The Islamic perspective of interfaith relations (An analytical study)

Abstract

Religion is a way of life that covers all areas of belief, theory, thought and action. Religion, on the one hand, enriches man with harmony and balance in worldly, material or physical life and on the other hand, fulfills his need for inner and spiritual purity, growth and edification. Human civilization considers religion as a natural need of man. There is no person in the world who does not belong to any religion because the color of religion is reflected in the nature on which man was created. Man naturally wants to live a harmonious life. It needs proper rules, regulations to live a better harmonious life. If there are no rules and regulations for social life, the society becomes chaotic. Religion fulfills this natural and social need of man. If only humans themselves would determine such laws. So, they become victims of excesses and resort to oppression and aggression, as the entire history of human social life is a witness to this. An objective study of all the major religions in the world shows that they share the basic values of connecting humanity together as their order is also the same. Attributes such as responsibility, discipline, mutual aid, brotherhood and unity play a key role in building inter-religious individual and collective relations. In each of the Semitic religions, there are manners and conditions in relation to establishing relationships and settling matters on an individual and collective level, similar to other religions. In this regard, it is necessary for the followers of every religion to observe all the rules and regulations which are very important to have relations with other religions because the world has become a global village in the modern age. Trade, technology and mass media have made the world a village. In every country and city of the world, followers of different religions live. In such a situation, it has become very difficult for one person to settle religious, social, political and economic issues. Therefore, there is a need to make the establishment of universal peace in the world possible by highlighting the inter-religious teachings of Islam.