My approach to Christian-Muslim engagement is guided by three important principles: 1. A Conviction God Is Greater Than Religion 2. An Appreciation Of One Another s Religion 3. And A Critical Reflection On Our Own Religion 1
1. A Conviction That God Is Greater Than Religion I believe there are not many gods, but One God; that God is the God of Abraham; the God of Abraham does not belong exclusively to Christians, Muslims or Jews, but is the One to whom we all belong and the One who belongs to us all; and as Paul said in him we live and move and having our being (Acts 17.28) - whether we agree about our theology - or not. Eg That being so I can be open to that which is of God in all religions, like the grace of God that I often experience in encounter with my Muslim friends 2. An Appreciation Of One Another s Religion We want to improve Christian and Muslim relationships. The typical way we try to do that is what I call the problematic approach. The problematic approach focuses on the problems they have and we try to fix them. In Christian-Muslim engagement we see this happen time and time again. Christians try to fix Muslims, Muslims try to fix Christians, and both sides end up battered and bruised by our cackhanded attempts to fix each other Eg My Muslim friend Nora says she was sick of Christians trying to fix her 2
An alternative way to improve relationships is what we call the appreciative approach. Paul writes And now, brothers and sisters, let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Philippians 4.8 This is the approach Nora and I take: We appreciate good things in each other s community We analyse why those good things are so good, and We affirm good things we could do better in future Eg With young Muslim leaders 3. A Critical Reflection On Our Own Religion We need to not only affirm good things in our religions, but also confront the bad things. In Christian-Muslim engagement either people do not confront the bad things that need to be confronted, or people confront the bad things that need to be confronted by criticizing bad things about the other. The trouble is by attacking the bad things about the other we tend to only make things worse by inevitably escalating the conflict with one another. 3
Jesus told his disciples that when they were criticizing (things like religion) they needed to proceed with care: Why do you see the speck in your neighbour s eye, but do not notice the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, Let me take the speck out of your eye, while the plank is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour s eye. (Matt. 7:3-5) Eg Nora and I don t attack one another s religions, but critically reflect on the bad things within our own religious traditions, then help one another explicitly and specifically confront the bad things in our own religious traditions. has grown out of seven years of conversations with my Muslim friends like Salam, Halim and Nora critically reflecting on our religions together. Nora says, for her, reading was like walking down memory lane - 7 years of patchwork discussions were woven seamlessly together into this beautiful manuscript. 1. The first core message of is: 4
These wars have been on/off again for more than 1000 years Both sides have committed brutal atrocities against each other Every atrocity IS commits against Christians was committed at sometime or other by the Crusaders against Muslims. There have been more devastating wars among Christian states fighting each other than between so-called Christian and Muslim and Muslims than so-called Muslim states have killed Christians or Jews. True even today - 2-3000 killed in World Trade Center attack but over 100,000 killed in shock and awe invasion of Iraq 2. 5
There hasn t always been war between Christians and Muslims, There have been times of real extended peace between us. During the La Convivencia ("the Coexistence") in Spain, from the eighth century until the fifteenth century, 700 years, not only did Muslims, Christians and Jews live in relative peace, but the Muslims re-introduced Greek philosophy into Europe, promoting the Renaissance. Muslims have lived peacefully in Australia for over 200 years. We ve lived in peace in the past, we can live in peace in future 3. 6
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Our religions can be either a source of escalating conflict, or a resource for overcoming conflict. If we construct our religion as a closed set of beliefs and behaviours, we will identify ourselves against others and it will often lead to violence. Jonathan Sacks, in his latest book Not In God s Name says Once a religion becomes an identity, and an (exclusive) community, conflict will ensue But if we construct our religion as an open set of love for God and love for neighbour, we will identify with others and it ll lead to reconciliation. 4 8
To be a resource for overcoming conflict, we need to understand that the heart of true religion is open-hearted compassionate spirituality. Archbishop Desmond Tutu says, God's dream is that all of us will realize we are family - we are made for togetherness. In God s family, there are no outsiders. Black and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, Jew and Arab, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Buddhist - all belong. Now, more than ever, we need to remember that God s love is too great to be confined to any one side of a conflict or to any one religion.. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan says God has the same compassionate relationship with every (one) as a father has with all his children. Therefore it is alien to the divine scheme of creation that this earthly plane should be marred by hatred and violence. It is God s most cherished desire that love should be returned for hatred and violence should be met with peace. According to the Qur an, paradise is God s neighbourhood and in this neighbourhood only those who have compassion, (whose) actions are of benefit to others, find acceptance. 5 9
