Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Robbo and I'd like to welcome you to today's RE lesson on Muslim attitudes towards peace.

I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

In today's lesson, you will be able to explain a range of Muslim attitudes to peace and pacifism using sources of authority to support them.

Keywords that we'll be using are Islam, pacifist, and peace.

Islam is one of the Abrahamic religions revealed through Muhammad as the prophet of Allah.

A pacifist is a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable and peace is the freedom from war and conflicts.

Our lesson today will take two parts.

We'll be looking at Islam and peace and a case study of Muhammad Ali.

So let's get started on Islam and peace.

The word Islam comes from Arabic.

It has its roots in the Arabic letters s, l, and m, which means peace, submission, and surrender.

And in fact, the word salam, meaning peace, has the same root.

So essentially Islam means submission to the will of Allah or alternatively, bringing peace.

Essentially in Islam, they are the same thing, by submitting to the will of Allah, that brings about peace.

So as you might expect from a religion which is named based on the word peace, there are many references to peace in Islam.

Muslims will agree that peace is always preferable to conflict.

However, they do interpret what that means in reality in different ways.

So they might take one of the approaches here or perhaps another one based on their personal judgement.

They could reject all forms of conflict and live as pacifists, or they might accept conflict is necessary in order to bring about peace.

Is this statement true or false? Muslims all approach the concept of peace in the same way.

Take a moment to think about your answer.

Also think about why.

Pause the video, come back when you're ready to check.

So well done if you put that it's false, but why is this false? Well, it's false because they might reject conflict or accept it if it brings about lasting peace.

The Qur'an calls Muslims to respond to conflict with peace, and this could influence Muslims to be pacifists or to generally disagree with war.

Surah 25:63 says, "The servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk humbly on the earth and who, when aggressive people address them, reply with words of peace." This passage suggests that people who reply to aggression with peace are the ones who best serve Allah.

So which one of the following shows how Muslims who respond to aggression with peace may be perceived? Is it A, as challenging Allah, B, as serving Allah, C, as praising Allah, or D, as defying Allah? Take a moment to think about what you just learned.

Pause if you need to.

Come back when you're ready to check your answer.

So well done if you put B, serving Allah.

The Qur'an also tells Muslims that those who make peace will be judged mercifully by Allah.

Surah 49:10 says, "The faithful are indeed brothers.

Therefore, make peace between your brothers and be wary of God so that you may receive his mercy." What does this passage suggest to Muslims about living peacefully? Take your time to turn and talk to someone nearby if you can or you can pause the video and talk to me.

Come back when you're ready to move on.

This passage teaches Muslims that those who make peace will receive mercy from Allah.

Well done if you spotted that.

Jacob wants to understand some other ways in which the Qur'an might be used by individual Muslims to shape their worldviews about peace.

He asks Hassan what he thinks.

"What teachings have helped shape your worldview, Hassan?" Hassan says, "A passage from the Qur'an that says, 'Fight in the cause of Allah only gets those who wage war against you, but do not exceed the limits.

Allah does not like transgressors,' has influenced my views." Jacob goes on, "That's really interesting Hassan, can you explain it for me?" So Hassan begins to explain the meaning behind the passage that has influenced his views on peace.

So let's have a look at it again, from Qur'an 2:190.

"Fight in the cause of Allah only against those who wage war against you, but do not exceed the limits.

Allah does not like transgressors." Hassan says, "First of all, this passage from the Qur'an makes me believe that I should not start a conflict but am permitted to retaliate if attacked." Then he says, "It also tells me that retaliation should be proportionate, that means the minimum amount of force or violence should be used." And finally "Lastly, it reminds me that I cannot say conflict is in the name of Allah if I have started it, and he will not be pleased with me if I am excessively violent." Is this statement true or false? The Qur'an tells Muslims there are no limitations on force during a conflict.

Take a moment to think about your answer and also think about why it is either true or false.

Pause if you need to.

Come back when ready to see what you could have said.

Well done if you that it is false, but why is it false? While the Qur'an states that Muslims should not exceed the limits, this means they should use the minimum force required to achieve peace.

For task A, Sofia, Izzy, and Jun are discussing Muslim beliefs about peace.

I'd like you to finish each of their ideas with supporting evidence from the Qur'an.

Sofia says, "Muslims might respond peacefully to aggressors because.

." Izzy says, "Muslims might seek to bring about peace in the world because.

." And Jun says, "Muslims may be willing to enter into conflict for self-defense because.

." So pause the video, take your time to think back over the Qur'anic teachings that we've looked at in this lesson.

Come back when you're ready to check the answer that you've written down.

Let's have a look at what you could have said.

For Sofia, she said, "Muslims might respond peacefully to aggressors because," you could have said, "surah 23 of the Qur'an suggests those who do are servants of the Lord of Mercy, which means that Muslims being peaceful pleases God." Well done if you've got something along those lines for Sofia's answer.

For Izzy, she said, "Muslims might seek to bring out peace in the world because," and you could have said, "surah 49 of the Qur'an states, 'Muslims should make peace between your brothers,' which means Muslims should help create peace between all people." Again, well done if you've got something along those lines.

And finally for Jun, he said, "Muslims may be willing to enter into conflict for self-defense because," and you could have said, "surah 2 of the Qur'an says you can fight those who wage war against you." Again, well done if you've got something along those lines.

For the second part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at our case study of Muhammad Ali.

Muslim attitudes to peace are informed by different sources of authority, including the Qur'an, which is the direct word of Allah, the Hadith, which are the recorded words of the prophet Muhammad, the Sunnah, which is the prophet's example based on the Hadith, Shariah law, which is Islamic law based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, Islamic scholars who interpret and apply the sources in real-life situations, and personal conscience and reason, which would be guided by Islamic teachings.

