210627 – (Research Paper Template) Arabic Islamic Culture and Civilization

Diversity is an important factor in a community because it allows people to live in peace and harmony by accepting the differences within each other. In early Islamic culture, Prophet Muhammad was one of the most unifying factors of the community, and he helped the communities of Al-Medina to have a peaceful co-existence among themselves. Across the world, people belong to different cultural groups which are drawn from different aspects such as religion, race, language, history, age, and gender (Nielsen, 2012). Because of these differences, people see life differently, and sometimes some groups might feel as though they are superior to the next group. The feeling of superiority might cause chaos in the community, and this is why all groups need to accept and respect each other regardless of their social status. In Islam, diversity is highly embraced, and the teaching in the Quran advocates for a peaceful co-existence among all community members. Diversity in Islam is dated from Al-Medina's early Islamic society that Prophet Muhammad led after he fled from Mecca. In this early society, there was chaos within some communities like Muslim Arabs who thought that they were the custodians of the Islamic faith, and this is because they considered themselves as the community that perfectly understood the doctrines of the Islamic religion, and this was the same for all other communities. However, with laws and teaching from the Prophet, diversity was embraced. Therefore, the following study will how peace is important among different communities by allowing diversity through acceptance of differences. It will show how peaceful co-existence is achieved through changing different natures of religious differences, and it will base its study on Al-Medina's early Islamic society. Medina was historically known as a small community that did not have a large population. The people in this society did not depend on any state arrangements, and they solely depended on their tribes as a form of security. The community depended on a social system as the tribes to which the members belonged defended them and gave them security, and hence, they did not require any form of a political system. Different groups had different religious groups, whereby the Arabs embraced Judaism and Christianity, while the Jews took in the teaching of Prophet Moses. Because the groups lived in separate areas, they hardly interacted with each other, and this made it easy for the groups to have disputes with each other. However, the arrival of Prophet PBUH brought changes in the community. The people of Medina embraced Islam, and its teaching, with a lot of positivity coming from the Arabs who understood better the prophetic teaching, and this influenced the Jews to create interest in Islamic religion and its teaching (Yildirim, 2006). While the Prophet was migrating from Mecca to Medina, he came with his own group of Arab-speaking communities that followed his teaching. Therefore, Medina was now occupied by the Arabs from Mecca, Medina, and the Jews. When a community has different types of groups that have different beliefs, it is crucial to create a constitution that governs the welfare of the community to bring peace and diversity. Prophet Muhammad came up with the Medina charter and constitution that would protect the interests of all the groups in Medina. According to the constitution, the primary purpose was to emphasize the co-existence of the communities helping them to embrace the diversity of each other (Al-Samarraie et al., 2021). Through the instructions from the prophets, they were able to respect the religion of each other, as well as protecting each other's properties, and above all, they had a common goal of protecting Medina. Apart from creating a safe place for all the groups, Prophet Muhammad focused on creating a political-administrative system through the written laws for the people of Medina. He did this so that the old social systems in Medina could be abandoned and bring in a system that was overall and could be followed by all. For example, some clauses stated how Arabs from Mecca and Medina would relate with each other. The laws that were created during this period are available in the Quran. Through his actions, the Prophet focused on creating a diverse society and protecting the region politically from any outside attacks. The Prophet went ahead to introduce the concept of Umma, whereby there was an acknowledgment of both Muslim and non-Muslim groups in Medina. For example, clause 25 of the laws stated that "He, however, who is guilty of oppression or breach of treaty, shall suffer the resultant trouble as also his family, but no one besides," showing that the laws protected all groups in Medina. Diversity encourages a community to behave and exposure to life different responsibilities played by different people in a society as it brings harmony as well beings of individuals in a community. In Medina, the laws written by the Prophet ensured that the Jews who were not recognized as Muslims are played their role in