CHICAGO: A visiting Islamic scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi speaking on Sunday, September 23 at Wentz Concert Hall, North Central College in Naperville said that Jihad can only be waged by a state and only against those perpetrating oppression and injustice. It cannot be waged by individuals or private groups on behalf of Muslims.
Ghamidi also observed that establishing an Islamic State/Caliphate is not a directive of the Islamic Law. Suicide bombings are completely un-Islamic. Killing innocent human beings is a heinous crime.
On tolerance, he opined that respect for other human beings is essential. The Qur’an states that if God had desired all people to come to the same religion and the same path, it was easy enough for Him to do so. But this is not what He wanted. He wanted human beings to have freedom of choice.
Ghamidi is a strong advocate of democracy in Muslim countries and he believes it to be a directive of Islam. Monarchy, according to him, is a major cause that weakened the Muslim institutions. Freedom of speech and expression is fundamental to democracy in his view.
He explained that Islam teaches that human beings have not evolved separately to belong either to the east or the west. They are all descendants of a single couple, Adam and Eve. All races are connected to each other in a relationship of brotherhood, a relationship that is based on humanity.
According to Ghamidi, Muslims must be law abiding citizens of the countries they reside in and work for promoting peace in the society. If they are persecuted in these countries, they must fight for their rights but peacefully
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi is a well known Muslim theologian, Quran scholar and exegete, and educationist. A former member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, who extended the work of his tutor, Amin Ahsan Islahi, Ghamidi is the founder of Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences and its sister organization Danish Sara.
Moon Khan
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