Tolerance

Plant Tolerance
One of the most important aspects of the Human Rights issue is the respect and tolerance which society must show towards the religions of other people; this, of course, includes the issue of freedom of religion.
The Qur'anic Point of View
Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, believes in prophets and messengers of God- One interesting way of understanding the Islamic view on freedom of religion is to look at the role of the prophets and messengers.
Had they been sent to forcefully bring the people into their teachings? Were Moses, Jesus and Muhammad ordered by the Almighty to impose their teachings upon the people by sword? Absolutely not! Look at the Qur'an, the holy scripture of Islam; the revealed words of God where He clearly outlines the duty of his mes- sengers by saying:
“(And as for My messenger,) there is no (obligation) on him except to deliver (the. message). God knows what yon expose and what conceal”. (5:99).

Once the people of Mecca said to Prophet Muhammad that if god did not want them to worship idols then why He does not forcefully prevent them from doing so. Then God sent the following message:
“(O Muhammad) This is not a new excuse; those who weft before, them made, the same excuses. Is there anything upon the messengers except the dear conveying of the message”. (16: 35).
So we see that from the Qur'anic point of view, the mission of the prophets and messengers of God was not to forcefully impose their teachings on the people but to guide them and ask them to accept God with their own will, in one revelation, God says to Prophet Muhammad:
"But if the people turn away (then do not be sad because) We did ma sent you to be a guardian over them. It is for you only to deliver the message." (42:43).
The Qur’an clearly says that religion cannot be forced on anyone. It says,
"There is no compulsion in (accepting) the religion (of Islam)...”
Why? Because:
"truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error. " (2:256).
The Prophet’s Example

The Prophet of Islam faced much difficulty and opposition in his own birth- place, the city of Mecca. He was eventually forced to migrate to Medina. But in spite of all the opposition and even physical torture that his followers suffered in Mecca, Prophet Muhammad always approached the unbelievers of Mecca with tolerance. At one stage of his mission, the Prophet read to them a short chapter from the revelation:

“O you who do not believe! I worship not what you worship, and you are not worshipping what I worship; nor am 1 worshipping what you worship; neither -art you worshipping what I worship. Therefore, to you your religion; and to me my religion!” (chap. 109)
When Prophet Muhammad migrated to Medina, he found that besides those who hid accepted Islam, there was a large Jewish community in that, city but this did not bother him He did not contemplate on forcing them into the Fold of Islam, instead, he made a peace agreement with them and called them ahlul kitab—the people of the Scripture. This was indeed the supreme example of tolerance shown towards the followers of other religions.
The peace agreement between the Prophet and the Jews of Medina dearly guaranteed the physical safety and security of the Jewish community and also the freedom to practise their religion freely as long 35 that community also abided the terms of the treaty.

So we see that even historically, the Prophet of Islam was prepared to live in peace with the followers of other monotheistic religions, especially Judaism and Christianity. 

Even the letters that the Prophet wrote to the rulers of various countries and nations around Arabia are interesting documents for our discussion. In none of the letters does the Prophet threaten them of a military aggression if they did not accept the message of Islam. The letter to the Christian King of Abyssinia ends with the words: "I have conveyed the message and now it is up to you to accept it. Once again, peace be upon him who follows the true guidance."
We have an interesting historical document with us from our fourth Imam, ‘Ali Zaynul Abidin (a.s,). This document is entitled as Risalatu 'l huquq which means “The Charter of Rights”.
In this Risalah, the Imam has mentioned rights related to various issues and people in human society, the last part is on the rights of non-Muslims in a Muslim society. Among other things, it says: “And there must be a barrier keeping you from doing any injustice to them, from depriving them of the protection provided by God, and from flaunting the commitments of God and His Messenger concerning them.

Because we have been told that the Holy Prophet said, "Whosoever does injustice to a protected non- Muslim, then I will be his enemy (on the Day of Judgement)," In a letter which Imam 'Ali wrote for his governor in Egypt, he says, "Sensitive your heart to mercy for the subjects, and to affection and kindness for them. Do not stand over them like greedy beasts who feel it is enough to devour them, for they are of two kinds; either your brother in faith or like you in Creation." {Nahju 'l- Balagha, letter 53).

