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"Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians."
The focus of this "olive branch" is on Christian/Muslim relations specifically. The Jews get a mention in parenthesis towards the end (even a mention is remarkable to me, considering the animosity that exists between Arab Muslims and Jews because of the state of Israel), but no other religious group is discussed. The argument, of course, is that peace between Muslims and Christians is vital to the stability and peace of our world, considering how many of us there are compared to people of other faiths.
Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him). (Aal ‘Imran 3:64)
It is from this translation of the Qur'an that these Muslim leaders derived the title "A Common Word." The trouble is that, to me, this verse and others appear to be describing that "common word" as an agreement to the unity of God. That in itself isn't a problem, but one wonders what this passage means about "no partner." Most Christians affirm that God is one Being in three Persons, triune without division. This, I am certain, is not what Muslims mean when they speak of God being one.
For me, this poses a challenge to the entire argument made by "A Common Word" love for God should be one of the legs our interfaith relations stands on. If we cannot agree on basic facts of His nature, how can this be considered a point of peace?
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the pious. (Al-Baqarah 2:177)
Basic honesty and integrity are enjoined in this passage, which is laudable. Christians sometimes get upset with charges of hypocrisy when some don't live up to the faith's high calling. We argue that just because some or even many fail to follow the teachings of Scripture properly that doesn't mean the faith is incorrect. The Word of God is true, despite the failings of those who hold to it. Clearly from this passage above we can see that the same may be said of Muslims. Caring for those in need, showing hospitality, keeping one's word and even setting slaves free are set as the proper conduct of those who say they are Muslim. We may see the failings of those who claim Islam as their faith to fulfill these standards, but that is no argument against the standards themselves.
Whilst Islam and Christianity are obviously different religions—and whilst there is no minimising some of their formal differences—it is clear that the Two Greatest Commandments are an area of common ground and a link between the Qur’an, the Torah and the New Testament. What prefaces the Two Commandments in the Torah and the New Testament, and what they arise out of, is the Unity of God—that there is only one God. For the Shema in the Torah, starts: (Deuteronomy 6:4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! Likewise, Jesus u said: (Mark 12:29) “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one”. Likewise, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He, God, is One. / God, the Self-Sufficient Besought of all. (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Thus the Unity of God, love of Him, and love of the neighbour form a common ground upon which Islam and Christianity (and Judaism) are founded.
This could not be otherwise since Jesus said: (Matthew 22:40)“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Moreover, 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). And: Say (Muhammad): I am no new thing among the messengers (of God), nor know I what will be done with me or with you. I do but follow that which is Revealed to me, and I am but a plain warner (Al-Ahqaf, 46:9). Thus also God in the Holy Qur’an confirms that the same eternal truths of the Unity of God, of the necessity for total love and devotion to God (and thus shunning false gods), and of the necessity for love of fellow human beings (and thus justice), underlie all true religion: And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger,(proclaiming): Worship God and shun false gods. Then some of them (there were) whom God guided, and some of them (there were) upon whom error had just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequence for the deniers! (Al-Nahl, 16:36)
Again, as I mentioned above, this issue of "the unity of God" will not go away.
When I was a teenager I left the Roman Catholic Church and joined a mainline Protestant denomination. There was a song I thought especially beautiful that we sang, entitled: "Morning Has Broken." One day I mentioned to one of the Pastor's teenage sons that I liked the song, and he told me that the man who wrote it, Cat Stevens, had converted to Islam years ago. I said, "Oh, what a shame." My friend replied, "Why? We worship the same God!"
As any good pagan might tell you, not all gods are the same. Just because a person is a monotheist does not mean his or her god is the same one in whom I trust. When I hear atheists say they don't believe in god, and when they go on to explain what god it is they don't believe in, I usually have to agree with them. I don't believe in that god either, more often than not.
