Page:An Analysis of Prophet Muhammad’s Covenants with Christians.pdf/10

 Attitudes surveys, in fact, show that majorities in the “Arab world” favor democracy as a form of government. As noted above, most experts cite Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malik, and Senegal as democracies. Indonesia, the world’s largest “Muslim nation”, is an interesting case study in observing how the pluralist spirit of the Covenants has been applied to modern societies. Article 28E of the Constitution reflects much of what was written in the Covenant with the Monks of Mount Sinai:


 * 1) Every person shall be free to choose and to practice the religion of his/her choice, to choose one’s education, to choose one’s employment, to choose one’s citizenship, and to choose one’s place of residence within the state territory, to leave it and to subsequently return to it.
 * 2) Every person shall have the right to the freedom to believe his/her faith, and to express his/her views and thoughts, in accordance with his/her conscience.
 * 3) Every person shall have the right to the freedom to associate, to assemble, and to express opinions.

Moreover, Article 28D states that every Indonesian citizen—regardless of ethnic or religious background—“shall have the right of recognition, guarantees, protection and certainty before a just law, and of equal treatment before the law”. The Constitution of Indonesia clearly protects religious freedom and, in practice, the government generally respects the religious freedom of the six officially recognized religions. However, in some instances, the government fails to protect citizens from discrimination and abuse based on religion. For example, the central Indonesia government holds authority over religious matters, but in previous years has made no effort in some regions of the country to overturn local laws restricting rights otherwise provided by the Constitution. Despite these shortcomings, the Constitution of Indonesia can be seen as closely mirroring the Covenants of Prophet Muhammad, who did not subscribe to “Islamic absolutism”; he respected Christians as equal members of the Muslim nation, and showed appreciation for cultural and religious diversity as something to be protected. The relations that he forged with the Monks at Mount Sinai were based on plurality and not sectarianism.

Prophet Muhammad, nonetheless, did enforce the jizya, or poll tax, on Christian communities. In fact, the jizya is enforced in all of the Covenants discussed in this paper. The jizya is one area in which Christians criticize Islam for its oppression and creation of “second-class” citizens in Muslim societies. However, the Prophet made it clear in the Covenants with the Christians of Mount Sinai, Persia, Najran, and the World that in the levying of taxes, it is necessary not to exact from Christians more than they are able to pay. Rather, Muhammad asks Muslims “to adjust matters with their consent, without force or violence” (, p. 18). The Prophet added “Whosoever shall not do as is here prescribed, but shall do contrary to my behests; the same shall be held a despiser of the Compact, and a gainsayer of the word of God and of his Prophet” (, p. 19). Similarly, in the Covenant with the Christians of the World, Prophet Muhammad suggested that—in extraordinary cases—the jizya can be dismissed altogether: “I remove from them the harm from taxes and loan in the supplies borne to the People of the Pact except what they themselves consent to give. They should not be compelled or unfairly treated in this matter” (, p. 50). Nonetheless, the money that Muslims collected through the jizya was to be placed in the Treasury for public use (, p. 105). This is an important point because corrupt individuals or groups were not meant to acquire money collected through the jizya. The jizya was collected for the betterment of the “public good”, of which Christians were a part. It is also worth noting that during the reign of Umar, the third Caliph of the ummah and Companion of Prophet Muhammad, the jizya was abolished in light of all non-Muslims that were unable to earn their livelihood. Such conditions were clearly stated in contracts and other documents signed by Muslims and non-Muslims during the reign of Umar.

Prophet Muhammad was a religious pluralist because he engaged in “a form of proactive cooperation that affirms the identity of the constituent communities while emphasizing the well-being of each and all” (, p. xv). Consider how he embodied religious pluralism in his Covenant with the Christians of Najran: