Religious freedom between Islam and fanatic Muslims

   Part One: Freedom of Religion in Islam

Chapter 6:  Religious freedom and Islam, as a religion of peace

1- Peace and Islam in a quick glance

 

Peace is the origin of the understanding of Islam as a religion as well as in the Arabic language. It is the basis of the relationship between Muslims and others.
The understanding of Islam in the Quran, as was the case with the word ‘belief’, has an outwardly meaning concerning the dealing with people and inwardly meaning concerning the relationship with God.

The inwardly meaning of Islam is to succumb and submit to God alone, pledging allegiance and obedience to Him and Him alone (6:161-163).
This meaning of Islam is the same message that came with all the prophets in all divine messages and in all ancient languages until it finally appeared in Arabic in the final divine revelation of the Quran. God doesn’t accept any other religion different from the submission to Him alone as the only God. This is the meaning of the verse “The religion (with or before or in the sight of) God, is islam …” (3:19). Note that the word Islam is not capitalized on purpose to show that the Quran is describing an attitude or a mode of being and not a specific religion. The verse continues (“Whoever desires a religion other than islam, never will it be accepted of him and in the hereafter he will be in the rank of those who had lost”) (3:85). Here, it describes about his future on the Day of Judgment where only God will judge all of mankind.

Islam means submitting to God alone in any language, time or place and in all divine messages. Alas unfortunately, in our culture, Islam was transformed into an Arabic description of a definite group in a specific epoch.
God is uninterested in the titles and divisions that people choose for them such as Muslims, Jews, Christians and Sabiens.
For this reason, God confirms in two verses that those who believe in God alone as the only God, believe in the Day of Judgment as the divine day of absolute justice and maintain peace and perform righteous deeds as a proof of their belief in the last day, they are the allies of God whether they are the followers of the Quran or the Old and New Testament (2:62, 5:69). These two verses confirm the other two verses: “The religion (before, with or in the sight of) God is islam” and “Whoever desires a religion other than islam, never will be accepted of him” (3:19 &85).
These verses imply that he who believes in God, the last day and performs righteous deeds in this world will be considered a Muslim in the sight of God on the Last Day regardless of the title he/she had in this world. It is up to God alone- not to us - on the Day of Judgment – not now- to judge the faith. Any one that claims this right to him/herself is claiming divinity for him/herself.
The real meaning of the inward face of Islam is submitting to God only and succumbing to Him alone with the language of hearts. It is the universal language that leaves no room for discord among people or believers, and based on this language all people will be judged on the last day. This is the inward meaning of Islam in dealing with the Almighty God, the Creator, or the inner meaning of the faith that lies inside the heart which will be judged by God alone on the Last Day.
God alone is the One who can monitor the real feelings of the human heart in this life, and the only one who- on Judgment Day- will tell us of our religious disputes. It’s up to every human to choose monotheism, paganism or atheism; it’s his freedom of belief and he will be responsible before God alone on the last Day. This describes Islam in dealing with God, or the inner meaning of Islam.
In Islam, outwardly dealing with people is directly related to the safety and security expressed and practiced among people, no matter how different their inner believes are. God says: “O you who believe enter peace wholeheartedly” (2:208). Thus God ordered the believers to enter the reign of peace”). We remember here that the salutation of Islam is peace “Alsalamu alikum” or “Peace be upon you” and that peace is one of God’s wholly names, Al Salam. All of this expresses the confirmation of peace in Islam and it confirms the fact that belief also means feeling safe and secure.

2- The relationship between Islam and peace in Arabic Quranic language 

* Understanding the word Iman or ‘Belief’:

According to the Quranic terminology and its particular language, the word “Believed,” Aamana, has two meanings in Quranic and Arabic language; you can believe in, a doctrine, a creed, a political concept (Aamana be...) or, you put faith in ,be confident  with or trust others (Aamana le --).

The first definition is related to faith as in the verse “the Messenger believed in what was sent down to him from His Lord and the believers. All believe in God, His angles, His books, His Messengers.” (2:285). Thus, to ‘believe in’ means to have a deeply rooted faith in one’s heart concerning the relationship between man and God.

People have had diversified faiths, even within the same religion or even within the same sect or school of thought.  The Quran confirms that people will be judged for the diversity of their faiths by God alone and only on Judgment Day (as found in verses 2:113 , 3:55 , 10:93 , 16:124 , 5:48 , 39:3 , 7:46 ).

