Daring to Embrace the Other:: Franciscans and Muslims in Dialogue

Interreligious dialogue: A Muslim Perspective

interreligious dialogue: a muslim PersPectiVe1 IRfan a. omaR, Ph.d. I. Introduction: The Islamic tradition has been interacting with many religious and cultural civilizations since its inception in the seventh century. The religious movement of Islam first arose in Arabia and moved quickly in all different directions as a result of conquest as well as spiritual and cultural outreach. The easy access given to Muslim forces in many parts of the newly acquired lands was partly due to the fact that Islam did not seek to dismantle the pre-existing religions and their way of life. Rather Muslims sought to create what was called the “dar al-islam” or the abode of peace; they became politically in charge of their new subjects, but all other spheres of life in these communities remained largely untouched. Since the rise of the Umayyad dynasty in 661 C.E., Muslim caliphate in effect became an empire. Preservation of political power and not religious or spiritual considerations was behind almost every move of the rulers. Thus anyone who threatened or was determined to be a threat to the empire could be eliminated regardless of their religious or cultural affiliation. As a result, Muslim history is witness to as much intra-Muslim fighting as it is to inter-religious alliances, between Muslims and Christians (and in India, between Muslims and Hindu rulers). This fact of history essentially deconstructs the neat dichotomization that seems to prevail in the minds of many who lend themselves to believe in misleading theories of a perpetual clash between civilizations which are supposedly ho1 This paper is based on a talk given at the 7th National Franciscan Forum , Daring to Embrace the Other: Franciscans and Muslims in Dialogue, Colorado Springs, CO, June 7-10, 2007. 113 Spirit and Life 12 (2008) Irfan A. Omar 114 mogenous and act as monolithic blocks. It is ironic in a way but it is important to note that much of the past and even contemporary violence in the name of religion has been largely intra-Muslim and intra-Christian, often carried out with the help of alliances with the supposed other. Thus we can confidently say that throughout the medieval period Muslims engaged with Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus , and others at various levels. Some of it was at the level of conflict while other interactions were for peaceful purposes such as commerce and learning. Muslims helped co-create, together with Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu scholars and thinkers a culture of intellectual and scientific inquiry. For centuries the Arabo-Persian cultural milieu provided the context for such intellectual debates and dialogues that drew all kinds of people giving rise to “la convivencia” or the peaceful co-existence of Jews, Christians , Muslims and others, most notably in Toledo but also in many other places where Arab-Muslim culture was dominant.2 In the modern period Muslims, along with believers from many other traditions, strive to engage in dialogue and discussion for the sake of creating a sustaining peace. The increase in religious extremism has compelled many to engage in dialogue seeking common wisdom and joint struggle against nonsensical violence resulting from this extremism that has been witnessed in recent decades. No religion has been immune to having groups which have committed ghastly acts against others whether those categorized as the enemy Other belong to a different religious tradition or to their own. Thus all religions must take responsibility to address this objectifying the Other as one’s enemy in the name of religion because in a globalized world any avoidable destructive force that touches one human being, or an animal, or the earth affects all of us and in many more ways than previously imagined. 2 See the excellent work which discusses this rich world of co-existence and collaboration by Maria Rosa Menocal, The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 2002). Interreligious Dialogue: A Muslim Perspective 115 Christians and Muslims belong to two of the largest organized religions in the world today. Thus they have a greater share of responsibility in addressing these pressing concerns. Nearly three billion people practice some form of Christianity or Islam. Both these religions are universal and have an ethical base laying out a clear path towards God and a clear path towards peace. In the last three decades there has emerged a...