the society. Any tribe that was found not adhering to the set rules by the Prophet was banished from Medina. The Prophet managed to make all the communities respect and tolerant of each other, which was a good remedy for maintaining peace and harmony. The culture was made possible through the implementation of Ummah, and the concept was guided by the principles of love, respect, tolerance, generosity, and responsibility. The Islamic religion has embraced the early Medina teachings of diversity by following the teachings of the Quran. According to the Quran, diversity is the will of Allah. Through these, human beings are expected to live in peace and harmony with each other despite the differences that come with each individual. Through the teaching of the Islamic community, it is evident that no group is allowed to assert themselves as the superior group but instead allow all groups of people to co-exist with each other. Like in Medina, the communities were not similar as different groups had different beliefs, but they could have a diversified community that accommodated everyone. Islam teaches that faith should not be a factor that makes people feel that they are different from others. Even with differences in faith, harmony and peace should be embraced to attain a diversified community. The purpose of diversity is the opportunity to know each other, and Islam embraces this concept through its teaching. Muslims all over the world are encouraged to respect every ideology, culture, religion, and community. Through the many policies created by Prophet Muhammad, one that stands out the most is when he allows everyone to enter the house of Abu Sufiyan, the leader of the Quran, even for the people who did not believe in Islam (Sunier, 2020). Through his actions, he showed tolerance and mercy. The teachings show the importance of living peacefully with all human beings and accepting even the ones that seem to fit the community. The actions also that no civilization can exist with seclusion. Inclusivity is an important factor in building a unified global nation that is acceptable for all to thrive. Religious leaders in the Islamic community have the mandate to preach peace and condemn violence. Religion is a powerful tool in creating a sustainable environment that has peaceful co-existence (Kristof, 2014). Islam has also encouraged people from other faith to embrace peace by creating a peaceful co-existence among members of the faith. However, just like Medina, the world has been faced with animosity among different religious groups. Even though this is true, it goes ahead to show that there is no religious group that has no differences, but through dialogue, peace has to be achieved. Therefore, a conducive environment is achieved by accepting the differences within each other and showing respect towards each other. For example, Prophet Muhammad realized that Medina had different groups that had different beliefs and cultural practices. He knew that the groups' only way to co-exist was by creating laws that demanded the groups to accept differences and respect peacefully. Through this, the groups lived harmoniously, and hence diversity was achieved. Therefore, the Quran, "He made so many tribes and races and cultures among you so that you might recognize one another, Al-Qur'an 49:13" acknowledges the differences in humanity and champions for diversity. Diversity is seen as a natural inclination in which people in a community have to accept and practice. It allows people understand that we cannot all be the same in a society. From the very beginning, Islam has been a great supporter of accommodation, peaceful co-existence, and tolerance of all beliefs. Religion highly advocates for equal rights to all people, where people are not alienated based on their religious, cultural, and political beliefs. Like Medina in early Islamic society, the world is composed of different groups with their own beliefs. Through the Prophet Muhammad's teaching, the people in this community were able to accept the differences among themselves, and peace prevailed until the Prophet died. However, that does not dismiss the fact that the Prophet left a good legacy on diversity. Everyone in the world has the responsibility of embracing the differences in different groups of people, and when this is practiced, diversity will be achieved and communities will live harmoniously. Al-Samarraie, S. A., Al-Samarraie, N. A. F. M., & Al-Samarraie, I. S. A. (2021). Peaceful Coexistence Policy Applied by the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in Al-Medina. Utopía y praxis latinoamericana: revista internacional de filosofía iberoamericana y teoría social, (1), 81-89. Kristof, N. (2014). The Diversity of Islam. New York Times. Nielsen, J. S. (Ed.). (2012). Islam in Denmark: The challenge of diversity. Lexington Books. Sunier, T. (2020). Diversity and Islam: The case of the Netherlands. In Muslim Minorities and Social Cohesion (pp. 125-134). Routledge. Yildirim, Y. (2006). Peace and conflict resolution in the Medina Charter. Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 18(1), 109-117. Show Less