Below is my review of a book that I just finished reading.

Islam and Religious Pluralism
by Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari
Translated by Sayyid Sulayman Ali Hasan
Foreward by Hasnain Walji with an Introduction by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi
Islamic Publishing House
ISBN 0-9733622-2-7
$10.00 Canada

Islam and Religious Pluralism is actually a section of another book by Ayatullah Mutahhari entitled, ‘Adl-e Illahi(The Divine Justice) under the chapter heading, “Good Deeds of Non-Muslims.” The first 38 pages of the 140-page book consist of the Foreword, Introduction, and Biography of the Author. The foreword was short and tolerable, while the introduction was somewhat superfluous. Sayyid Rizvi devotes most of his pages to defending the point of view of Ayatullah Mutahhari, while also providing very little new information. One could argue that his approach is the exact purpose of an introduction, and I agree. But a page or two would have sufficed.

After the introduction, the remainder of the book is not only perfect in its relevance, eloquence, and style, the translation feels completely natural with very few awkward sentences that tend to appear in many Islamic books. The typesetting and cover design by the Islamic Publishing House are professional and elegant. Simply by looking at the cover, the reader is enticed to open the book.

I did not expect to find myself in tears reading this book, but the biography of the author caused just that, only because of the touching story that it paints of a remarkable man who transcended the norms of his society and religious doctrine. He excelled beyond regurgitation of facts into the depths of logic and reasoning, which only strengthened his faith in Allah and solidified his position as one of the greatest scholars of our era and a reminder of the luminous saints (awliyah) of our Islamic heritage.

This legacy by itself would have been sufficient for those living in the wake of his wave of supreme knowledge, yet his martyrdom at the hands of those who opposed his quest for modern Islamic revival typifies the greatness that was Murtadha Mutahhari. All of this paves the way for a concise examination of the dilemma of religious Pluralism and all its dimensions.

On the Deeds of Non-Muslims

Mutahhari divides his discussion into 5 categories:

1. Unbelievers (mainly atheists and polytheists) who do not believe in the One and only God.

2. People of the Book, those who believe in God and the Day of Judgment, but who follow a previously revealed religion, while not necessarily recognizing the Prophethood of the last Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace).

3. Muslims of various levels, good and bad.

4. Non-shi’a, distinguishing whether being shi’a accords someone a particular status in the hereafter (the reverse could be applied from a sunni perspective).

5. Shi’a who follow the household of the Prophet (may Allah send blessings upon them).

Before he enters into the descriptions of these categories, Mutahhari first presents the opposing views. This is very important with any philosophical/theological discussion. Many writers, even great scholars, often fail to even recognize the opposing viewpoints. Mutahhari not only recognizes them but even attempts to fairly present their strongest arguments.

He outlines two ways of thinking (i.e. the two extremes):

1. Those who believe there is no distinction between Muslim and non-Muslim, believer and unbeliever. Anyone who performs good deeds, regardless of faith, will be recompensed by God because God is just. He quotes many verses from the Qur’an that they use in support of their view, such as:

“Indeed the faithful, the Jews, the Sabaeans, and the Christians–those who have faith in God and the Last Day and act righteously — they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.” (Qur’an 5:69)

and

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.” (Qur’an 99: 7-8)

Furthermore, Mutahhari says, “Some who are apparently intellectuals have gone one step further and said that the aim of the Prophets was to call towards justice and goodness, and in accordance with the rule “Comply with the spirit and not the letter of the law” we should say that justice and goodness are accepted even from those who don’t believe in God and the Day of judgment. Thus, those who don’t believe in God and the Day of judgment but have made great cultural, medical, economical, or political contributions to humanity shall have a great reward.” (pg. 60)

2. The Rigid Group. Mutahhari says, “…their position is directly opposite to the former group. They say that it is impossible for a non-Muslim’s actions to be accepted. The actions of unbelievers and similarly those of non-Shi’a Muslims have absolutely no value.” (pg. 61)

“A parable of those who defy their Lord: their deeds are like ashes over which the wind blows hard on a tempestuous day: they have no power over anything they have earned. That is extreme error.” (Qur’an 14:18)

Regarding non-Shi’a the rigid group quotes such narrations as:

Muhammad ibn Muslim said, “I heard Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) say, “Whoever worships God and tires himself in worship but doesn’t recognize the Imam (leader) God has appointed for him, his deeds are not accepted, and he himself is astray and lost, and God abhors his actions… and if he dies in this state, he dies not in the state of Islam, but in a state of unbelief and hypocrisy…” (Wasa’il-ush-Shi’a, Volume 1, Part 1, Page 90)

This group also argues, if the works of non-Muslims were accepted by God, what would be the advantage of being Muslim? What is the point of performing all of those extra deeds (prayer, fasting, pilgrimage) if God will accept the deeds of someone who, not only does not perform those extra deeds, but does not even believe in Him.