Now, Muslims might interpret the sources differently or place greater emphasis on some over others, but they do all agree that the Qur'an is the supreme authority.

Pacifism means rejecting all violence.

However, although Islam originates from the Arabic stem word meaning peace, it is not in itself a pacifist religion.

So individual Muslims are free to choose to be pacifists, and the Qur'an teaches that forgiveness and reconciliation are a better way of bringing peace than fighting in the war, although war can be used if necessary.

So is this statement true or false? Islam is a pacifist religion.

Take a moment to decide on your answer Once you've decided, also have a think about why.

Pause the video, and come back when you're ready to check.

So well done if you spotted that it's false, but why is this false? Well, it's false because Muslims are free to choose how best to achieve peace.

They might do this through passivism or they might believe that war can sometimes be just, and they would use sources of authority such as the Qur'an as a guide to their decisions.

Muhammad Ali is famous for being a boxer.

He was originally named Cassius Clay, but he changed his name when he reverted to Islam.

That means when he became a Muslim.

He lived in the United States of America from 1942 to 2016, and during this time, the Vietnam War took place.

Here's an image of President Johnson meeting American troops during the Vietnam War.

American citizens were drafted into the army, but Muhammad Ali refused to enlist on religious grounds.

As a result of this, he ended up sentenced to five years in prison, and he served four of them on bail before the decision was overturned.

So Ali refused to take part in the war because he thought that his faith forbid him from participating in what he saw as an unjust war.

He believed the Qur'an called for peace unless fighting was in defence of Islam, and he therefore said that he would not take part in a war that was not ordained by God or in defence of his faith.

He actually famously expressed this by saying that his conscience wouldn't let him go and shoot his brother for big powerful America.

He viewed the Vietnam War as an act of aggression by the United States against the people who had done nothing to him or to African Americans.

And in fact, he contrasted this with the racial injustice that people suffered in America and said it would be hypocritical to fight for freedom abroad when there was not freedom in the United States.

So we can see here that Ali is putting into practise Muslim teachings about peace as the ideal and also the idea that a war, if it does happen, must be just, but peace is always preferable.

Ali's refusal made him a conscientious objector.

Although this was rejected by the U.

S.

government, they did not allow him to object on ground of conscience.

He was stripped of his boxing title and banned from boxing for several years.

He was fined, and as we saw, he was actually sentenced to prison, which was not overturned until 1971.

Is this statement true or false? Muhammad Ali was sentenced to prison for refusing to join the army.

Take a moment to think about your answer.

Pause the video, come back when you're ready to check.

Well done if you got that that was true.

As we've just learned, Muhammad Ali's conscience, informed by his Muslim beliefs, meant that he refused to take part in the Vietnam war.

Ali felt that fighting the war conflicted with his Muslim beliefs, and he felt he had to either obey the laws of the land or the laws of Allah, and because in this case he didn't think the war was in self-defense and not permissible, he would not obey the laws of the land, rather he would obey the laws of Allah.

Surah 60:8 says, "Allah does not forbid you from dealing kindly and fairly with those who have neither fought nor driven you out of your homes.

Surely Allah loves those who are fair." So because there was no aggression in this case because there was no justification for the war, this is why Ali felt that it was wrong to participate.

Hassan's views and the example of Muhammad Ali shows there is not just one attitude to peace.

And in fact, we've also learned that Muslims could be completely pacifist.

There are many ways that sources of authority can shape a person's worldview.

So I'd like you to have a go at testing your understanding by looking at this question.

Outline three Muslim beliefs about peace.

Here's one that's been done for you.

Islam means peace.

So your task is to take a moment to outline a further two beliefs.

Pause the video, take your time, come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

So well done if you put something like the Qur'an teaches Muslims to forgive and that peace is better than the state of war.

Of course, you may have put something different from those, but well done if you've managed to refer to specific Muslim beliefs.

Let's have a look at what you're going to do for task B.

So remember, war is permitted in Islam, and Muhammad Ali was actually a boxer by profession, but he refused to fight in the army during the Vietnam War.

I'd like you to explain what influenced his particular attitude to peace.

You might wish to use these prompts and Qur'an 25:63 to help you.

Muhammad Ali lived during.

His religious beliefs were.

These may have influenced him by.

Pause the video, take your time, have a think about how to develop those sentence starters, but also look back and think about surah 25:63.

Come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

You could have said, "Muhammad Ali lived during the Vietnam War, which he was expected to participate in as an American citizen.

His religious beliefs were that he was a Muslim.

He reverted to Islam as an adult.

These may have influenced him by encouraging him to avoid conflict, because the word Islam comes from the Arabic root word for peace, and there are many teachings in the Qur'an that advocate peace.

He said that he felt there was a conflict between the laws of the land and the laws of Allah.

He could have been referring to teachings such as Qur'an 25:63, which states that Muslims should reply to aggression with words of peace." So well done if you've got something along those lines for explaining how Muhammad Ali's views on peace were influenced by his religion.

In today's lesson, you have learned that the Arabic root word for Islam is slm, which means peace.

Muslims may use the Qur'an, other sources of authority, and their own judgement to decide what it means to live peacefully.

Some Muslims will reject all forms of violence and live as pacifists.

Many Muslims interpret teachings to mean that they should not use violence unless they are attacked.

Muhammad Ali refused to enlist in the army in the Vietnam War because he did not feel it was justifiable Islamically.

Thank you very much for working with me on this lesson today on Muslim attitudes towards peace.

Well done for all of your efforts.