|
||
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Further Responses to "A Common Word"
[This post is a continuation of a discussion of the recent "open letter to the Pope" [and Christian community at large] by 138 Muslim scholars and reactions -- prior posts in this series: "A Common Word" and Christian-Muslim Dialogue 10/27/07; Fr. Christian Troll: Response to "A Common Word" 10/28/07]
Magister: Pope and Muslims "at a great distance" Sandro Magister turns his attention to the "open letter to the Pope" (and all Christians) -- entitled "A Common Word Between Us and You" -- from Muslim scholars, and speculates: Why Benedict XVI Is So Cautious with the Letter of the 138 Muslims (www.Chiesa November 26, 2007): Benedict XVI and the directors of the Holy See appear more cautious and reserved toward this flurry of dialogue.Magister goes on to examine the kind of dialogue that Pope Benedict XVI wants -- as conveyed in a passage of his Christmas address to the Roman curia, on December 22, 2006: "In a dialogue to be intensified with Islam, we must bear in mind the fact that the Muslim world today is finding itself faced with an urgent task. This task is very similar to the one that has been imposed upon Christians since the Enlightenment, and to which the Second Vatican Council, as the fruit of long and difficult research, found real solutions for the Catholic Church.Says Magister: "The letter of the 138 contains no trace of this proposal that Benedict XVI issued to the Muslim world in December one year ago. This is a sign that there is truly a great distance between the visions of these two." That said, IslamOnline.net anticipates a Vatican response in the near future: "The Vatican will respond positively, and quite soon," Dakar Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr told Reuters on Sunday, November 25, during a ceremony to install 23 new members of the College of Cardinals.Nayed vs. Tauran: No Dialogue Possible?
Numerous sources have cited Cardinal Tauran's rather blunt dismissal of the possibility of theological dialogue with Muslims, because "Muslims do not accept the possibility of discussing the Quran, because it is written, they say, as dictated by God" and "with such a strict interpretation, it is difficult to discuss the content of faith." Arif Ali Nayed, one of the original signers of "A Common Word", responded in an interview with Cindy Wooden of the Catholic News Service (Islamica Magazine, No. 20): Cardinal Tauran’s statement to Le Croix was very disappointing indeed. It came at a time of high expectation of responsiveness, and on the eve of the important Naples Sant’Egidio encounter. Many people were expecting Pope Benedict XVI to say something positive about the Muslim scholars’ initiative. Alas, a truly historic opportunity for a loving embrace was simply missed.Nayed goes on to specifically rebut Tauran's charges, noting the double irony in that it "accuses Muslims of an imaginary theological/hermeneutical closure that is more appropriately attributable to the Vatican’s own pre-1943 closure to historical-critical methodologies" and "holds that upholding the divine authorship of a sacred text is a hindrance to theological dialogue." If such belief in divine authorship prevents its adherents from theological dialogue, then the Cardinal would have the same dialogical inhibitions that he imagines Muslim scholars to have. . . .See also: Scholars troubled by Vatican official's remarks on Muslim dialogue Catholic News Service. October 31, 2007: Jesuit Fr Daniel A. Madigan, who serves as a consultant to the commission for relations with Muslims at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said many Christians misunderstand how Muslims view the Quran, leading to a widespread prejudice that assumes Muslims are unwilling or incapable of interpreting the Quran. Further Catholic Responses Muslims have been waiting a response "from the top" to the letter, but that is not to say Catholics haven't responded -- individually (Fr. Samir Khalil, Fr. Troll, Cardinal Scola) and collectively (USCCB). Cardinal Pell of Australia also mentioned the letter recently, in an address entitled Prospects for peace and rumours of war: Religion and democracy in the years ahead October 29, 2007 (LifeSite News), who praised the letter as a "helpful initiative": This letter is one of the most authoritative statements we have seen from Muslim leaders supporting dialogue and friendship between Christians and Muslims, based on a shared belief in God as the God of love, and in the commandment to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. [...]George Weigel, on the other hand, is less than hopeful about the prospects of dialogue -- also taking note of the omission of the Pope's December address to the Roman Curia) ("A Disappointing Call for Dialogue" The Catholic Difference. November 7, 2007): For unless Islam can find within its own spiritual resources a way to legitimate religious freedom and the distinction between religious and political authority, the relationship between two billion Christians and a billion Muslims is going to remain fraught with tension. "A Common Word" speaks at length about the two Great Commandments; it says nothing about their applicability to issues of faith, freedom, and the governance of society: issues posed, for example, by the death threats visited upon Muslims who convert to Christianity and by the refusal to allow Christian public worship in Saudi Arabia. "A Common Word" also seems rather defensive, as if it were 21st century Christians who, in considerable numbers, were justifying the murder of innocents in advancing the cause of God. But that is manifestly not the case. . . . In the latest issue of Oasis, Paolo Branca, Senior Researcher and Assistant Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Catholic University of Milan, hails the document as "A Word to be Read and Spread in the Muslim World": As we are aware, the Islamic authorities are often influenced by the regimes of the countries where they live, but on this occasion it would seem that the need not to interrupt communication at a religious level has prevailed in respect of any potential reticence or orientations, more or less imposed. Indeed, the document does not linger on the polemic points which have