This article unveils the Qur’an’s perspectives on the erosion of phobia of other religions because of the negative stereotypes attached to Islam and Christianity to create greater peace in religious life globally. Furthermore, the Qur’an’s perspective on adult religious morality development is revealed by the
The main contribution of this study is to reveal the insights of the al-Qur’an regarding the solution to the problems of Islamophobia and Christonophobia caused by the stereotypes of Islam and Christianity. In addition to interpreting verses, this study is equipped with psychological studies in building everyone’s religious maturity so that they can think and act wisely in respecting differences in beliefs. This study is expected to minimise the problems of Islamophobia and Christianophobia from inside and outside the adherents of these religions.
Islamophobia and Christianophobia spring from various sources, one of which is the negative stereotypes associated with each religion. For instance, since the September 11 incident, the negative Western perception of Islam has ever been escalating. Islam is often identified as a religion that teaches violence and radicalism (Abbas
Bambang Qomaruzzaman (
In the Indonesian context, one of the efforts attempted to combat radicalism in the education world is to conduct Living Values Education (LVE), as explained in Syamsul Arfin’s paper (2016:94). In establishing social interactions with those around us, this paper highlights LVE in several points: peace, respect, love, cooperation, honesty, humility, tolerance, simplicity, happiness, responsibility, freedom and unity.
Hamidulloh Ibda in his paper explains Islamophobia and Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Nahdlatul Ulama (STAINU) Temanggung’s strategy to combat it through curriculum reinforcement. This research defines Islamophobia as fear of everything related to Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia is not a product of Islam but a product of propaganda, political interest, mass media influence, hatred, Westerners’ fear of Islam and partial understanding of Islam. STAINU Temanggung’s strategy to curb Islamophobia through curriculum reinforcement refers to Kerangka Kualifikasi Nasional Indonesia Standar Nasional Perguruan Tinggi (KKNI SNPT) according to Islam Aswaja Annahdliyah in the Tri Dharma of Universities dimension (three dimensions of university obligations) by building a moderate Islamic generation equipped with the values of
However, in the Indonesian context, radicalistic teaching development on social media receives objections from two major Indonesian religious organisations: Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), all of which reject radical ideology on the grounds of religion and call for student-friendly instructional methods and materials as were offered by Ibnu Miskawayh and Naquib al-Attas (Aly
The talk of Islamophobia mitigation was once raised by Abdul Aziz, who suggested the reinterpretation of verses that are understood in a limited, highly textual way. The Qur’an and Hadith, in essence, emphasise the teachings of love and moderation in religious life. Hence, all manners of provocative actions and terrorism that result in chaos, fear and death are unquestionably at variance with the Qur’an (Aziz
In the context of Nigeria, according to Onyinyechi, the origin of Islamophobia in several western countries is related to violence and terrorism committed by people who claim to be Muslims. When these incidents are juxtaposed with the situation in Nigeria and the counter-violence against Muslims in some places, it becomes striking that Islamophobia is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode in Nigeria. However, it has been determined that those who perpetrate this violence seriously damage the reputation of Islam, which is essentially a religion of peace and is, in fact, a blasphemy against Islam. Therefore, to prevent this impending psychological complex, it is necessary to intensify the vocal condemnation of terrorism by non-Islamic and Islamic leaders, guarantees of good governance, precise and straightforward hermeneutics of Islamic scriptures, intra- and interfaith dialogue, and collaboration in the fight against terrorism and violence in the name of religion as a panacea for this so-called Islamophobia epidemic (Wariboko
In addition to the opinion of previous researchers, in this article, the author tries to add a formula to overcome the problem of Islamophobia and Christianophobia through ‘religious morality development’ to reconsider religious stereotypes as mentioned above. Therefore, it is necessary to initiate how the concept of adult religious morality is developed to overcome the problems of Islamophobia and Christianophobia.
This article aims to share a way to eradicate Islamophobia and Christianophobia by revealing the Quran’s perspectives on religious morality development to encourage individuals to think critically and wisely about the negative stereotypes of a religion that lead to a phobia of the concerned religion.