The second meaning of (Belief) is the relationship between people, namely believing, having confidence in or trusting others. It implies that when someone is safe and secure, people trust him/her. One is also called a ‘Believer’ because he/she is trusted by people. This meaning is repeated in the Quran, especially in the stories concerning the Prophets. For example, in the story of Noah, the arrogant ones told him “Shall we trust you while it is the contemptible ones that follow you?” (26:111) what is meant here is “how can we trust you and feel secure with you seeing that you are followed by the lowest of the people”.  This meaning of ‘believing’ that involves trusting  someone is repeated in the story of Abraham (26:29), the story of Joseph (12:17), the story of Moses (44:21, 23:47), and also in the Quranic narratives of the life of Prophet Mohammed in Medina (3:37, 2:57). 

When somebody behaves in a trustworthy manner, he/she becomes safe and secure as observed from his/her outward behavior.  According to the Quranic terminology, this person is called ‘a Believer’ regardless of his/her religion or faith.  For that matter, he/she can be a Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Jew or atheist.  It is a private matter between the individual and God that no creature has the authority to judge.  It is reserved for God alone on the Last Day.

The two meanings of the term ‘Belief’ are simultaneously expressed in God’s verses concerning Prophet Mohammed that says, “He believes in God, and trust the believers.” (9:61).

In the Arabic language and in this Quranic verse, the word Yu’menu has two meanings: to believe in and to trust in. Thus, this verse shows that to believe in God is to worship Him alone, and to believe in others is to trust them. To believe in God is to acknowledge that He is the One and Only. The evaluation of this faith, which many people dispute over, is to take place on Judgment Day. Therefore, what concerns and should only concerns humans among themselves is to live in Trust, Safety, Security and Peace.

Therefore faith in Islam is equivalent to peace among people. Being a believer means being a person of God and of peace and trust. This is the understanding of faith in the religion of Islam.

 Understanding the word “Islam’:

The understanding of Islam in the Quran, as was the case with the word ‘believe’,  has an outward meaning concerning the dealings with people and an inward meaning concerning the relationship with God .

The inward meaning of Islam is to succumb and submit to God alone, pledging allegiance and obedience to Him and Him alone (6:161-163). This meaning of Islam is the same message that came with all the prophets in all divine messages in all ancient languages until it finally appeared in Arabic in the final divine revelation of the Quran.

God doesn’t accept any other religion different from submission to Him alone as the only God.  This is the meaning of the verse, “The religion before God is islam …” (3:19).  Note that the word Islam is not capitalized on purpose to show that the Quran is describing an attitude or a mode of being and not a specific religion.  God also says : “Whoever desires a religion other than islam, never will it be accepted of him and in the hereafter he will be in the rank of those who had lost” (3:85). Here, it describes one’s future on the Day of Judgment where only God will judge all of mankind.

Islam means submitting to God alone in any language, time, or place and in all divine messages. Unfortunately, in Muslims culture, Islam was transformed into an arabic description of a definite group in a specific epoch.

God is not interested in the titles and divisions that people choose for themselves such as Muslims, Jews, Christians.  For this reason, God confirms in two verses that those who believe in God alone as the only God, believe in the Day of Judgment as the divine day of absolute justice and maintain peace and perform righteous deeds as a proof of their belief in the last day,  they are the allies of God whether they are the followers of the Quran or the Old and New Testament (2:62, 5:69). These two verses confirm the other two verses: “The religion before God is islam” and “Whoever desires a religion other than Islam, never will be accepted of him” (3:19 &85).

 These verses imply that whoever believes in God, the Last Day, and performs righteous deeds in this world will be considered a Muslim in the sight of God on the Last Day regardless of the title he/she had in this world. It is up to God alone- not to us - on the Day of Judgment – not now- to judge the faith. Any one that claims this right upon him or her is claiming divinity.

The real meaning of the inward side of Islam is submitting only to God and succumbing to Him alone with the language of hearts. It is the universal language that leaves no room for discord among people or believers, and based on this language, all people will be judged on the Last Day. This is the inward meaning of Islam in dealing with the Almighty God, the Creator, or the inner meaning of faith that lies inside the heart which will be judged by God alone on the Last Day.

 God is the only One who can monitor the real feelings of the human heart in this life. He is the only One who- on Judgment Day- will tell us of our religious disputes.  It’s up to every person to choose monotheism, paganism or atheism; it’s his/her freedom of belief and he/she will be responsible before God alone on the last Day. This describes Islam in dealing with God, or the inner meaning of Islam.

