Islam-Oped: Islamic Values Equate To Bible's; Ten Commandments

Arsalan Iftikhar, Myrtle Beach Sun-News, 3/2/05

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/opinion/11028301.htm

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a monument engraved with the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol "is an impermissible establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment."
Reaction from religious groups is mixed - Jewish and Christian groups seem divided, and Muslims are largely absent from the debate.

Muslim silence on the issue should not be misconstrued as ambivalence toward the Ten Commandments. In fact, the Quran, Islam's revealed text, contains injunctions similar to all the commandments.

A few examples:

Commandment: Thou shall have no other gods before Me.

Quran: Know therefore that there is no god but God. (47:19) Do not associate another deity with God. ( 17:22)

Commandment: Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image.

Quran: No visions can encompass Him, but He encompasses all visions. (6:103)

Commandment: Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Quran: Glorify the name of your Lord morning and evening. (76:25) Do not use God's name in your oaths as an excuse to prevent you from dealing justly. (2:224)

Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother.

Quran: You shall be kind to your parents. ... You shall lower to them the wing of humility and pray: "O Lord! Bestow on them Your blessings just as they cherished me when I was a little child." ( 17:23-24)…

Such remarkable similarities are not surprising, because Muslims believe that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all originate from the same God. God's laws are universal but their adoption is a matter of choice. The Quranic order that there be "no compulsion in religion" (2:256) reverberates in James Madison's, "The religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man."

Opposition to the public display of the Ten Commandments should not imply disavowal of their validity, just as support for the display should not be an excuse for religious exclusivity.

I love all the commandments, for their values are my values as a Muslim. I also respect the Constitution and its support for religious pluralism. Just as I want my government to not establish a particular religion, I also desire that they not prohibit its free exercise. It is a delicate balancing act. Getting that balance right is what makes American freedom unique and enviable.