradictory to each other, but rather complementary if we understand them as they really are. They should coexist peacefully in the era of global globalization despite extremism and extremists. They are generally a minority in all religions. This is what Hans Kung says too. All religions forbid killing, lying, stealing, gossiping, and vice, and call for good morals. Therefore, there is a great common moral core between all religions, regardless of their rites, rituals, and beliefs.. So follow it and forget the rest.
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