Pluralism and interfaith dialogue
With religion dividing the world, are interfaith initiatives the only hope we’ve got, or are they a pointless exercise? The audience in the third programme of Shariah TV, which comes from New York, is a mixture of Muslims, Christians and Jews.
The experts
Imam Yahya Hendi is from Georgetown University, the first American university to hire a full time Muslim chaplain. He’s a sought after international speaker on interfaith issues.
Daisy Khan is co-founder of the American society for Muslim advancement. Born in Kashmir, she lectures on religious pluralism across the United States and around the world.
Imam Ajmal Masroor is the British voice on the panel. He is well versed in interfaith dialogue but questions its purpose.
Conversion or coexistence?
A member of the audience asks: how far do Muslims in America have a duty to teach others about their religion and to try and convert them to Islam?
We have a duty to live an ethical life, to set an example, says Daisy Khan. These are challenging times, so it’s important to explain our beliefs to other people. Ajmal Masroor describes the situation as a free market in which faiths compete. We believe that our way is the right way and want to share it with others, he says, but each person must make their own personal choice. If they want to convert, they should be welcomed in, but no one may be forced to convert. Yahya Hendi believes that God wants all religions to exist on earth, and that Islam does not say that Muslims should convert people.
Why are converts to Islam referred to as ‘reverts’? asks presenter Tazeen Ahmad. Isn’t that insulting to other religions? Ajmal explains the Muslim belief that everyone is born in a state of ‘natural disposition’ – in other words, we are all submissive to God, which is what Islam means. Therefore, when someone becomes a Muslim, they are said to ‘revert’ rather than ‘convert’.
Isn’t it the case, though, asks a member of the audience, that Christians are not free to practice their faith in many Arab countries? There are many Arab countries where Christians live and practise their religion freely, says Yahya, such as Lebanon, where 48% of the people are Christian; in Syria it is 7% and in Egypt 12%.
A historic issue
A Jewish audience member says that, for Jews, the notion of conversion is problematic because historically this was forced on them; this was underpinned by a power dynamic that goes back a long time. Another person adds that in some Muslim countries Jews had the status of Dhimmis – they were protected but had to pay a special tax.
Ajmal says that, like Jews, Muslims were also targeted by Christians, in the Crusades, for example, but that Islam has always provided a shelter for people of other religions. Muslims have not always lived up to their ideals, says Daisy, and Yahya agrees. He says: ‘We all have blood on our hands,’ and because of that we are now called on to reach out to one another.
An audience member says that conversion is a political issue, not just a religious one. Christians, for example, generally came to other countries as colonial powers and so conversion is associated with being conquered.
Does love trump all?
A young Muslim woman in the audience is in a relationship with a Catholic boy. If I marry a non-Muslim, she asks, will that make me a non-Muslim?
Yahya believes that she will continue to be a Muslim but acknowledges that not all imams would agree with him. Amongst them is Ajmal, who says she would have to get her partner to convert. Daisy gives another angle on the issue. Because so many Muslim men are marrying non-Muslims, there are too few potential marriage partners for Muslim women. In this situation, it could be considered a necessity to marry out of the faith, and fatwas have been issued allowing such marriages on this basis.
This raises the temperature of the discussion. Ajmal considers that argument to be a strange concoction of fatwas based on a distortion of the idea of ‘necessity’. Yahya accuses him of trying to impose a 1400-year-old Arabian version of Islam on people in 2008. ‘It’s your choice,’ says Ajmal. ‘You are either loyal to the Qur’an or disloyal to it’. ‘I am loyal to it,’ says Yahya. ‘For me, the Qur’an doesn’t say anything about who a woman should and should not marry.’
A question of trust
A member of the audience asks: isn’t there a contradiction between the hadith that talks of killing Jews and the idea that Muslims and people of other religions can live in harmony, and isn’t this hadith used by some as a justification for attacking Jews?
Yahya believes that this hadith is not authentic but that the Qur’an calls on Muslims to engage in dialogue with Jews and Christians. Ajmal says that we need to go to the root causes of the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia, which are ignorance, inequality, the occupation of countries and political problems, including despotism and dictatorship in many Muslim countries.
Why do Muslims find it hard to accept that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, which is what I believe? asks an audience member. Muslims believe that Jesus is a prophet, says, Ajmal. But they also believe that Christians should recognise Muhammed as a prophet. Interfaith dialogue fails when people are not honest about their differences. Yahya concurs, saying we have to understand each other but agree to disagree.
Is reconciliation possible?
One audience member feels that interfaith dialogue is trying to merge the three Abrahamic religions, when their beliefs, values and origins are irreconcilable. God has created a garden which is full of variety, says Daisy. We should seek commonalities with each other while honouring our differences, in order to create a good society.
Interfaith dialogue is based on the idea that all religions should coexist. This leads to dishonesty, says Ajmal. He believes that other religions have a right to exist but that Islam is the only path to God. ‘If we say that all religions are right,’ he says, ‘our own religion becomes redundant.’
Yahya sees it differently. He believes there are many paths to God and that interfaith dialogue is a religious necessity. ‘It’s not about uniformity, but unity,’ he says, ‘and finding ways to work together.’ Daisy argues that if God created all human beings, then we are all children of Adam. And what about Eve? asks Yahya. She, like all the children of God, is also part of the dialogue.