In the light of an open-hearted compassionate spirituality, we can reclaim the word jihad from extremists who have (mis)- appropriated it as call to holy war and reframe it, in truly Qur anic terms, as a sacred nonviolent struggle for justice In Reconstructing Jihad Amid Competing International Norms, Halim Rane asserts that in the Qur an the word for war is not jihad but qital, and that the word jihad means struggle not war. He says 35 verses refer to jihad; and out of those verses, 20 times jihad is used ambiguously, 11 times is used unambiguously in terms of peace, and 4 times is used unambiguously in terms of war. 10
Where the word jihad is used in the context of war, Rane says, the Qur an imposes strict rules of engagement. One, killing - except in self-defense - is considered a grievous sin. Two, war is only permitted for self-defense and self-determination. Three, all wars of aggression are forbidden. Four, if you are not specifically attacked by enemies you should not to attack them, even if they are your enemies. Five, Muslims should never ever use difference of religion with non- Muslims as an excuse for a war of aggression. Six, in war, Muslims should protect all places of worship, not only mosques, but also churches and synagogues. Seven, in war, Muslims should protect helpless men, women and children, even the accidental harm of the innocent is a grievous wrong for which those responsible are guilty. Eight, if peace is offered by your attacker, it should not be rejected, even if the sincerity of the offer is dubious, as God always wants his people to seek peace. In terms of this criteria, no current war is valid jihad. 11
Qader Muheideen says the purpose of jihad ultimately is to put an end to structural violence, and we must choose means consistent with that end. Muheideen says for jihadists to end violence we have to choose nonviolent means. He says there are many important Islamic reasons to reframe jihad as a nonviolent struggle: a. Any violence must be governed by Qur anic rules of engagement b. If violence used in warfare or terror campaigns cannot discriminate between combatants and noncombatants, it is unacceptable to Islam. c. Modern technologies of destruction, used in warfare or terror today, like drones and bombs, render discrimination really impossible. d. So in fighting in today s conflicts, Muslims must not use violence. e. Islam teaches Muslims to fight for justice in light of the truth that human lives are genuinely sacred so taking human lives is a grievous sin. f. In order to be true to Islam, Muslims must use nonviolent strategies in the struggle, submission to Allah and peaceful civil disobedience. 6 12
Jesus (Isa) is the Messiah (Masih) for both Christians and Muslims. Mohamad Abdalla, one of Australia's most respected Muslim leaders, says: Muslims have always believed in the Prophethood of Jesus - or Isa - (peace be upon him) because it is an integral part of their faith. Islam is the only religion (other than Christianity) that recognises Jesus and makes it compulsory upon its adherents to believe in him. The Qur an says Jesus was the kalimatullah the Word of God (4.171) John says The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 I He embodies the grace and truth evoked in the Bismillah - Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim. 13
Jesus reveals true meaning of a sacred nonviolent struggle for justice: He denounces exploitation of the poor/powerless by the rich/powerful He advocates liberation of disempowered through power of the Spirit. He creates communities with leaders who serve rather than oppress. He develops groups committed to doing justice to the disadvantaged. He demonstrates nonviolence that frees us from cycles of violence. Ahmad Shawqi records: kindness, chivalry and humility were born the day Jesus or Isa was born. His coming brightened the world, his light illuminated it. Like the light of the dawn flowing through the universe, so did the sign of Jesus flow. He filled the world with light, making the earth shine with its brightness. No threat, no tyranny, no revenge, no sword, no raids, no bloodshed did he use to call to the new faith. 7 14
Many Christians and Muslims have found Jesus (Isa) and the Bismillah he embodies to be the common ground on which Christians and Muslims can work for the common good. The Saint Saint Francis The Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan The General - Leymah Gbowee The Imam - Muhammad Ashafa 15
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Don t Be Afraid Fearful we re fearful of others. Fearful of contact with people unless they re just like us. Fearful we re fearful of difference. Fearful of conflict with strangers who ain t the same as us. (But) God s embrace is great. His amazing grace never fails to save God s love conquers hate so don t be afraid. 19
Fearful we re fearful of changes. Fearful of fighting fearful of winning - fearful of loss. Fearful we re fearful of dangers. Fearful of following a leader who died on a cross. (But) God s embrace is great. His amazing grace never fails to save God s love conquers hate so don t be afraid Dave Andrews 20