Ayatullah Mutahhari then systematically answers both of these arguments. First, he clarifies that belief is important, as the second group claims, but there are obvious exceptions. “…it must be said that if the ignorance and unawareness do not spring from negligence, they shall be forgiven and overlooked by God.”

“And We do not punish until We have sent a messenger.” (Qur’an 17:15)

“That is, it is impossible for God, the Wise and Munificent, to punish someone for whom the proofs (of truth) have not been completed.” (pg. 71)

Muslims engaged in da’wah with non-Muslims often have this view but limit it to distributing pamphlets and having occasional debates. As a result, the non-Muslims do not reach an adequate and complete view of Islam.

Though these individuals might not be punished for their ignorance, this does not mean that their religions are completely truthful or valid. Here, Mutahhari makes it clear that Islam is indeed the true religion revealed from God and that “if anyone chooses a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him.”

But what of someone who does good deeds and who generally has “good” intentions, particularly someone who believes in God? Mutahhari offers both a logical/rational explanation as well as the view of the gnostics (i.e. sufis), particularly Mulla Sadra.

I will not give away the ending (aren’t I cruel?), but I will say that his conclusions are surprising and also refreshing. I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling with these questions, particularly someone who might have non-Muslim relatives or friends. It is also good for anyone with a sectarian superiority complex.

I’ve moved on from Mambo (http://www.mamboserver.com) to Joomla (http://www.joomla.org). As you might have heard, the core developer community from Mambo left and have decided to continue their development under a new name, Joomla (http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/212/1/). I knew that I would probably eventually follow the core team, but I did not know when. Today I decided to make the jump. Everything went smoothly.

As I’ve stated in the past, I am not someone who is an “open source” fanatic, although I am a free software fanatic. Both projects are still GPL, and I still support both of them. I’ve only switched to Joomla because I think the core developers have the right ideas in the direction that they are heading for a site such as mine. Those who are running business sites will more likely prefer Mambo. It is really going to become a question of preference, and I think that is the whole point of free software and the ability for a small group of individuals to take a corporate created piece of software and mold into a community-based project. I still might use Mambo for many of my clients.

Goodbye Mambo, for now.

Few people realize that the great race to exterminate the buffalo (or bison), once the lifeblood of American Indians, continues even today. Hunters in Montana are still killing the last remaining bison.

In the words of John Fire Lame Deer:

The buffalo gave us everything we needed. Without it we were nothing. Our tipis were made of his skin. His hide was our bed, our blanket, our winter coat. It was our drum, throbbing through the night, alive, holy. Out of his skin we made our water bags. His flesh strengthened us, became flesh of our flesh. Not the smallest part of it was wasted. His stomach, a red-hot stone dropped into it, became our soup kettle. His horns were our spoons, the bones our knives, our women’s awls and needles. Out of his sinews we made our bowstrings and thread. His ribs were fashioned into sleds for our children, his hoofs became rattles. His mighty skull, with the pipe leaning against it, was our sacred altar. The name of the greatest of all Sioux was Tatanka Iyotake–Sitting Bull. When you killed off the buffalo you also killed the Indian–the real, natural, “wild” Indian (Fire, 130).

The bison’s struggle for its own right to exist continues:

In the past ten years Montana and the federal government have killed 2,477 wild Yellowstone bison, more than half of the existing herd. Twenty wild bull bison have been killed in Montana since September; seventeen have been shot by Montana hunters, two by Montana’s Department of Livestock (DOL), and another was shot by a Yellowstone National Park ranger inside the Park. (indymedia.us).

At one time, prior to the coming of the white man, as many as 60 million bison roamed the plains of North America.

“We did not ask you white men to come here. The Great Spirit gave us this country as a home. You had yours. We did not interfere with you. The Great Spirit gave us plenty of land to live on, and buffalo, deer, antelope and other game. But you have come here; you are taking my land from me; you are killing off our game, so it is hard for us to live. Now, you tell us to work for a living, but the Great Spirit did not make us to work, but to live by hunting. You white men can work if you want to. We do not interfere with you, and again you say, why do you not become civilised? We do not want your civilisation! We would live as our fathers did, and their fathers before them.” (Crazy Horse, d. 1877)