Can anyone who insists that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance explain how any of is a misunderstanding of Islam? Is there anything un-Islamic about this presentation? If not, why aren’t authorities in non-Muslim countries carefully pondering the implications of this?

“Indian Islamic Schoolbooks Teach Hate Against Polytheists And Unbelievers,” MEMRI, July 7, 2019:

PDF documents of a series of children’s Islamic schoolbooks that encourage intolerance against non-Muslims were recently shared on Telegram.[1] The schoolbooks, titled Noorani Talim and released in Urdu and English in 1970, were written by Jalaluddin Ahmad Amjadi, an Islamic scholar from the madrassa Darul Uloom Baraon, located in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India.

The schoolbooks are available across Uttar Pradesh, in the cities of Kanpur and Mau, although not all madrassas use them. The books also say that they are available from “Qadri Kutubkhana,” which may be a publishing house. The schoolbooks, which reflect the views of the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam, are aimed at children in the early stages of their education and primarily focus on topics like piety, daily prayer, and Muslim daily life. The images recently disseminated on Telegram from a schoolbook designed to teach conversational English demonstrate the hostile attitude toward non-Muslims espoused in the text. This report includes excerpts from the schoolbooks, lightly edited for clarity and standardization.

The following are some questions and answers relating to non-Muslims from part 2 of Noorani Talim.

“Q. What do you call someone who associates someone equal to or partner with Allah?

“A. We call them Mushrik [polytheist] and Kafir [unbeliever]

“Q. What is wrong in being a Kafir or Mushrik?

“A. Allah will always be unhappy with a Kafir or Mushrik and after death they will remain in the fire or hell forever.

“Q. Will Kafirs or Mushriks never go to paradise?

“A. No, never, they will remain in hell for eternity.

“Q. How is it known that Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam is the Prophet of Allah Ta’ala?

“A. It is proven by the fact that, our Holy Prophet called people towards Islam, he performed many miracles and he gave such knowledge of the unseen (Ilm-e-Ghaib) which can only be given by none other than a Prophet of Allah.

“Q. What do you call a person who does not believe in Muhammad Mustapha Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam as a Prophet?

“A. He/She is a Kafir

“Q. What if someone believes in Allah Ta’ala but does not believe in the Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam?

“A. The person is also a Kafir.”

The following are some questions and answers from part 3 of Noorani Talim.

“Q. What is ‘Kufr’?

“A. To disbelieve in any of the things that are compulsory to believe in Islam.

“Q. Who was the last Prophet?

“A. Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (peace be on him).

“Q. Are there going to be any Nabis [prophets] now?

“A. There will be no Nabi now. This is because our holy Prophet (peace be on him) is the seal of the prophets. If a person doubts this, then he is a Kafir.

“Q. If a person prays Namaz [i.e., the five daily prayers in Islam], fasts, etc. and believes everything of Iman-Mufassal [complete faith] but is insulting and be rude to the Prophet (peace be on him). Is this person a Muslim?

“A. No! Such a person is a Kafir and murtad [apostate].

“Q. If a person does not insult the Prophet but purposely believes that those who insult the Prophet are Muslims. Is such a person regarded as a Muslim?

“A. No! This person too is a Kafir and murtad.”…

“Q. What food and drink will be given to the Dozakhees [residents of hell]?

“A. The puss that will come out of the Dozakhees will be given to them to drink and to eat they will be given a fruit with thorns which if a part of it comes into the world with its heat and bad smell the whole world would suffer. However, the Dozakhees will eat it without any choice and it will get stuck in their throats. To obtain relief from this they will ask for water and will be given boiling hot oil to drink, which after drinking their insides will burn out.

“Q. Can you explain some other details of Dozakh?

“A. i) There is fire in the hell is every direction and everything is made from fire of Dozakh is so strong that if a pin-point of it was thrown into this world everything would die with its heat. Also if one link from the chains of the Dozakhees was to be put on top of the mountain, the mountain would shake and the link would sink in.

“ii) The face of the guard of Dozakh is so scary that if it was seen on earth all the people would die of fright.

“iii) In hell there will be snakes the size of large camels and scorpions the size of large donkeys whose bit sting would have the painful effect of up to forty years.

“iv) The last punishment given to the less sinful is that they will be shoes of fire to wear, which with the heat will boil the wearer’s brain and his head will blow open like a pan’s cover blows open.

“Q. What is the order for those who do not believe in Jannat or Dozakh?

“A. The one does not believe in Jannat or Dozakh is an Infidel (Kafir).”

The following are some questions and answers from part 5 of Noorani Talim.

“Q. What is known as Gunaah-e-Kabira?

“A. Extremely large sins are considered Gunaah-e-Kabira. The main ones include polytheism, infidelity, adultery, theft, alcohol consumption, telling lies, back-biting, telling tales, not praying Namaz, not fasting in the month of Ramadan, and not giving Zakat [alms].

“Q. If one does not perform Gunaah-e-Kabira then will he not remain a Muslim?

“A. Those who perform Shirk [polytheism] or Kufr does not remain a Muslim, he then becomes a Mushrik or Kafir. As for the rest of the Kabira Gunaahs [large sins] one does stay a Muslim if he commits these sins, a very disobedient Muslim is known as ‘Faasiq.’

“Q. What is known as Shirk?

“A. To partner or treat as equal something or someone with Allah or Allah’s characteristic is considered shirk.

“Q. What is meant by to partner with something with Allah?

“A. To Partner with Allah is to believe in more than one Allah, like the Christians have three Gods, this is the reason why they are Mushriks. The Hindu faith is associated with many gods, they are also defined as Mushriks….