   In Islam, outwardly dealing with people is directly related to the safety and security expressed and practiced among others, no matter how different their inner beliefs are. God says :“O you who believe! Enter peace wholeheartedly.” (2:208). Thus, God ordered the believers to uphold peace in dealing with each others.  We remember here that the salutation of Islam is peace, “A-ssalamu alikum,” or “Peace be upon you” and that peace is one of God’s holy names, A- ssalam. All of this expresses the confirmation of Peace in Islam and it confirms the fact that( Belief) also means safety and security.

 Peace and security in Paradise will be for any peaceful believers:

The person who expresses and demonstrates his/her belief in goodness in his/her dealings with people and gains their trust , and  also, has true belief in God alone, deserves security, and will be secured and protected by the Almighty God on the Last Day.  He/she will be rewarded in the hereafter for being trusted by people and for having a sincere belief in God alone in this life.  This is the true meaning of belief in Islam and its reward is in the Last Day.

The same is true with one who practices ‘Islam’ in his/her dealings with others, is peaceful, and as such  practices ‘Islam’ in his/her relationship with God by submitting his/her heart and behaviors towards Him. This person is also entitled to ‘peace’s in the hereafter.

 On this subject God says, “It’s those who believe and confuse not their beliefs with wrong(beliefs or deeds), for them there is a security, and they are truly guided” (6:82).  This means that those who believe in God and have gained the trust of others because he/she did not wrong them will enjoy safety and security as a reward on the last day.  Their reward is nothing but the outcome of their deeds, and God describes their place to be in paradise in the hereafter. Their greeting upon entering paradise will be “Enter ye here in peace and security” (15:46) and about paradise, God says, “for them will be a home of peace in the presence of their Lord” (6:127).

Thus, peace and security in dealing with others plus submission to belief in One God along with obedience to Him alone leads to peace and security in paradise.  Such is the Islamic formula as presented by the verses of the Quran. On the other hand, transgression and injustice inflicted on others and on God leads only to Hell.

3- Understanding Muslims and peace in history

 

Now that we have clarified the relationship between the notion of peace, the understanding of “Islam,” and its belief and faith according to the Quranic and Arabic languages, let’s turn to the relation between “Islamic peace” and the real Islamic legislation according to the Quran alone.

Let’s examine the rules of ‘peace’ between Muslims and non Muslims.

First however, let’s suppose that early Muslims in the time of Prophet Mohammed did not practice peaceful Islam.   Does this, however, make it right to ignore the peaceful nature of Islam because of its followers’ behaviors?

Religion is just rules and commandments that should be applied by its believers. If those believers ignore the fundamental teachings of the religion, it is their responsibility, and they should be blamed, not their religion. Religion should only be held accountable for the teachings according to its Holy message, and not due to its follower’s human deeds.

It’s not only an Islamic issue, but also an issue in Christianity and Judaism.  We need only to remember what the religious Jews and Christians did in the Middle Ages and modern history. Therefore, it’s imperative to make distinctions between the religion itself and its human adherents whose deeds are mixtures of good and bad. However, we will discover that with Islam and its early Muslim followers, something different needs to be explained.

 

Recording Islamic History two centuries after Mohammed, widened the gap between the Quran and Muslim Tradition

The recording of Muslim history started and was established in the Muslim imperial periods that followed the footsteps of the Persian and the Roman empires. Thus, the writing of their history was shaped by the concepts of power and influenced by the Middle Age culture of fanaticism. For that reason, the gap between the Quran and the Muslim tradition was widened in terms of legislation and even in beliefs and faith.

As far as our subject matter is concerned, we find a clear gap between what the Quran says about the early Muslims during the period of  Prophet Mohammed and what was said in the recorded history of the Prophet and also, in the history of early Muslims and their battles.

The history of Prophet Mohammed was recorded more than two centuries after his death during the Abbasid Empire. This history was written by Ibn Iss-Haaq, Ibn Sa’d, Ibn Hisham, At-Tabary, and others. They mainly and falsely, concentrated on the Muslims’ actions in the battles during the period of Prophet Mohammed.

