The second basic founding principle upon which the existence of the United States is based is the principle of liberty. In fact, it may be fairly stated, from the point of view of the Founding Fathers, that after securing the right to life, "Liberty was their first principle, and also their first goal."3 In essence, we can say that the United States was founded to secure liberty for its citizens, as the Declaration of Independence states in precisely those words. This simple yet critical concept, that the human being should be as free as possible, and that his freedom should extend as far as the rights of his fellow humans will allow, seems to be a rare find in today’s world.

However, philosophically, this notion – just like the sanctity of life – is central to the core of Islamic belief. Unlike Christianity, Islam does not believe in the doctrine of original sin, and does not believe in the doctrine of the redemption of that sin by the crucifixion of Prophet Jesus Christ. Rather, Muslims believe that Adam and Eve sinned, and were forgiven. Their descendants, the whole of the human family, are born sin free into this earthly life, which serves as a test of their soul and their intellect. This test, the basic purpose for which the human being is created, is dependent in the most essential fashion on the concept of liberty. Without liberty, there is no freedom to either sin or believe. Therefore, a system without this most basic of God-given human rights is not compatible with Islam.

This concept is once again clearly found in the Quran, in the discussion of the concept of freedom of religion:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error. Whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks, and God heareth and knoweth all things" (Quran 2:256). This principle is clearly illustrated once again in another verse of the Quran: "And say: The truth has come from your Lord. Let, then, him who wills, believe in it, and let him who wills, reject it" (Quran 18:29).

This notion of the necessity of human liberty has resounded from early Islamic history and intellectual development, to the modern age. In fact, one of the respected Islamic scholars of the 20th century, Afzalur Rahman, wrote a multivolume textbook on Islamic political thought, entitled Readings in Political Philosophy. The entirety of Volume I is titled, Liberty. This is because without liberty, the purpose of this life itself becomes null and void. In this work, Professor Rahman states: "Thus in Islam, a man is given the freedom of choice to adopt any course of action... It is a decision for himself alone, of his own free will... But he will be held responsible for his actions, bad or good."4

These concepts must sound somewhat strange to the reader who has become acquainted with the regime of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where people were forced in nearly every aspect of their lives, big and small. A man, for example, was forced to grow a beard, while a woman was forced to cover herself from head to toe, including veiling her face, and people were punished for violating these edicts. Here, then, in the name of Islam, was an entire population living under a regime which directly infringed on their personal freedoms. The only consolation I have to offer the reader is that his or her confusion about how this could occur in the name of Islam, while Islam stresses the concept of liberty so centrally, is a question as opaque to Muslims as it is to non-Muslims.

Once again, it is important to stress that the central place of the concept of liberty as foundational within Islamic doctrine is not a post-modern evolution of thought. This understanding has been present since the earliest days of Islam. Let us return to the 7th century, shortly after the death of Prophet Muhammad, when an Islamic state, with a full-fledged administration, had been born and ruled the Arabian Peninsula and much of the Middle East and North Africa. In order to see the importance of this concept of liberty in practice, it is best to look to the original foundations of the Islamic state. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him, commonly written as PBUH) was succeeded in his leadership of the Muslims by a man named Abu Bakr. 5

