Muslim-Christian Relations
Writing by abuhatem on Sunday, 25 of May , 2008 at 12:41 am
My blog is about politics, not religion. I am not a religious scholar, and although I discuss the natural law and natural order, I do so in a mostly political context. However, often religion has political connotations, and I find it useful to include religion in my bloggings. As I am not an Islamic scholar who attended seminary for 20, or often 30 years, and have not memorized the Qur’an nor the compilations of hadith, Islamic logic, Islamic philosophy and theology, spirituality, Arabic grammar, et. al. I do not feel it is appropriate that I go too deep into religion lest I fall off the deep end.
However, one issue I have been a strong proponent of has been rectifying Muslim-Christian relations. Oftentimes Muslims do not understand Christians, their theology, their religion, or their communities. The same goes for Christians. I attended Catholic school where we learned the Catholic mass, and studied Catholic social teaching. Yet I was born, and remain, an orthodox and devoutly believing Sunni Muslim. I have read such Christian writers as of course the four gospels and their exegesis, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Claire, William of Ockham, Blaise Pascal, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, and in the modern era popes Leo, Pius, Benedict, John Paul, and Benedict (I apologize to my Catholic friends, I don’t know their exact numbers!).
On the Muslim side I have read such religious/philosophical writers as Imam al-Ash’ari, Imam al-Baqillani, Imam al-Maturidi, Imam al-Tahawi, Imam al-Taftazani, Al-Ghazali, Averroes, Ibn Tufayl, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Al-Dawwani, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Abi Diyaf, Imam al-Shatibi, etc.
I am not a syncrenist. I do not attempt to merge the religions together and their theologies, I know there is way too much disagreement between the two for this to ever happen, and I believe in the truth of my tradition. However, I do believe there is much more theology, both in our beliefs about God and in our beliefs about man, nature, and social teaching, that is in common.
The Qur’an calls for Muslims to reach a “common word” with Christians and Jews, that both will worship none but God. The consensus of Muslim scholars around the world have written a new document entitled “A Common Word Between Us and You” to attempt to bridge the gap between the Muslims and the Christians, especially after recent events. The document notes, if Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world will not be at peace.
Peace amongst peoples does not mean rejection of either faith tradition or playing the politically correct “thought police,” of neo-Marxism which sees all religions as “equally false” and thus tells us to respect all “equally.” Of course Muslims will see their faith as the truth, and Christians will see theres as the same thing. Muslims in fact see their faith as an extension of the true Christian faith, while Christians see Islam as a heresy of the Christian faith. None will force any other to believe anything, there is no compulsion in religion.
However there are two commandments, in both Islam and Christianity, which if followed will lead to what St. Thomas Aquinas calls “imperfect happiness.” A secular worldly happiness which will prevent the manifestation of various pathologies. Both conform to the natural order of God, and we both believe strongly that they are the superior truth. They are Christ’s first and second commandments, and the first and second commandments of Islam - Love your Lord God with all of your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Loving your neighbor as yourself is a very hard commandment indeed. Yet its spiritual and societal benefits are self-evident. Loving your enemies and doing good to those who hurt you are amongst the hardest of spiritual struggles. I have blogged about this before, and I urge you to read my blog entry concerning it.
“A Common Word” aims at urging us both to follow these two commandments. The Catholic Church attempted at bridging these gaps and beginning an ecumenic dialogue in its historic Nostra Aetate which contained an entire section devoted to Muslims. Pope Benedict has also urged that churches be allowed to be built in the Islamic world. Just this week the head of the Council of Islamic Scholars affirmed the right for Christians to build churches in Muslim countries, saying:
“It is completely permissible that they should be allowed to have churches.”
Catholics comprise the majority of Qatar’s estimated 70,000 Christian expatriates.
The Gulf region has in recent years set out an example of religious tolerance as several countries have been allocating pieces of land to Christian minorities to build their own churches.
Bahrain, who has about 1,000 Christian citizens including a woman member of an appointed consultative council, hosts the first church of the Gulf region, founded in 1906 by American Anglican missionaries.
Other Gulf states, like Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, have churches that cater to hundreds of thousands of expats and, in some cases, tiny local communities.
Qaradawi based his view, which goes in line with Abu Hanifa’s, on the Muslim principle of equal treatment.
“Just like they allow Muslims in their countries to build mosques for prayers.”
In many of the cities of Syria there has been peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims for centuries. In fact, it is well known that Christians in the city of Homs protected Muslims from French during its status as a French protectorate.
Let us both, Christians and Muslims, walk hand in hand (at least those of us on both sides who want peace, as we both know there are those on both sides who will absolutely hate the other no matter what) praying the prayer of the venerable St. Francis who said:
Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, make me sow love
Category: Uncategorized
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Meneame -
- Digg
No comments yet.