Those old historians rooted the concept that Islam is responsible for invading and occupying other people’s lands and it was spread by the sword. They gave to the history of Prophet Mohammed the violent history of the Muslim rulers who succeeded him and made great conquests and invaded other nations establishing their great empires. In the third empire,( Abbasid dynasty ) the historians lived and wrote the Muslims history of their time beginning with the history of Prophet Mohammed - tens of decades after his death - according to their culture, and created a gap between what was actually recorded in the Quran and their accounts.  Those historians were also religious scholars who were invited to respond in their times by religiously legitimizing the establishing and expansion of the Muslim Empire.

Yet, what is found in the Quran is something entirely different from what is recorded in history.

The starting point goes back to the Quranic term ‘those who believed’ and its original meaning being ‘those who choose safety and security in their dealing with others even if they were persecuted and harassed by them. They are believers even if their faith does not correspond to Islamic monotheism.’ We understand better the intended meaning of ‘those who believed’ from the verse that says, “Oh you who believed! Believe in God and His messenger, and the scripture which He sent before. Any who denies God, His Angles, His Books, his messengers, and the Day of Judgment, has strayed far away’. (4:136). Thus, God calls upon the believers, i.e., the peaceful ones to have a belief and faith in God, his prophets and his holy books.  In other words, he calls upon those who chose peace in their behavior to add to it the inner belief of faith in God alone, His prophets, and His books.

The expression ‘Oh you who believed’ does not imply any particular religious group. It addresses those who choose peace as a way of life and calls them to accept the Islamic faith because He said, ‘Oh you who believed!’ In other words, the belief in security and peace needs to be complemented by true sincere belief or faith in one God, His books and all His prophets, so that one is able to reach the blessings of paradise, namely peace and security, in the hereafter,.

 The early Muslims were really peaceful.

The peaceful believers who joined Prophet Mohammed in Mecca insisted on peace and on tolerating persecutions. While they were in Mecca suffering, the Holy Quran revealed the aspects of their coming Muslim state which included belief in One God, trust in Him, obeying Him, keeping prayers to Him and giving alms and conducting the direct democracy among themselves. God said explaining the other aspects, “And those who, when an oppressive wrong is done to them, take revenge, the recompense for an evil is an evil; but whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is with God. Verily, He likes not the oppressors.  And indeed whosoever takes revenge after he has suffered wrong, for such there is no blame against them. The blame is only against those who oppress people and resort to wrong in the earth unjustly; for such there will be a painful torment. And verily, whosoever shows patience and forgiveness that would truly be from the best commandments.” (42:36-43). This was revealed to prepare them to be ready for the future when they would have to defend themselves and retaliate, or to forgive and reconcile according to the future’s circumstances. Because of severe persecutions, early Muslims had to immigrate twice to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and then to Yathreb (later on to be named Al Medina), their final immigration where they established their own Islamic state led by Prophet Mohammed.

 

  Be ready to defend yourself to achieve peace.

 When the permission to fight was granted for the early Muslims, it was expected that they would rejoice with the idea of retaliation, but the opposite occurred. They had grown accustomed to passiveness and toleration of pain, and hated the new legislation concerning jihad. (Note that Jihad here implies holy war in terms of self defense.)  They were oblivious to the fact that they needed to fight to defend themselves and to achieve peace. They didn’t realize that their enemy would cease to attack them once they showed some resistance.

The only way to defend oneself from his/her enemy is to be ready to defend themselves from attacks. It is the Quranic policy of “deterrent”. God said to the early Muslims and to every peaceful state, “And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war to terrify the enemy of God and your enemy…”, “And if they incline to peace you must incline to it. And put your trust in God, Verily, He is the All – Hearer, the All-Knower”, “And if they intend to deceive you, then, Verily, God is All- Sufficient for you.”(8:60-62).

By being peaceful and strong, they can establish real peace. They can stop any potential attack against themselves and save not only their people, but also their enemy’s. These verses emphasize that the Quranic policy of ‘deterrent’ means to serve peace, not to encourage violence, especially when read in the context of all the rules of war specified in the Quran.  In the Quran, the purpose of war is only to defend, not to attack.

Beside the basic reason of self defense, God revealed in the Holy Quran other rules of self defense and condemned transgressions against peaceful people.

 

The early Muslims hated to defend themselves.

