Title: Is Islam a Tolerant Religion? Question: Is Islam a tolerant religion? Qadeer Shahzad United Kingdom Answer: Islam is the guidance prescribed by God. This fact clearly implies that Islam is as tolerant as God wants man to be [1] , which, under ordinary circumstances, is to be an embodiment of tolerance. During the life of this world, God has allowed man the freedom to live a life according to his own personal choice. Man may choose to live a life, which is in accordance with the Truth that man is exposed to or, in contrast, he may opt to - knowingly - reject any Truth that may come his way. In either case, God has very 'tolerantly' allowed man to benefit from all His blessings, till an appointed time. This is precisely the kind of 'tolerance' that God wants to instill among the adherents of Islam as well. All religions based on Divine revelation inform us that at the end of the appointed time for each individual, God shall establish a Day of Judgment, in which each man shall reap the rewards of His deeds and his attitude towards the Truth, during the life of this world. Thus, God's tolerance towards the attitude and behavior of man should not be construed as God's indifference towards the behavior of man. God is not indifferent towards man's behavior. On the Day of Judgment, God shall reward the good - for their obedience to Him, even when they had the freedom and the opportunity to deviate from His paths - and punish the evil - for their disobedience towards God's directives, even after they had recognized them as God's directives, and for their misuse of the freedom that God had granted them. All the directives of Islam - in exactly the same spirit as the directives entailed in all previous revelations of God - are based on the same principle of tolerance and freedom of choice for all individuals, during the life of this world, as God has allowed to humans till the final Day of Judgment. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad June 10, 2002