Who Is a Kafir?
By Iftekhar Hai
South City, CA
In
my 15 years as an interfaith peace activist, I
have been asked one question over and over again:
Who are the "kafirs" — "infidels"
— condemned in the Qur’an? Are they
Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, atheists?"
The first few times I heard this question, I was
floored. I hesitated and stammered, "Oh,
they are not Christians or Jews. The Qur’an
refers to them as 'People of the Book.'"
One kind Episcopalian audience did not pressure
me for a deeper answer, and I breathed a sigh
of relief, happy to return from that "Understanding
Islam" lecture — though a lot more
confused.
Unacceptable answer:
In order to be declared a Muslim, one must say,
"There is one God, and Mohammed is His messenger."
I was always told by Muslim religious scholars
that anyone who does not accept Mohammed is a
kafir. But I could not accept that answer —
I knew something was wrong.
The Quran says anyone who believes in God is a
believer, and that people can take any messenger
as an example to live their life. In my childhood,
Father D'Souza of St. Joseph's High School in
Bombay, India, had told me that Christians believe
in God and emulate Jesus in their lives. Yet for
years, I could not find a single imam or Islamic
religious scholar to sign on to a statement that
"It is not necessary for any believer in
God to take Prophet Mohammed as His last messenger
to be called a believer."
Seeking compromise:
I embarked on a decade-long research trip, asking
Islamic scholars all over the world how one defines
a kafir in the hope of building bridges of understanding
among religions.
We have concluded that the word "kafir"
is derived from the Arabic root words kaf, fay
and ray — "kufr" which means to
cover, conceal or hide with the intention of misleading
or misinforming. Just as sophisticated, premeditated
perjury can become treason; a kafir can be considered
someone who has committed treason against an overwhelmingly
explained, omnipotent God.
The intentional deceit must be proved beyond doubt
for someone to be classified as an infidel. Therefore,
people who never had the opportunity to learn
about God, and therefore remain ignorant, cannot
rightfully be called kafirs.
Furthermore, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists,
Sikhs and other religious followers say, "I
believe in God." So, it is not for any Muslim,
scholar, imam or mullah to say that anyone who
does not also take Prophet Mohammed as Messenger
of God is a kafir. That decision rests only with
God, the ultimate judge.
It is blasphemous to collectively accuse people
of other faiths of being non-believers, infidels
or kafirs. The largest Muslim organization on
our continent, the Islamic Society of North America,
has now taken that stand in writing (www.Balancedislam.org).
These reforms (new interpretations) are coming
from Islamic scholars born or naturalized in the
US. It is only a matter of time before they spread
throughout the world.
(South City resident Iftekhar Hai is president
of the United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance)
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