What It Means - Day 116

"Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation. And dispute with them in the most virtuous manner. Surely thy Lord is He Who knows best those who stray from His way, and He knows best the rightly guided."
Quran 16:125

Here is another passage culled from "The Bee," the 16th surah. It's another one of the passages directing Muslims to treat Peoples of the Book, but also, more generally, peoples of other faiths, in a respectful fashion. In this case we are directed to "dispute with them in most virtuous manner." The popular perception is that Islam is a very intolerant faith, which is sad because we are told again and again to act in the opposite fashion. Does this mean that there aren't intolerant Muslims? Of course not, as we're, sadly and not surprisingly, awash in intolerant folks. I mean, Muslims are humans, and as a species we fail as often as we succeed (and that's us on our best day). Still, we are enjoined to treat other religions respectfully. It doesn't mean that you can't dispute with them and defend your faith, but rather try and do so in a balanced, moderate and intelligent fashion.