Vivekananda on Islam, Part 2
Dinesh Agrawal
Swami Vivekananda while appreciated the the best part of Islam, and exhorted
to the non-Muslims to adopt that, he was also ruthless in condemning the
barbaric, divisive and inhumane aspects and actions of Islam and its followere,
he did not mince words when he stated: "The Mohammedan religion allows Mohamme-
dans to kill all who are not of their religion. It is clearly stated in Koran,
"Kill the infidels if they do not become Mohammedans". They must be put to fire
and sword. (II.335). Think of the little sects, born within a few hundred years
out of fallible human brains, making this arrogant claim of knowledge of the
whole of God's infinite truth! Think of the arrogance of it! If it shows any-
thing, it is this how vain human beings are. And it is no wonder that such
claims have always failed, and , by the mercy of the Lord, are always destined
to fail. In this line the Mohammedans were the best off; every step forward was
made with the sward - the Koran in the one hand and the sward in the other:
"Take the Koran, or you must die; there is no alternative!". You know from
history how phenomenal was their success; for six hundred years nothing could
resist them, and then there came a time when they had to cry halt. So will it
be with other religions if they follow the same methods." (II:369-70)
"Wave after wave of barbarian conquest has rolled over this devoted land
of ours. "Allah Ho Akbar!" has rent the skies for hundreds of years, and no
Hindu knew what moment would be his last. This is the most suffering and the
most subjugated of all the historic lands in the world. Yet we will stand
practically the same race, ready to face difficulties again and again if
necessary; and not only so, of late there have been signs that we are not only
strong, but ready to go out for the sign of life in expansion." (III.369-70)
"What is called the Mohammedan invasion, conquest or colonisation of India
means only this that under the leadership of Mohammedan Turks, who were renega-
des from Buddhism, those sections of the Hindu race who continued in the faith
of their ancestors were repeatedly conquered by the other section of that very
race, who also were renegades from Buddhism of the Vedic religion and served
under the Turks, having been forcibly converted to Mohammedanism by thier
superior strength. (VII:395)
The Koran further says: The unbelievers among the people of the Book of
Ahl-i-Kitab (i.e. Jews and Christians) and the pagans shall burn for ever in
the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures (S98:6).
Swamiji said of this: "Christian people hate no religion in the world so
much as Mohammedenism. They think it is the worst form of religion that ever
existed. As soon as a man becomes a Mohammedan, the whole of Islam receives
him as a brother with open arms, without making any distinction, which no
other religion does. If one of your American Indians becomes a Mohammedan, the
Sultan of Turkey would have no objection to dine with him. If he has brains.
no position is barred to him... Islam makes its followers all equal, so that,
you see, is the peculiar excellence of Mohammedanism. In many places in the
Koran you find very sensual ideas of life. Never mind. What Mohammedanism
comes to preach to the world is this practical brotherhood of all belonging to
their faith, that is the essential part of the Mohammedan religion; and all the
other idea about heaven and of life etc. are not Mohammedanism. They are
accretions (II:371-72).
According to Islam, Allah is unknowable. He is so transendent, so exalted,
that no man can ever personally know Allah. To the Muslim the idea that Allah
is a person or a spirit is blasphemous because this would demean the exalted
one. Allah is not limited by anything. He is not even limited by his own
nature. Swamiji used to react to this belief by saying: "For the Mohammedans,it
is impossible to have this idea of God as a child; they will shrink from it
with a kind of horror. But the Christian and the Hindu can realise it easily
because they have the Baby Jesus and the Baby Krishna. (III:96)
Swamiji also reacted on the 'universal brotherhood' in Islam by saying:
Mohammedans talk of universal brotherhood, but what comes out of that in
reality? Why anybody who is not a Mohammedan will not be admitted into the
brotherhood; he will more likely have his throat cut. (II:380)
More from Swamiji on this aspect: "Now, some Mohammedans are the crudest
in this respect, and the most sectarian. Their watchword is "There is one
God, and Mohammed is His Prophet". Everything beyond that not only is bad, but
must be destroyed forthwith; at a moment's notice. every man or woman, who
does not exactly believe in that, must be killed; everything that does not
belong to this worship must be immediately broken; every book that teaches
anything else must be burnt. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, for five
hundred years, blood ran all over the world. That is Mohammedanism! Neverthe-
less, among these Mohammedans, wherever there was a philosophic man, he was
sure to protest against these cruelties. (IV:126)
.....to be continued....