When thinking of a system that could bind the people of all nations into the one Ummah (nation) while guarding their freedom to choose, it is imperative that their beliefs and concerns be equally treated. When searching for any universal doctrine, law, system or way of life, one should take into consideration these natural components of man:
1- Such a system should emphasize equality and reject all types of racism and discrimination. Basic teachings and values of such a way of life should be stable and equally and justly applied to all people, not bound to space or time.
2- It should tolerate differences in beliefs and cultural backgrounds among peoples of the world.
3- It should not be contradictory to man’s advancement in science and technology, but rather provide universal ethics to maintain the consequences of such advancements.
4- It should provide solutions to humanity’s grave problems, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, breaking down of familial and social systems, sexuality, rape, woman and child abuse and molestation, etc.
These principles will be examined against a number of existing systems of life and beliefs. Thereafter, conclusions could be drawn about the system that should be nominated as a candidate for universal application.
A universal system needs to be objective and is to be equally applied to all people regardless of their status, race and color. The principle of equality in dealing with peoples of different colors, socioeconomic status and cultures is presently absent from the dominant ideologies of today’s world. The Indian society has suffered from a rigidly applied caste system for many centuries: some people are looked at as gods (avatars) while others are being treated as no more than slaves.
Although Christianity has never been applied as a system for living, it contains among its contemporary teachings many doctrines that can be viewed as discriminatory. The teachings of the Talmud- the basis of contemporary Judaism- looks at the Jews as privileged over other people (the Gentiles). The list could be expanded to include communists’ slogan of equality “all people are equal,” but which in reality means that some are more equal than others.
Capitalism, as applied in several Western societies, is not geared theoretically to establish equality, since it encourages a rich / poor division. Socialism, which in theory is supposed to ameliorate the excesses of capitalism and communism, has in actuality, highlighted the indigenous faults of both of these economic systems. At the same time, it could not prove itself as a proper alternative. Thus, of all the existing belief systems, Islam remains to be the only option that can appeal to all people because it respects the rights of all people and regards them as members of one nation living under Allah’s guidance, in peace and harmony regardless of their huge differences.
Islam and universal equality
Any system that assumes universal applicability should appreciate its followers’ potentials and recognize their achievements, regardless of their ethnic, racial, geographical or socioeconomic backgrounds. In other words, such a system should only evaluate what they can do, not what they have been endowed with such as their color, race, country of origin, etc. Islam views people as equal. In fact, inherent differences have a greater wisdom that is worthy of appreciation. Almighty Allah Says (what means):
{And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge.} [Quran 30:22]
The Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over a an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over black man, or a black man has any superiority over a white man. You are all the children of Aadam, and Aadam was created from clay([i]).”
Islam rejects all forms of superiority based on racial, geographical, economical, linguistic or other inherent factors. It considers righteousness and good conduct the basis for recognition. In relation to this exact principle, Allah Almighty Says (what means):
{O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.} [Quran 49:13]
The Prophet Mohammed sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “All people are as equal as the teeth of a comb.”
Prof. Ramakrishna Rao, a professing Hindu, ([ii]) quoted Sarojini Naidu, the greatest Indian poetess, talking about how equality has been practiced in Islam by saying:
“It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the ATHAAN (the Muslim call to prayer) is sounded and the worshippers are gathered together, the equality of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasants and the king kneel side by side and proclaim, ‘God is the Greatest.”
The great poetess of India continues:
I have been struck over and again by this indivisible unit of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother. When you meet an Egyptian, an Algerian, an Indian and a Turk in London, what matters is that Egypt is the motherland for one and India is the motherland for another ([iii]).
Thus some systems promote religious exclusiveness and discrimination (Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism) and others encourage economic inequality (capitalism, communism and socialism), only Islam is all-embracing and equalitarian. This conclusion leads us to a second difference in ways of life- toleration.”