Islam is the religion of mercy and kindness, the religion of tolerance and ease. (faith/Belief), the first of the 5 pillars upon which Islam is based, consists of more than seventy branches (i.e. parts) and one of these parts is, “Tolerance”.
You must understand that people who deviate from the fundamental teachings of any religion cannot be taken as perfect representatives of that religion. In a similar manner, if anyone calling himself a Muslim, shows intolerance where he shouldn’t or harms another person whether Muslim or Non-Muslim without any valid reasons, then he has gone against the pristine teachings of Islam.
“Tolerance” in Islam, is not a mere fairytale phrase, but Muslims live it in reality. Islam urges us to be tolerant and forgive others. This is indicated in both the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. Indeed, one of the features of Islam is that it is deen al-rahmah (the religion of mercy). By the same token the Muslim should be easy going, not one who puts others off; he should forgive when he is able to take revenge and be tolerant when people make mistakes.
This deen (religion of Islam) revolves around hope and fear of the one and only creator, so the believer is one who has hope and fear. Allaah Ta’ala said: “Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on us in hope and in fear” (Surah Al-Anbiyya 21 verse 90)

So you will never find a believer except that he is one who has hope and fear. Hope and fear are not established except on the stalk of patience and tolerance, so fear encourages him to have patience and hope steers him towards being thankful. And hope and Fear both makes a believer to have tolerance.

A true believer of Islam (A Muslim) has tranquility as his garment, righteousness his banner, piety his conscience, wisdom his speech, truthfulness and loyalty his nature, tolerance and goodness his character, truth his way, justice his conduct, guidance his leader, Islam his nation.
We are often reminded about the importance and necessity of tolerance. I think, however, I do not like the idea of tolerance so much. The meaning of tolerance to me seems like saying, “I do not like you, but I have to live with the fact that you exist. I may agree to be tolerant of you, but I don’t have to be your friend—I don’t even have to speak to you at all. I just have to accept that you have the same right to your life choices as I do to mine.”
The word I think is a much better choice to describe an active effort to accept others as our co-inhabitants of the planet is understanding. For me, understanding means that although I may not like or agree with everything you do or say, I get where you are coming from. I get it and I can respect you as a fellow human being. I am able to listen to you. I may even be able to learn something from you that will open the door to friendship.

We need to develop the ability to listen to each other and understand the reasons for the differences among us in our approach to life. We may not always agree, but by understanding the basis for differing ideas about various parts of our lives, we can find the common ground that enables us to work together for the good of all. We’ve all seen compassion and cooperation emerging in times of crisis for people around the world, but our challenge is to make that cooperative spirit the norm all of the time.

To understand each other in the way I mean it, we need to be less judgmental and accept that:

1. Our way may not be the only way;
   
2. Emotion often gets in the way of objectivity; and
   
3. No religious belief, ideology or “pressing need”
   justifies the violation of another person’s basic human rights.
   

The Muslim is the one who can relate to people from all different cultural, religious, political, ethnic, economic, age, and gender backgrounds.
Tolerance is a virtue. It is a version of the golden rule in that, insofar as we want others to treat us decently, we need to treat them decently as well. It is also a pragmatic formula for the functioning of society, as we can see in the omnipresent wars between different religions, political ideologies, nationalities, ethnic groups, or other us-versus-them divisions.

It is possible to tolerate or accept someone without understanding him or her; and the same goes for tolerating or accepting a different culture. And the converse is also true. It is also possible to understand a culture or a person without acceptance, or even tolerance—think, for example, of undercover spies.

It is good to know that some people are impressively free from prejudice against those with whom they have had little or no contact (or even abstract knowledge), as part of a live-and-let-live attitude toward life.
Tolerance and/or acceptance are desirable, but they are not a substitute for understanding. They are relevant for getting along with others in the world (though understanding helps), but understanding is essential for the social and behavioral sciences
I think the best way to tolerate people is to put yourself in the other person's shoes. I think it makes it a lot easier to understand where someone is coming from. Sometimes it's more difficult when someone has a different view than you and you don't understand why. However, and it's easier said than done, we have to really think about why they feel how they do and be more sensitive. People have much respect for those who make sacrifices and compromises and in the long run it shows, a lot.

Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, communication, and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Tolerance is harmony in difference. It is not only a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement. Tolerance, the virtue that makes peace possible, contributes to the replacement of the culture of war by a culture of peace.