US Scholar Highlights Prophet Muhammad’s Great Ethical Effect on People
“It is clear that the prophet Muhammad had a powerful effect on his contemporaries and their descendants, in terms of the ethics and compassion that form the basis for Islamic ideals. While there are many things that the Islamic tradition shares with other religions, the Prophet is distinctive to Islam. Non-Muslims need to understand the tremendous respect and affection that his followers have for him,” Carl W. Ernst, who has authored “Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World” told IQNA on Tuesday on the occasion of the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) birth anniversary.
What follow is the full text of the interview:
IQNA: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with the International Quran News Agency. What inspired you to author “Following Muhammad”?
Ernst: I wanted to write an introduction to Islam for Americans, a book that would be more than a dry listing of historical and religious facts, conveying something of the flavor of the cultures that animate Muslim societies. I tried to present compelling examples that illustrated the ethical, artistic, and spiritual values that Muslims find inspiring.
IQNA: The subtitle of your book is “Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World”. Why did you choose this subtitle? Please elaborate on this.
Ernst: Rethinking implies that there is something missing from our current thinking. Americans have gotten used to the idea that there is a “Muslim world”, as if there was a separate planet inhabited by Muslims who have nothing to do with Europe and America. That is completely wrong. We need to understand that Islam is part of the world of today rather than something alien. It is also a mistake to assume that Islam is frozen in the past, or that it stuck in some medieval time. The truth is that colonialism meant that 90% of Muslim societies were conquered by European powers, so there is a common past that we need to understand for its contemporary impact.
IQNA: For forty years prior to the revelation, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was indisputably known to be of sound morals. Amongst the people and his tribe, he was known as "As-Sadeeq Al-Ameen," meaning the honest and trustworthy one. What are your thoughts on his personality?
Ernst: It is clear that the prophet Muhammad had a powerful effect on his contemporaries and their descendants, in terms of the ethics and compassion that form the basis for Islamic ideals. While there are many things that the Islamic tradition shares with other religions, the Prophet is distinctive to Islam. Non-Muslims need to understand the tremendous respect and affection that his followers have for him.
IQNA: In your book, you describe how anti-Muslim prejudice has affected the way Islam is perceived and has come to be viewed in Europe and America. Kindly let us know more about it.
Ernst: Anti-Islamic prejudice has much in common with racism and hostility towards ethnic and religious minorities. It is supported by the same people who consider others to be their inferiors, and those who are opposed to immigrants. Most Americans have only been exposed to Islam through media reports about conflict, and depictions of Muslims in negative stereotypes. This prejudice continues to be used opportunistically to cause fear and influence elections.
IQNA: Over the past months, the Holy Quran has been subject to acts of desecration multiple times in Sweden and Denmark. What is your take on these acts? Why do you think the anti-Muslim sentiments have recently seen a rise in the West, Europe in particular?
Ernst: The insults to the Quran are part of the deliberate campaign against immigrants and minorities that arises when nationalism and populism intentionally divide society. This is not easy to eradicate, because it requires education rather than mass indoctrination.
IQNA: How can we help promote interfaith respect and peaceful coexistence among followers of various faiths?
Ernst: The creation of ethical communities that are not defined by religion, ethnicity, or nationality can provide the basis for a form of respect and recognition that we badly need. The important task that needs to be addressed is the humanization of the other, which can best be accomplished through narrative and cultural creativity.
Carl W. Ernst was born in LA in 1950. He was recognized for his work on the comparison of religions at Stanford University in 1973. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1981 and taught at Pomona College between 1981 and 1992. Ernst is a specialist in Islamic studies, with a focus on West and South Asia. His published research, based on the study of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, has been mainly devoted to the study of three areas: general and critical issues of Islamic studies, premodern and contemporary Sufism, and Indo-Muslim culture. In 2005, he was awarded the “DOST Award for Service to Islam” for his book named Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World, which was also translated to Turkish. In 2009, he founded the Ken’an Rifai Chair of Islamic Studies with the cooperation of TÜRKKAD on behalf of the Department of Religious Studies at the UNC at Chapel Hill. His studies of Sufism have engaged with the literary, historical, and contemporary aspects of Islamic mysticism, particularly in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent and the Persianate cultural sphere. He is the co-director of the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies and the co-editor of Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks Series of the University of the North Carolina Press.
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the view of the International Quran News Agency.