So when we talk about the god of Islam, we have to look at was Islam means when it talks about this god. If he is triune, consisting of father, son and holy spirit, and if Jesus of Nazareth is the second person in that trinity, then this is the same Being I worship. On the other hand, if this god is one that only sent Jesus as a prophet, and if this god has no children (whether the only-begotten son of god or children by adoption), then this is not the same Being I worship.
Having said all of this, I'd like to point out that "A Common Word" also argues for love of neighbor as common ground. To me, this is the only point we really have in common. It will be more fruitful, I believe, for us to work on an discuss this point in interfaith dialogue than for us to expend time and energy on the nature of God. One matter that may complicate this is the way both Islam and Christianity call on people to repent and believe their messages. I don't believe that Christians can forsake this central aspect of their lived faith without giving up on the faith entirely. Christianity without the proclamation that Jesus is Lord is not Christianity at all. Likewise it does no justice to Islam to obligate those who believe in the Qur'an to stop calling the world to submission to Allah. Both faiths must be free to proclaim their message to believers and non-believers, but what must be sought is an environment of freedom and mutual respect. This is the most difficult task of all, I believe, and one that will require a lot of teaching on both sides combined with sincere and devoted effort.
In other words, that Muslims, Christians and Jews should be free to each follow what God commanded them, and not have ‘to prostrate before kings and the like’; for God says elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an: Let there be no compulsion in religion…. (Al-Baqarah, 2:256). This clearly relates to the Second Commandment and to love of the neighbour of which justicexxii and freedom of religion are a crucial part. God says in the Holy Qur’an: God forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! God loveth the just dealers. (Al-Mumtahinah, 60:8)
This is the only time that the Jews are mentioned in this document, which of course was addressed to Christian leaders. The olive branch was extended by Muslims to Christians, but the Jews get a mention. I'm impressed that they got this much, considering the terrible rancor that exists in the Muslim world due to the existence of the nation-state of Israel and the plight of the Palestinians. This serves to me as a hopeful sign that, if this "Common Word" is well-received and discussed among Christians and finds implementation, and if the peace process can proceed in Israel, then perhaps some measure of reconciliation can be found between Jews and Muslims as well. Granted, we are probably far from that, if ever it can be done, but it is certainly worth the effort.
As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them—so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes, (in accordance with the verse of the Holy Qur’an [Al-Mumtahinah, 60:8] quoted above).
Christendom had its crusades against Islam and Muslims (Turks and Moors) repeatedly tried to invade Europe. For most Westerners this is just medieval history, but for many in the Muslim world it is treated as a live subject. This is even more the case now with the present American war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though officially the reason for the Iraq war was national security, Muslims have a hard time believing it isn't because of religion and/or cultural dominance.
Christians and others in the West, for their part, know well the stories of conversion at the point of a sword to Islam (I'm sorry, it happened, so it won't do for me to politely pretend it didn't any more that it will work for me to deny the mass forced conversions of people to Christianity throughout history, including Jews and Muslims in Spain during the Inquisition). Muslims hijacked planes and flew them into buildings on 9/11 because of their faith, and the group they were a part of calls for the conversion of Americans and others to Islam. "A Common Word" is quite right in calling for a separation of proselytizing from violence. Implementation is the challenge.
Finding common ground between Muslims and Christians is not simply a matter for polite ecumenical dialogue between selected religious leaders. Christianity and Islam are the largest and second largest religions in the world and in history. Christians and Muslims reportedly make up over a third and over a fifth of humanity respectively. Together they make up more than 55% of the world’s population, making the relationship between these two religious communities the most important factor in contributing to meaningful peace around the world. If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace. With the terrible weaponry of the modern world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world’s inhabitants. Thus our common future is at stake. The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake.
So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill.
Overall, I was impressed by "A Common Word." That Muslim scholars would do such detailed research, including word studies from the Bible, shows that they are sincere and prepared to make the effort they can for peace. Its now up to the rest of us to take up the challenge and prayerfully pursue the goal of "harmony and mutual goodwill."
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