The interpretation method chosen in this research is the ‘Maudu’i interpretation method’ (thematic method). This method was chosen because it can be used as a more comprehensive exploration of the concept of adult religious morality in the Qur’an. The procedure for interpreting the Qur’an with thematic methods uses the following procedure: (1) determine the discussion of al-Qur’an, which will be studied thematically; (2) track and collect verses according to the topics raised; (3) arrange the verses chronologically (because of the descending), prioritise the
The word
Stark and Glock (
It is also necessary to map what is meant by adults. According to Hurlock (
Islamophobia and Christianophobia are terms of contradiction. This study is tremendously sensitive as it bears an association with one’s faith, but it becomes of interest for the dimensions of fanatism and textual, narrow understanding contained therein. Such a limited understanding makes one inclined to be easy to judge as wrong from another person with a different view than his or hers.
It is interesting to read the work of cultural anthropologist and head of Scientific Research in Social Sciences at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia, Sumanto al-Qurtubi. Sumanto claims Islamophobia and Christianophobia as
The term
In the case of phobia of a material object, the psychologist would administer therapy, for example, by having the patient recognise the material concerned as not harmful for them under a comfortable situation. Rational and emotional approaches are adopted in this method. With an in-depth understanding of the object that triggers the phobia and the use of a secure condition, irrational fear can be gradually subdued. Eventually, the phobia can be eliminated. However, the phobia of other religions poses a challenge to psychologists and religious scholars.
The terms
Etymologically, the word
According to the
The Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project of University of California, Berkeley, suggests the following working definition:
[
The author is more inclined towards this definition because this definition is more comprehensive in explaining the meaning and the factors that cause this term to appear.
Meanwhile, Christianophobia is an irrational animosity towards or hatred of Christian or Christianity in general. It is also used to describe the phenomenon of intolerance and discrimination against Christians (Macmillan Dictionary
In
Interestingly, in this study, the author has found that religious morality in the Qur’an in handling Islamophobia can be traced to integrating three kinds of morality – religious morality, national morality and social morality – as explained in
Religious morality development from the Quranic perspective.
Number of verse | Keyword | Word meaning | Religious morality form |
---|---|---|---|
Al-An’ām [6]: 108 | Do not insult those they invoke other than Allah | Not insulting those invoked by people of different faiths | |
al-Kāfirūn [109]: 6 | For you is your religion, and for me is my religion | Appreciating others’ freedom in performing their worship | |
Al-Maidah [5]: 82 | Continuous affection to fellow human beings despite differences in religions | Not committing deeds that could trigger social conflicts | |
al-Mumtaḥanah [60]: 7-9 | Love, uphold justice, and do good | Fair, wise and do good to anyone | |
Saba [34]: 15 | A good country with an abundance of blessings from Allah | Maintaining food stability | |
Ibrahim [14]: 35 |
A safe country | Maintaining the state’s security and order | |
Al-A’rāf [7]: 10 | Life tranquillity with natural resources | Conserving land and water | |
Al-Anfal [8] : 46 | Obedience towards Allah, the Messenger, leaders and experts in their respective fields | Putting compliance with decisions according to the religious provisions first | |
Hūd [11]: 61 | Prosper the Earth | Conserving land and water | |
al-Anbiya’ [21]: 92 | People who are united in differences | National Unity | |
Al-Baqarah [2]: 143 | A moderate society | An objective, just, and wise society | |
Al-A’rāf [7]: 159 | People who inspire goodness and truth | Being cooperative in conducting for a true cause | |
Āli’ Imrān [3]: 104 | Supportive society | Being cooperative in conducting for a good cause | |
Al-Baqarah [2]: 128 | An |
Society prioritising peace and safety | |
Āli’ Imrān [3]: 103 | United in Allah’s teachings | A love for peace |
The teaching of religious morality related to the appreciation for religious freedom is contained in al-Kāfrūn [109]: 6, while the teaching stressing
Meaning: ‘7. Perhaps Allah will make friendship between you and those you hold as enemies. And Allah has power (over all things), and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. 8. Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity’. (al-Mumtaḥanah [60]:7–8)
The word ‘
As stated by Muhammad Quraish Shihab, an interpreter of the al-Qur’an from Indonesia, what was promised was proven shortly after the revelation of this
The phrase
The word
The expression verse
Asma bint. Abu Bakar al-Shiddiq reported her mother (a disbeliever back then) as paying her a visit, so she met with the Prophet and asked, ‘May I have a relationship with my mother’? The Prophet answered, ‘Yes! Have a good relationship with her’ (Bukhari and Muslim). Imam Ahmad narrated through Abdullah Ibn Zubair that Asma’s mother, Qutailah, paid Asma a visit and presented her with gifts, but Asma was hesitant to accept them and accept her mother. Asma asked her sister ‘Aisyah, and shortly after, the
The word
Sayyid Qutub (
The explanation above suggests that this
As mentioned before, religious morality related to the love for the state and motherland is that Allah told us to obey the commandments of his, his Messenger and ‘Ūlī al-amr’.