predominated in the preceding intervention but seeks to return to the essence of the two respective traditions in order to identify common elements. . . .In "The Christians of Arabia Wonder about the Open Letter", Bishop Paul Hinder, OFM Cap, believes that the letter "should not be left without a positive answer from the Christian side, although there are many open questions": Every effort to draw closer to a common understanding is welcome, even though it might be a very tiny beginning. Of course, there has to be further clarification about whether "the love of God" and the "love of neighbour" have the same meaning in both religions. Another crucial point might be that Christians cannot simply see Jesus Christ as one among other prophets, but profess him in his divinity as the living Son of God within the belief in One God in three Persons. However, the open letter can be a first important step in discovering a common ground that will later allow also a common word. Will this word also be a clear one, and not only a common one?Howbeit expressing his concern about the omission of the Jews from the document: The lack is the more regrettable as the central importance of the Jews today is crucial because of the political situation in the Middle East, a question requiring an answer which may be found at least partially in the application of the two main commandments by all who are involved. A common word should therefore include also the Jews.[According to the FAQ accompanying the letter: "Jewish scriptures are invoked repeatedly and respectfully in the document by way of preparing the ground for a further document specifically addressed to Jewish scholars" and "the problems between Jews and Muslims are essentially political not theological" -- I'm curious to see how this plays out]. Discussions on Catholic Blogs Returning to the blogosphere, DarwinCatholic and Wheat & Reeds have responded thoughtfully to my posts on this subject. I'll try to respond in kind. First, in Peace Through Strength In The Muslim World, Wheat and Weeds wonders: "To what extent do we owe this letter --which I take as meaningful and a sign of progress-- precisely to the Iraq war, since Muslims don't make the distinction we do between faith and politics?" -- recalling an earlier column by John Allen, Jr. on Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria. According to the general secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria, it was only when Christians responded with firm resolve and defended themselves against Muslim-initiated violence that they saw the need to come to the table: "They saw our people have resolve, and that's when the decision was made to form a consultative forum of religious leaders." Along the same lines: . . . while the letter is ostensibly a response to Benedict XVI's Regensberg lecture, and I take nothing away from the Pope --I think his "hard line" (really just a hard question) provoked this response, I wonder if we don't have to see Benedict & Bush as a tag team in favor of Muslim moderation, as Reagan and JP the Great overcame Soviet Communism. I am certainly appreciative of the firm resolve of the Bush Administration in waging a war against Al Qaeda and Islamic terrorism, which in Iraq finally seems to be bearing some fruit along these lines. (Writing for The Long War Journal Nov. 17, 2007 -- Bill Roggio reported that prominent Sunni clerics, who once supported, justified, or remained silent about al Qaeda's terror tactics, have now turned on the leading Sunni religious establishment that supports al Qaeda in Iraq). On the other hand, this is not to say that a good number of Muslims on their own initiative have been moved to reflect on the religious perversions that culminated in the horror of 9/11 and subsequent atrocities across the globe, or have repudiated unjust bloodshed in Allah's name. See for example Khaled M. Abou El Fadl's The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists; Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Traditional Muslim Writers and The State We Are In: Identity, Terror, and the Law of Jihad - an anthology of responses to the London bus and subway bombings in 2005, including Shaykh Mohammad Afifi al-Akiti's "Defending the Transgressed by Censuring the Reckless against the Killing of Civilians" -- a fatwa given in direct response to UK-based jihadi group. Contrary to popular perception, many of those offended are not "moderates" but rather can be described as "traditional" Muslims, who frame the debate rather differently. Aftab Ahmad Malik elaborates: Today, to reform is seen as a major way to purge extremism, but it is precisely through reform that extremist groups such as Al Qaeda are able to construct their jihadist worldview and claim legitimacy. In addition, the extremists and the reformers share some commonalities. Both want the right to reinterpret Islam as they see fit which can only be achieved by dismissing Islamic tradition. By doing so, both vest every Muslim with the competence to be a jurist. At the heart of both the extremist and reformist understanding of Islam is the individual and the self: there is no need to study the traditional Islamic sciences nor is there any need for recourse to the learned scholars as these give way to an "expression of a personal relationship [...] to faith and knowledge." It should come as no suprise, then, to learn that "few Al Qaeda operatives [...] have a religious education," [with] most having been trained within secular institutions and in technical fields, and it is extremely telling that Osama bin Laden referred to the 9/11 hijackers as belonging to no traditional school of Islamic law.