READ this Article in MALTESE: Islam is a religion of peace, love, affection and harmony. It teaches to its followers to always be respectful and mindful towards people of other faiths, therefore, we should respect one another on account of being fellow human beings. Islam lays down the foundation of religious freedom and teaches us that human beings have complete freedom to believe and practice any religion they may like.

But unfortunately, we see that sometimes people and their places of worship are targeted because of their religious differences. This is completely against the Islamic teachings. Recently, we saw some attacks on Christian communities and their churches in Pakistan, India and elsewhere.

His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, has recently spoke on length on this subject at the Inauguration of the Sadiq Mosque in Karben, Germany on 30th August 2023. Here we present some excerpts from his speech; he said:

This mosque is located in the middle of the city. This is very good, because where various means for worldly and material things are made available in a city, there should also be a central place for those who adhere to religion, so that they may gather there and worship God. This could be a mosque, a church or places of worship belonging to other faiths. When they all come together, it will become apparent that religion teaches us to interact and live harmoniously with one another. 

There is no religion, nor has there been a founder of a religion, which taught extremism or to create disorder. According to our belief, all prophets were sent by Allah the Almighty. God sent them with the teachings of turning people’s attention towards worshipping God and fulfilling each other’s rights; and fostering peace, love, affection, and brotherhood…

Fulfilling the rights of others

Fulfilling rights is a fundamental teaching of Islam. Islam does not teach that one should fight only for their own rights; Islam says that one should also strive to fulfil the rights of others. Striving to fulfil the rights of others will result in the establishment of peace and a society of love and affection. This is exactly what we need in the world today… 

All religions should be respected

Nevertheless, it is essential to respect all religions. For all religions to coexist, for the establishment of peace in the world, for spreading love and affection in society, it is necessary to respect one another. And Islam commands that all religions should be respected. 

Synagogues, churches and mosques

Islam does not teach us to only protect our own mosques. On the contrary, Islam instructs that if a church is attacked, it must be protected; if a synagogue is attacked, it must be protected; if a temple is attacked, it must be protected. Thus, those who burn down churches or level attacks in the name of Islam are not acting according to the teachings of Islam. As I have already mentioned, the teachings of the Holy Quran are completely opposed to this. The Holy Quran teaches that all religions must be protected.