This occurred in the year 632 A.D. Abu Bakr ruled for only a two-year period, and was then succeeded by a man named Umar, in the year 634 A.D. It was under the rule of Umar that the foundations of the Islamic state began to be realized in terms of formal government institutions.6 Therefore, it supplies much of the ideological precedent in Islamic political theory, and will be referred to often for various examples in this chapter. This state had a financial system, an executive branch, and many provincial governors of the various territories which had come under Muslim rule. Interestingly, one of these territories was the area of Jerusalem, which was liberated from the Byzantine Empire in the year 641. The Christian citizens of Jerusalem were only too happy at this change of administration, as they were given protection and allowed to follow their religion, in exchange for participating in the tax system of the Muslim state by paying a similar tax to that levied upon all Muslim citizens. Various historical incidents from the rule of Umar and the nascent Islamic state underscore the value of liberty as a foundational value in Islam, both on a personal level and on a political level. One illustrative incident recorded in Muslim history books tells of the son of the Governor of Egypt, which had become part of the Islamic state. This young man was fond of athletic activities, and challenged one of the Egyptians to a foot race. When he was defeated in the race, the Governor’s son physically beat the Egyptian commoner out of frustration. This Egyptian then sent a complaint to Umar, the ruler of the Muslims, in the distant city of Medina, in the Arabian Peninsula, citing this act of abuse. Umar then summoned the Governor of Egypt, the Governor’s son, and the Egyptian commoner to the city of Medina, which was no small feat in those days, given that travel had to be performed over several weeks across the desert on foot, or on camel. After inv estigating and verifying the truth of the incident, he had the Governor’s son punished by a reciprocal beating from the Egyptian commoner, as a sign that Umar’s government insisted on absolute justice before the law. Umar then turned to the Governor and his son, and said his famous words: "How is it that you have attempted to enslave people, while their mothers have borne them free?" To Muslims, this quote is as poignant and as symbolic as Patrick Henry’s, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" It emphasizes that liberty is a God-given right.

It must be remembered that while we may take this value for granted today, for its age, this statement represented a revolutionary stance. At this time, and for hundreds of years to come, Europe was still in the grip of feudalism, where the vast majority of people were commoners or peasants who had no hope of equality with the lords of the medieval manors who ruled them. 7 At the state level, personal liberty, including freedom of religion, was seen as a paramount pillar of the early Islamic state. Special care was extended to ensure this freedom for the state’s non-Muslim citizens: "The state guaranteed protection of the life, property, honor, and freedom of conscience (or religion) of all its non-Muslim subjects, and even of resident aliens and tourists." 8

Clearly, in later times, the Muslim state deviated in many instances from this dictum. The purpose of this book, however, is not to exonerate the conduct of Muslims historically, as it has sometimes run counter to Islam, but to elucidate the basic and foundational principles of the Islamic religion, and show how closely these are paralleled by the principles of the Founding Fathers, and the principles upon which the government of the United States is based. A direct application of these principles is once again illustrated in the very early Islamic state, under the rule of Umar. Once again, we return to the example of Jerusalem, when it came under the rule of the Muslims, as the Byzantine Empire was militarily defeated. As Jerusalem capitulated, Umar himself went to accept the surrender, and immediately granted to its people what was known as the Charter of Rights in the year 638 A.D. This charter stands as a living testament to the basic principles of liberty, security, and freedom of faith which Islam offers all people:

"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This is the security which Umar, the Servant of God, the Commander of the Faithful, grants to the people of Aylia. He grants to all, whether sick or sound, security for their lives, their possessions, their churches, and their crosses, and for all that concerns their religion. Their churches shall neither be changed into dwelling places nor destroyed, neither shall they, nor their appurtenances, nor any of their possessions, be in any way diminished; nor shall any constraint be put on them in the matter of their faith; nor shall any one of them be harmed."

This charter is originally recorded in a classical Islamic text by a famous jurist named Abu Yusuf, called Kitab Al-Kharaj. 9 This vision and set of principles was echoed many centuries later with the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, stipulating freedom of religion, and that Congress shall make no law "prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Once again, because we live under this set of principles, they have grown so familiar that we now take them for granted. It is once again important to stress, however, that when Islam first propounded these principles and guaranteed these freedoms, this was a profoundly revolutionary stroke for civilization and for human rights.

To see this, one only needs to contrast it with the behavior of the Christian Crusaders when they retook Jerusalem from the Muslims:

Hence, regardless of the brutal behavior of the Taliban, or any other examples of despotism in the Islamic world today, it is very clear in the minds of educated Muslims that the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are indeed God-given and sacred, and must form the foundation of any state.