Muslim scholars had different interpretations of the word
Muslim philosopher al-Farabi stated that to form a perfect state, the state should be based on the basis of faith. With this faith, humans will always appreciate the existence of any kind of creature/species in the universe by establishing justice among society and working to support and complete each other. Al-Farabi says that, with all the things mentioned above, we can form a leading society (excellent society/
Nevertheless, there is one important point that should be underlined here. As the spearhead of implementing the government policy in every country, consciousness and joint participation in the world community would significantly determine the success in tackling Islamophobia and Christianophobia.
To establish social integrity, it is necessary to introduce social morality with moral values based on three fundamental principles: liberty, equality and reciprocity. Founding one’s thoughts and actions on the above-mentioned three principles will forge high moral behaviours towards an excellent personality. High-valued moral behaviours are behaviours that do not harm, hurt, torture, disturb or violate the rights of others. In addition, one should have the behaviour of respecting others’ rights based on universal human values (Idi & Sahrodi
The three social morality principles can be realised by establishing a moderate society (
The Muslim
Renowned psychologist Wallport provides characteristics of religious maturity as follows: (1) well-differentiated and self-critical, using reason as an integral factor in religious life to function dynamically in religious activities; (2) using religion as a motivational force – religiously mature, one uses religion as a destination and force. They always seek to tackle every problem to take him further to self-transformation; (3) have moral consistency in concrete everyday behaviours; (4) have comprehensiveness in outlook with tolerance at the core; (5) having an integral outlook – this criterion involves reflection and harmony as well as valuable life; and (6) heuristic in which a religiously matured person will always seek truth and understand their temporary achievements concerning their faith, making him an eternal ‘seeker’ (Wallport
Religious maturity will enable every individual to make a wise judgement of political and economic intrigues in responding to issues of Islamophobia and Christianophobia. The Qur’an highly appreciates human choice in the selection of their religion and teaches integration with every element of a nation for them to live their religious life safely to support the objectives of religious activities: to safeguard religion, soul, mind, progeny and wealth (Al-Syatibi
Wrapping up this article, the discussion from the beginning to the end is summarised in
Problem and solution of Islamophobia and Christianophobia in the al-Qur’an.
As summed up in
Every religion teaches its adherents to become a good individual to himself or herself, others, the environment and God. If there ever be a notion that religion teaches radicalism and violence, then such a notion is open to debate.
Islamophobia is an irrational fear of Moslems because of the negative stereotypes caused by acts of violence by a few people, which are then generalised to Muslims in general, and vice versa with Christianophobia. Islamophobia and Christianophobia show one’s immature stage of religious understanding. Both are irrational fear of other religions, mainly towing to highly subjective negative stereotypes of such religions.
The factors that cause Islamophobia and Christianophobia include immoral acts such as violence, terrorism and the discrediting of women by a handful of people under the pretext of understanding the scriptures that are still partial. This immoral act is counterproductive to religious teachings, which emphasise commendable morals to every adherent; even in Islam, it is taught that religion is love for the universe. Therefore, it is important to display the teachings of the scriptures that are intact in response to the factors causing Islamophobia and Christianophobia. However, the root causes of acts of radicalism and terrorism which are also caused by problems of political intrigue and economic inequality also require special attention from world leaders so that public trust in state institutions will be restored.
Therefore, in responding to the problems, this study tries to present the teachings of the al-Qur’an, which integrates moral teachings related to religion, the state and society. The concept of ‘religious morality development’ includes (1) religious morality (appreciation for faith differences), (2) national morality (love for the state and motherland) and (3) social morality (social integration). Understanding these three points will fulfil several indicators of one’s religious maturity, as stated by Wallport above.
Religious humans use commendable morals in their activities, and immoral activities damage the image of religion that comes to glorify human morals, as in the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, the results of this research are expected to assist world leaders and their citizens in building mutual trust and cooperation in countering radical thoughts and actions in their respective regions. Furthermore, the implications of fostering religious morality development according to the Qur’an are expected to reconsider radicalism and help a person in his or her religious maturity and, in the end, will be able to erode the phobia of other religions theoretically.
The author declares that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
N.A.F. is the sole author of this research article.
This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the author.