Dr. Ramadan: Our faith is universal and that must be seen

We belong to our principles and we must promote them together with other people in the society we live in, says Dr. Tarik Ramadan in the 19th installment of Ramadan Chronicles, reports the BH News Agency Patria (NAP). He recalled an event from the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) at a time when he was mostly rejected by his contemporaries.

- At one point in Mecca, the Prophet (pbuh), unable to offer protection and help to his companions, the believers, who were being tortured and killed, told them: “There is a king who is just towards his people and protects his people. Go to him.“ It was about the Christian king Negus, who later became a Muslim – states Dr. Ramadan.

A group of early Muslims then left Mecca and went to Abyssinia, modern-day Ethiopia, where they would not be persecuted. Dr. Ramadan says that we can emphasize two messages from this event.

- Yes! We, as Muslims, belong to our country, our state. We want to live in our homeland and contribute to its betterment. But, sometimes protecting our principles is more important than belonging to a country that humiliates, stigmatizes, persecutes, and attacks us. We must know when enough is enough, when life is in danger, we must protect it – he emphasizes.

The second message is that Muhammad (pbuh) said to go to the ruler of a country, not because of his faith, but because of his just behavior towards people. The Prophet (pbuh) did not seek a solution to the problem from people who were only Muslims and of the same faith, but was open to people.

- Yes, he told those who were not Muslims, “To you your religion, and to me mine,“ but he emphasized principles and their application. We must be just in this. We belong to our principles and we must promote them together with other people in the society we live in. That is the message of the emigration of Muslims to Abyssinia. We can work together, we can apply these principles together for the benefit of our society. Our faith, our way of fasting, the fact that we carry a universal and timeless message must be seen and will be seen as a signal that we have much more in common than different – concludes Dr. Ramadan and adds: Don't forget to tell those you love that you love them, NAP reports.