Ramin Jahanbegloo at Reset – Dialogues On Civilization argues that “nonviolence for Gandhi was not just a political tactic, but spirituality and a way of life,” and that his views were influenced by Muslim nonviolent activists:
For [Ghandi] the basic principles of religions were not just pious ideals, but actual laws of action in the world. Maybe this is why Gandhi challenged fervent believers of different religions to seek God through their own active pursuit of truth and nonviolence instead of being literalist interpreters of the Hindu, Muslim or Christian scriptures. Gandhi had the good fortune to have as his colleague’s people belonging to different religions.
[…] Three important examples are C.F. Andrews, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. While Gandhi’s familiarity with Islam and his admiration for the prophet Muhammad are no secret, one has to mention also the direct influence of Muslim nonviolent activists like Ghaffar Khan and Maulana Azad on him. Many historians have ignored the fact that Gandhi had a very high esteem for Islam and regarded it as a religion of peace, love, kindness and brotherhood of all men. As Gandhi himself said in this connection, “I do regard Islam to be a religion of peace in the same sense as Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism are.” (Young India, 10.7.1924). Gandhi was also impressed by the personal and social codes of behavior that Islam prescribed, like prayer, fasting and alms giving. This respectful response of Gandhi to Islam was neither a matter of political pragmatism, nor a façade to unify Muslims and Hindus during the struggle for independence, but it went far beyond to a philosophical understanding of the very essence of Islam.
Read the full paper here.