“Herald” (4 November 2007, Vol.14, No.43)
1. ‘The need for progress and peace’ by Terrence Netto (p.7)
Kuala Lumpur: Former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim described the letter of Muslim clerics and scholars to Pope Benedict XVI that called for a dialogue in search of common ground to overcome pressing challenges of the modern era as “an initiative that’s in the best traditions of those periods in human history when intellectuals sought to bridge gulfs rather than be petrified by them.”
Anwar, one of its more than 130 signatories, said he believed human civlisation progressed in two ways: “Through intellectual and moral enlightenment or through the experience of chaos.”
“I would plump for the former and pray for the avoidance of the latter,” said Anwar who was interviewed at his home in Bukit Segambut during a Hari Raya open house attended by over 15,000 people.
Anwar, who lectured at the Jesuit-run Georgetown University in Washington in 2005 and 2006, said the letter must be seen as part of a continuum that included the unsuccessful initiative of the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to seek common ground with Muslim scholars at a seminar in Kuala Lumpur last April that was cancelled at the eleventh hour. Anwar is now back to focus on pushing reforms in the country.
Anwar, a supporter of Archbishop Williams’ initiative, had argued with Muslim groups who frowned on the seminar’s quest to find common perspectives in the Christian and Muslim traditions on what it is to be human. Some Muslim groups had opposed the effort, but Anwar appealed to reason.
“Throughout history, when civilizations competed for dominance, it was scholars and thinkers who sought to distinguish truth from error and thus broke new ground that steer towards progress and peace,” he commented. “See how Thomas Aquinas benefited from the thought of Muslim thinkers Averroes and Avicenna. Aquinas drew insight from them and succeeded in his attempt to ‘christianise’ Aristotle which was considered a breakthrough in the 12th century,” said Anwar.
“Scholars and intellectuals must lead when humanity is at a crossroads like we are now. They must distil understanding from their study of the past and prepare insight for the future. “There are common values between Islam and Christianity. Justice is a paramount value in Islam and being your brother’s keeper means that Christians cannot be indifferent to the fate of the other. “Between concern for justice and compassion for the afflicted, isn’t there a range of issues that can propel Muslims and Christians to act in concord for the betterment of humanity?” asked Anwar.
2.‘Vatican disappoints Muslim scholars’by Tom Heneghan (p.10)
(Lily's Note: This is a reproduced article from The Tablet dated 27 October 2007)
The Muslim scholars who appealed earlier this month to Christian leaders for high-level dialogue have expressed their impatience to the Pope and their concern about what they see as negative comments by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.
Sheikh Dr Izz Al-Din Ibrahim, one of the appeal's 138 signatories, brought up the issue with the Pope when they shared a table for lunch at the start of the Sant'Egidio interfaith International Meeting in Naples last Sunday. He also handed Cardinal Tauran a letter signed on behalf of the Muslim scholars that recalled how Muslims appreciated Pope John Paul II's "gracious" attitude towards Islam and the many positive responses other Christian leaders had sent following their letter.
"However, Muslims are still awaiting a proper response from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for this unprecedented initiative," the letter said. "An initial cautiously positive response from the re-established Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue [of which Cardinal Tauran is president] quickly turned negative a few days later."
Cardinal Tauran gave a cautious welcome to the call for dialogue a day after it was launched on 11 October (The Tablet, 20 October), calling the letter "an encouraging sign, since it demonstrates that goodwill and dialogue are able to overcome prejudices". But a few days later he told the French Catholic daily La Croix that Christians could not hold a serious theological dialogue with Muslims because Islamic scholars saw the Qur'an as the literal word of God. He also said that any talks would have to discuss reciprocity of religious freedoms, specifically the ban on church-building in some Islamic countries.
The letter to Cardinal Tauran warned that ruling out a theological exchange "misses the very point of dialogue. Dialogue is by definition between people of different views ... Dialogue is not about imposing one's views on the other side, nor deciding oneself what the other side is and is not capable of, nor even of what the other side believes. Dialogue starts with an open hand and an open heart."
It also noted a further point that has irritated Muslims: "Unfortunately, even the annual Eid greeting gesture, kindly established during the time of John Paul II, has been made polemical of late." The 2006 and 2007 Vatican messages at the end of Ramadan called on all faiths to oppose terrorism and violence, an element not found in earlier messages.
Asked about the latest letter, Cardinal Tauran said that the Vatican wanted to respond quickly but had to study how to do this. "The Pope cannot respond and sign a collective letter," he told the French Catholic news agency I. Media, adding that he (Cardinal Tauran) would probably sign any all-Christian response. He said that his responses were meant to be positive but also to voice some questions. "When we speak of the love of God, are we speaking of the same love?" he asked, adding that he had discussed a common response with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
In an interview with Vatican Radio on Tuesday he said that the letter was a positive signal to Christians. "There are some new elements. When they mention Jesus they quote the New Testament, not the Qur'an." Meanwhile the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, told Vatican Radio that he was canvassing other Christian leaders about an all-Christian response. There were "various theoretical possibilities" and "proper face-to-face discussions" were desirable, he said, but facilitating these would be "quite a logistical challenge".
3.‘Editorial’ (p.10)
‘In search of a common word’
The surprise letter from the 138 Muslim Scholars and other officials of Islam around the world is indeed a breath of fresh air; exactly a year ago, 38 Muslim scholars had written a letter to Pope Benedict in response to his Regensburg Lecture. The most recent letter, was addressed first to Pope Benedict XVI and then to other Christian Denominational Leaders.
There were many responses to this letter, especially from the denominational leaders, in praise of the effort of these scholars Two(sic) Jesuits who have dialogued with the Muslims for decades also responded but differently! All of these letters can be read on the Common Word official website (http://www.acommonword.com/).
Pope Benedict has yet to respond to this letter. How he will do it is difficult to fathom at this moment. He may not respond merely with words of good will and praise. The Pope will also have to respond to the critical theological problems that are neatly embedded in the well thought out letter.
While we await the Pope’s response, we can safely say that this moment is indeed an opportune time to extend our hand of friendship to our Muslim brethren and begin to live the LOVE OF GOD. This is the beginning of a new era of dialogue. So far, it has been difficult to dialogue with the Muslims because they have often had a ‘closed agenda’. Hence dialogue has been a mere formal encounter and learning to be polite always.
We must admit that the scholars have written a courageous letter and they hope to see some possibility of dialogue through the fundamental Christian theme of ‘love’. Yet, ‘love’ is not as freely attributed to God as in the Bible; neither is it a pervasive word or dominant theme in the Holy Qur’an. (omit) This is a doctorial problem that can never be compromised. (omit) This is further emphasized when the scholars say that God confirms in the Holy Qur’an that the Prophet Muhammad brought nothing fundamentally or essentially new: Naught is said to thee (Muhammad) but what already was said to the messengers before thee (Fussilat 41:43).
As these scholars search for a common word, nearer home, our local scholars or more specifically civil servants are setting up barriers that can isolate the non-Muslims from the Muslims by creating unsubstantiated and trivial arguments about certain words that they claim belong exclusively to Muslims. The use of a language in its totality is a fundamental right of the people who use it. No one should parcel out a section of the language for his or her own exclusive use.
It is noteworthy and in contradiction to the presumptions of our local scholars that these eminent men, in writing the letter in English, DID NOT USE THE WORD ALLAH BUT INSTEAD USED THE WORD GOD. In the various translations of their letter they have translated the word GOD according to the language.
So it logically follows that a COMMON WORD BETWEEN US AND YOU for God in Malay is ALLAH!
(End)
Lily's note: The green colour was added by Lily for emphasis.
