Peaceful Coexistence in Islam In the non-Muslim world the question is whether Muslims and non-Muslims can coexist peacefully together? They base this question on the fact that they see and know that in the Muslim world non-Muslims are treated very badly. The answer to the previous question from the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet is that they can, should and must. But this is not a rhetorical statement. I have to support this statement, on what basis I say this. Saying emphatically “yes” to the above question is based on Islamic values. I will list a few that can be fully documented from the primary sources of Islam. The first value is the value of Peace. It's not just rhetoric, the fact that Islam means peace... it's much deeper than that. Islam itself means and requires having peace with Allah, the Creator, resulting in inner peace within oneself; with all of Allah's creations, be it human beings (Muslim or non-Muslim) or animals or plants and even ecology, submitting to the Will of Allah and following His guidance as sincerely and fully as one can. The second value is firm faith in Allah (God) who is the creator of everything in the Heavens and Earth. This is not simple dogma; because when we say that God is one then all humanity is also one, coming from the same source. The Prophet of Islam said it so beautifully: People (not just Muslims) are the dependency of Allah and the most beloved among them in the sight of Allah are those who are most benevolent towards this dependency of Allah. The third value is accepting and honoring all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah whose central message was exactly the same to achieve peace at all levels with the sole medium of paper......and goodness. Finally there is the value of mercy. The Prophet was sent as mercy to all the worlds (mercy to humans, animals, plants and even the environment). We must understand the context in which Muslims were allowed to fight. It is said that Jesus Christ (pbuh) only preached peace but Muhammad (pbuh) killed many people. This is the perfect example of a half-truth. In fact Jesus Christ (pbuh), as recorded in the Gospels, said, all those who do not want me (Jesus) to rule over them, then bring them here and kill them before me. And in fact the Prophet Muhammad, as noted in the Quran, detested fighting. But for the love of Allah he did it. “You are enjoined to fight while it is hateful to you. But maybe you hate something and it's good for you; and maybe you love something and it hurts you. And God knows it, but you don't know it.”