Conclusion - Hinduism and Islam

Hinduism and Islam are two of the worlds major religions, with sizeable following in various parts of the world. They have some core ideals and flashes of a grand vision which they share. If we accept religion as a product of the environment in which it arises, chosen by God to deal with certain predominant problems of human existence peculiar to the times and the place in which they originate, we will understand why both Hinduism and Islam remained unfamiliar to each other till they stood face to face. Yet God has not rendered them entirely new so that He could keep the theologians on both side busy and arguing, but made provision for bridges of understanding. Hidden in the bosom of Islam are some of the finest and the best ideals of human life and religious aspiration, which also find their unmistakable expression in the core concepts of Hinduism, pulsating with vibrant energy, that are difficult to ignore even by a superficial glance. The differences are in relation to practice, code of conduct and interpretation of scriptures and traditions that should not, if we want to live in peace and harmony all over the world and fulfill the will of God for peace and universal amity, interfere with the process of normalization that began sometime in medieval India and still continuing, despite the challenges of mutual distrust and animosity that still linger on in some vicious minds of both communities. Hindus and Muslims can coexist, wherever they are, if they are willing to accept religion as an instrument of peace and human salvation rather than as a conduit through which they can compensate their feelings of inadequacy and pent-up animosity, the very vices that seem to contradict and negate the Divine Law which every religion proclaims to uphold. To achieve proper unity, there is also a need for give and take and appreciation of mutual differences without being threatened by them. As remarked by Rabindranath Tagore, "The world-wide problem today is not how to unite by wiping out all differences, but how to unite with all the differences intact; a difficult task, for it permits of no trickery and calls for mutual give-and-take...The Muslims in our country are striving for advancement as a separate community. However disagreeable and disadvantage that may be for us for the time being, it is the only right way to achieve genuine unity someday in the future." 2