In spite of all these rules and their critical situations, the early Muslims in the time of Prophet Mohammed hated the permission to fight. Because of this reason, God addressed them in the Quran saying, “Fighting is prescribed upon you, and you dislike it. But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you love a thing which is bad for you. But God knows while you know not” (2:216).  Here, God tells them that even though they hate the idea of fighting, it is good for them because they need to defend themselves. Even though they liked to be silent and passive towards raging war, God knows that it is dangerous for them.

The problem the early Muslims faced was that they had gotten accustomed to patience and peace, but conditions had reached to a degree that threatened not only their religion, but their existence as well. The Quranic clarification was not enough to change their attitude and to push them to prepare for defense. A group among them rejected the legislation for fighting and even raised their voices asking God to postpone His command. So God answered, “Have you not seen those who were told to hold back their hands from fight but established regular prayers and spend in regular charity? When at length the order for fighting was ordained to them, be hold! A section of them feared men as-or even more than-they should have feared God; they said ‘our lord! Why have you ordained for us to fight? Would that you had granted us respite for a short period ?” (4:77). In Mecca they were ordered to refrain from self-defense and to consecrate their time and effort in prayer and spending in charity. The fact that a group rejected the order to fight and asked for it to be postponed showed the extent to which they were devoted to peace and hateful toward bloodshed.

Early peaceful Muslims in battles

The battles during the period of Prophet Mohammed were the biggest proof for the tendency of the early Muslims towards peace and their hatred for fighting, even in self-defense when it was forced upon them. We shall demonstrate from the Quran their peaceful attitude during three main battles: Badr, Alahzab, and Al-usra.

The battle of Badr:

This was the first and the most famous of the battles. In order to understand the real causes of this battle, we must first understand the terms (Eelaaf) or convention. This (Eelaaf/ convention) was a privilege given to the mighty tribe of Qureish, and is mentioned in the Quranic Chapter of Qureish (106:1-4). In its four verses, God said that because of His sacred Mosque located in Mecca, the Qureish tribe had its Eelaaf or trade convention.  They used to send their trade caravans between Syria and Yemen in peace during the winter and summer, and lived without hunger or fear, while the other tribes suffered hunger and continuous wars. The same meaning was repeated in other verses: (29:67), (28:57).

The Quraysh traded with Syria and Yemen, exchanging goods once in the summer and once in the winter, carrying the eastern Indian goods from Yemen to the Roman Empire through Syria. They had obtained covenant of security outside Mecca, safeguarding the caravans during their journeys between Mecca and Yemen, and between Mecca and Syria. Inside Mecca, there was another type of covenant among the inhabitants. The Qureish tribe had to participate in financing both of the winter and the summer caravans. The budget needed was divided into shares which the Qureish people invested in. At the end of the year, they calculated the profits of the shares and each one took his earnings. When the Muslims were forced to leave Mecca and go to Medina, they lost their homes, properties and investments. The Qureish transgressors confiscated all Muslims homes and belongings.  The Muslims did not dare ask for their money from their enemy who chased and attacked them for their beliefs. 

Upon receiving the right to fight, the Muslims claimed their due share of the profits back from the Qureish.  It was for this reason that they raided the caravan which traded with their money. They hoped to get their money or the caravan without having to fight. However, on their way to meet the caravan, the Muslims were promised that they would either take over the caravan or that they would win over their enemy. They went for the caravan, but soon enough, an army from Qureish came to save the caravan and repel the Muslims who happened to be few in number.

It was clear that since there were no caravans, they would surely win the battle as was promised by God. Nevertheless, some of the Muslims were frightened to face the enemy in battle. The Quran described this situation as follows, “As Your Lord caused you to go out from your home with the truth, and verily a party among the believers disliked it. They were disputing with you concerning the truth, after it was made manifest, as if they were being driven to death while they were looking actually at it.” (8:5-6). It’s clear that the Muslims hated fighting, that they were honest about their position even though God promised to support them, and when they were ordered to engage in war, it was as if they could actually see death coming to seize them.

We need mention here that what the Quran says concerning the battle of Badr contradicts the stories written about the Prophet during the Muslim Empire. In these stories, the old historians confirmed that all of the Muslims of Badr were anxious to fight and none of them were doubtful about it. If it was not for the Quran, we would not have known the reality of the situation.

The real situation confirms that the early Muslims were not blood thirsty fanatics willing to die for the cause of “Holy War”, although they were persecuted and fought against.  They were peaceful people who wanted to worship God and glorify Him in peace.  But the stories have been twisted around in order to depict the early Muslims ‘incorrectly’, to justify using violence under the name of God. The contemporary Sunni and Shiites culture has until now ignored these verses for the same cause, so most of the Islamic reality is missing and continues to be so.

