When I joined the devotees, tolerance of other religions was strongly stressed. I was fairly anti-Christian to the point of being prejudiced against them (was raised Southern Baptist, so I had a history there, but still). Luckily for me, I had some good friends and family who set me straight.

For some folks, especially after 9/11 and during the War on Terror, the brunt of their bigotry is focused upon Muslims. Srila Prabhupada grew up in a country where many disliked Muslims, through a time when hatred for Muslims was very strong. But Srila Prabhupada took the higher road.

Srila Prabhupada often praised the Islamic people for their devotion. He particularly liked how they would broadcast their prayers over loud speakers and be very open about their spirituality. Prabhupada wasn’t just tolerant of Muslims, he was encouraging of them.

Some believe that the Muslim religion is trying to take over the world. This is simply untrue. Sure, a comparative handful of extremists would love that, but every religion has such unfortunate thinkers. Most importantly, we must remember that these are extremists, they are not the norm.

But let’s get to sastra and guru/sadhu…

Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya Lila, Vol.7. Lord Caitanya’s Visit to Sri Vrindavan.
The heart of that saintly Muslim softened upon seeing Sri Caitanya. He wanted to talk to Him and establish impersonal Brahman on the basis of his own scripture, the Koran. When that person established the impersonal (Formless) Brahman conception of the Absolute Truth on the basis of the Koran, Sri Caitanya refuted his argument. Whatever arguments he put forward, the Lord refuted them all. Finally the person became stunned and could not speak.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,” The Koran has certainly established impersonalism, but at the end it refutes that impersonalism and establishes the personal God.The Koran accepts the fact that ultimately there is only One God. He is full of opulence, and His bodily complexion is Blackish.”

In a purport from that Chapter, Srila Prabhupada writes:

According to the Muslim scripture, without evadat, offering prayers at a mosque or elsewhere 5 times daily (namaja), one cannot be successful in life. Sri Caitanya pointed out that in the revealed scripture of the Mohammedans, love of Godhead is the ultimate goal. Karma yoga and Jnana yoga are certainly described in the Koran, but ultimately the Koran states that the ultimate goal is the offering of prayers to the Supreme Person (evadat).

Srila Prabhupada’s words.
While reading through Vedabase to find quotes from Srila Prabhupada about Islam, it’s mind-boggling how many times Srila Prabhupada would say that it didn’t matter if someone was Christian or Muslim or Hindu, they should follow their religion and worship God.

Many times, Srila Prabhupada would tell Muslims to chant the names of “Allah.” “If one chants Allah or Jesus Christ, we have no objection. We don’t say that you stop it. We say that you chant the holy name of God. If that name is of God, you chant.” – June 9, 1974, Paris

On a morning walk in Bombay (March 27, 1974), Srila Prabhupada is arguing with “Makhanalal” who proposes “They [Muslims] have very much reputation for violence…” Srila Prabhupada and a “Dr. Patel” refute that.

Also, on April 22, 1974, Srila Prabhupada spoke “We have no very much study of the Muslim, but instead of criticizing others, better we shall preach our own cult. But if there is occasion when somebody attacks, then we should be prepared. But our positive business should be to inform people what is the nature of God, as they are stated in Bhagavad-gita and in Bhagavatam.”

It’s my opinion that we should take this teaching to heart. Generally, most of us don’t know much about the Muslim tradition, so instead of criticizing them, we should just go about our normal business.

We simply must become more tolerant of other people. Just look at how tolerant Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada are! Why not follow in their footsteps?

“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”
-Cc Adi 17.31

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Edit: there is a book entitled Bhakti-yoga and Islam by Airavata Dasa, if you have an interest in this subject (pro or con) maybe it would be a good idea to pick it up. I’ll be doing that shortly.