(The State We Are In p. 26) It was toward this end that The Amman Message was conceived. Convened by an international Islamic summit to establish a consensus as to "what Islam does and does not allow, who is a Muslim and who can speak for Islam": First, the declaration recognized the legitimacy and common principles of all eight of the traditional schools of Islamic religious law (madhhabs) from the Sunni, Shi’i and Ibadi branches of Islam, and of Su, Ash’ari and moderate Sala Islamic thought. Second, it defined the necessary qualifications and conditions for issuing legitimate fatwas. This, in and of itself, defines the limits and borders of Islam and Islamic behavior. Amongst other things, it exposes the illegitimacy of the so-called ‘fatwas’ extremists use to justify terrorism, as these invariably contravene traditional Islamic sacred law (Shari’ah) and betray Islam’s core principles. Third, the declaration condemned the practice known as takfir (calling others “apostates”), a practice that is used by extremists to justify violence against those who do not agree with them.What is the potential of such a consensus? -- According to the website: This amounts to a historical, universal and unanimous religious and political consensus (ijma') of the Ummah (nation) of Islam in our day, and a consolidation of traditional, orthodox Islam. The significance of this is: (1) that it is the first time in over a thousand years that the Ummah has formally and specifically come to such a pluralistic mutual inter-recognition; and (2) that such a recognition is religiously legally binding on Muslims since the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) said: My Ummah will not agree upon an error (Ibn Majah, Sunan, Kitab al-Fitan, Hadith no.4085).Something that may (we hope) bear some good fruit over time. In A Common Word: Islam and the Limits of Dialogue, DarwinCatholic expresses his reservations about the kind of "dialogue" anticipated by the signatories to "A Common Word": While I respect the sincerity of the signatories of A Common Word, and agree that the three great monotheistic religions do share in common principles of love of God and love of neighbor, I'm not clear how much of the deeper dialogue which they wish the Vatican were more open to is actually possible. For once we have discussed the love of God and love of neighbor, where exactly could we go from there? The one-ness of God, it would seem, and yet here we immediately run into one of the great historic differences between our faiths. Islam does not admit as possible that God should be three in one. And while explaining the Trinity in such terms as to be understandable to a Muslim audience would be a worthy occupation, if a consensus on this were achieved my understanding is that this would consist (for the Muslims) of rejecting traditional Islam. You cannot, so far as I can understand, both accept the trinity and be a good Muslim.We certainly cannot bridge the gap between the Muslim conception of Allah and Christianity's own Trinitarian convictions with fine words and diplomatic niceties. To concur with Fr. Troll, Christianity's Trinitarian convictions are ". . . not an aspect of Christianity that can be negotiated away. In this regard there are some slight ambiguities in the Open Letter, moments at which a Christian might feel that it is suggesting that there are no fundamental differences between the theologies of the two faiths, or at least that these differences do not really matter. While the warm, inviting tone of the Open Letter’s appeal to Christians is enormously encouraging, it is to be hoped that this can be held together with an approach which takes utterly seriously the points at which Christians and Muslims differ and does not encourage a diplomatic evasion of these points for the sake of a dialogue which would suffer as a result.However, I am not wholly convinced that the intent of the signatories is a veiled call for conversion. As mentioned in my first post, the document ends with an Islamic theological affirmation of religious pluralism: For each We have appointed a law and a way. Had God willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He hath given you (He hath made you as ye are). So vie one with another in good works. Unto God ye will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein ye differ. (Al- Ma’idah, 5:48)While I would not begrudge Muslims their desire to convert us (after all, don't we Christians have the 'Great Commission'?), the letter's conclusion (setting the stage for future discussions) present a challenge to those for whom the very existence of non-Muslims is considered intolerable. In this, "A Common Word" presents itself as a challenge to Muslims as well. To quote Dr. Nayed in his introduction to the letter: I whole-heartly believe that the true promise of this vital document, “A Common Word”, is that it is a first, but monumental step, toward retrieving and reliving the true Muslim way that was vividly described, long ago, by a spiritual master named Sidi Ahmed al-Rifa’i:Both Magister and Weigel reference in their writings the Pope's address to the Roman Curia as a basis for Christian-Muslim dialogue. Perhaps we should also take our cues from the Pope's address in November 2006 in meeting with Turkey's Religious Affairs Director, Ali Bardakoglu: Christians and Muslims belong to the family of those who believe in the one God and who, according to their respective traditions, trace their ancestry to Abraham [cf. Second Vatican Council, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate, 1,3]. This human and spiritual unity in our origins and our destiny impels us to seek a common path as we play our part in the quest for fundamental values so characteristic of the people of our time. As men and women of religion, we are challenged by the widespread longing for justice, development, solidarity, freedom, security, peace, defence of life, protection of the environment and of the resources of the earth. This is because we too, while respecting the legitimate autonomy of temporal affairs, have a specific contribution to offer in the search for proper solutions to these pressing questions.Here, Benedict's message encompasses both the essential goal of "A Common Word" (addressing "the meaning and purpose of life, for each individual and for humanity as a whole" and identifying that which Christians and Muslims have in common -- love of God and neighbor, AND the framework in which that love is to be manifested: "freedom of religion, institutionally guaranteed and respected in practice." Q: Is the dialogue anticipated by Nayed really "entirely different" from that envisioned by the Pope?
|
Against The Grain is the personal blog of Christopher Blosser - web designer
and all around maintenance guy for the original Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club (Now Pope Benedict XVI).
Blogroll
Religiously-Oriented
"Secular"
|