The battle of Alahzab, [The Allies]

The unbelievers (which we now in the Quranic term understand means those who attack peaceful people) surrounded Al Madina to destroy it and to exterminate all the Muslims who were strongly overtaken by fear and terror. It’s enough to see what the Quran has said about their state of mind, “When they came from above you and from below you, and when your eyes grew deviating, and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harboring doubts about God. There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking.”(33:10-11). We also understand from these verses that the term of ‘believers’ has nothing to do with the faith, because they harbor doubt about God in this critical time. The only meaning here is they are peaceful people who hate violence even if it is to defend their lives.  Their fears were so great that some of them ran away and called others to give up and spread bad rumors to discourage Muslims. On the other hand, others maintained great courage. (33:12-23).

 The battle of Al-usra:

This was the last of the battles. The Muslims were still not eager to defend themselves against the aggressive tribes in the north of Al Madina. There tribes used to attack the city of Al Madina, then retuned quickly to their desert. Here, the Quran became more reprimanding in certain verses (9:13-16). God said “Oh you who believed: Why is it when you are told to mobilize in the cause of God, you become heavily attached to the ground?”(9:38). Therefore the lack of motivation that they felt in the beginning remained with them until the end of the Prophet’s life.

4 -Quraysh tribe converted to Islam and the disappearance of peaceful Islam after Mohammed’s death

 

The nature of the daily lives of Arabian tribes of the time can help us understand why the Qureish tribe converted to Islam to keep their political and economic interests. Violence is the key word that describes the life of the Arabs.  In the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, every Arab tribe had its idol under the custody of Quraysh. Quraysh controlled Mecca, the sacred Mosque, and the pilgrimage. They lived in peace and prosperity while the other tribes lived in continuous blood shed for any and no reason. This made Qureish the most powerful tribe. The new religion of Islam threatened the religious trades of Qureish and its political and social situation. To keep its power, the elders of Qureish persecuted the followers of the new religion who were peaceful, helpless people from theirs and others’ tribes. It was daunting for the helpless believers to face the mighty powerful tribe of Qureish. Thus, the only way to save the new converts of the faith from potential genocide was to encourage self defense.

 Many people from numerous tribes converted to Islam, and helped others realize the nonsense of worshipping sacred tombs and statues, and from submitting to Qureish because of their false idols. Some of them wanted to get rid of Qureish, reducing its power and hegemony, and to help the new Islamic state.  This threatened Qureish’s trade routes more. The elders of Qureish reconsidered their situation. To keep their political and economical interests, they converted to Islam to use it for their continuous hegemony, especially since the active people inside the Islamic state were from Qureish tribe, including Prophet Mohammed.

The elders of Qureish quickly and easily surrendered and converted to Islam before the Prophet’s death. After about twenty years, they became the new leaders of the Islamic state and led new kinds of war and a new way of life. They established powerful Muslim empires which ignored the fundamental rules of Islam and its peaceful nature. The empire lasted six centuries under the rule of the children of Qureish’s elders.

 The disappearance of peaceful Islam after Mohammed’s death

After Prophet Mohammed’s death, the other Muslims from the different tribes who converted to Islam found themselves once again under the hegemony of Qureish. They revolted under the leadership of individuals from inside their tribes who claimed prophecy. This was the war of so-called apostasy which was the perfect chance for the elders of the Qureish to maintain the leadership of the Islamic state after the death of Mohammed. The Qureish tribe, consisting of the new Muslim converts along with the early Muslims, - led war against the other tribes who revolted against Islam and Qureish. By defeating them, the Qureish became the real leader of all the Arab tribes under the banner of Islam.

To avoid other tribal revolts, Qureish led all the Arab tribes to fight two super empires: the Romans and the Persians. By defeating them both at the same time, the Qureish established the powerful mighty Muslim Empires which influenced world history in the Middle Ages and ruled most of the world in that time according to the culture of the Middle Ages, and not according to the real values of Islam. So, the Islamic values were ignored, including the fundamental concept of peace, religious freedom, tolerance and justice.

During the time of the Muslim Empires, the true Islamic rules of Jihad were changed to attacking other peoples just to establish wealth, power and empire, while using the name of Islam.

Here, we have to explain the real meaning of jihad in Islam.