بین المذاہب ہم آہنگی میں اسلامی رواداری کی حدود اور مغربی مداہنت کا تحقیقی مطالعہ

THE LIMITS OF ISLAMIC TOLERANCE AND WESTERN COMPROMISE OF PRINCIPLES IN INTERFAITH HARMONY: A CRITICAL ANALYTICAL STUDY

Abstract

When the history of human civilization is examined, it becomes evident that social survival and societal stability have always depended on mutual cooperation and a balanced engagement between differing viewpoints. In the contemporary era of globalization, where the world has effectively transformed into a “global village,” peaceful coexistence among followers of diverse religions and ideologies has become an unavoidable necessity. This very necessity has given rise to the noble value of tolerance.

Tolerance refers to a positive and flexible attitude through which an individual or a group, while remaining firmly committed to its own ideological convictions, develops the capacity to respect and endure the existence, beliefs, and religious practices of others. It is upon this foundation that the structure of global peace can be established.

However, the intellectual chaos and political expediencies of the modern age have rendered the concept of tolerance dangerously ambiguous. As a result of this ambiguity, the tendency toward compromise of principles (mudāhanah) has increasingly gained ground. Mudāhanah represents a negative and apologetic attitude in which a party, either overawed by material power or driven by temporary interests, begins to introduce such flexibility into the fundamental principles of its rightful religion that neither Shariah nor sound reason permits. This approach is often adopted out of fear of “civilizational conflict” or in an attempt to appease dominant and powerful groups.

The present paper is an academic effort to highlight this subtle yet crucial distinction. The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate that tolerance is a sign of moral elevation and psychological maturity, whereas compromise of principles is a manifestation of intellectual decline and ideological defeat. This paper seeks to establish the fact that social peace requires granting space to others through tolerance, not distorting or diluting one’s own beliefs through unwarranted compromise.