عبدالله الاسمري
13-11-2007, 12:46 AM
A Good Beginning
Saudi Gazette
Monday, 12 November 2007
By Abdullah Al Asmary
THE historic hand-clasping between King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Catholic Church, is significant not only in its timing but also in its expected consequences. Its importance stems from the fact that although Christianity and Islam have coexisted peacefully throughout history, both faiths are continually used to justify and fuel conflicts of the modern times. For many in the Christian World, Islam is widely viewed as a violent religion and, therefore, a threat to world peace and stability.
Although such connection is repeatedly denied, Islam has also been linked to the sporadic violence at least in the post-Cold War era. To a great number of Muslims who cherish Islamic values, Christian West is waging cultural, economic and military wars against Muslim countries on a purely religious ground.
However, the connection established between these two main divine religions and world's military and ideological conflicts is not correct. The barbaric and hideous attacks on New York and Washington in Sept. 11 2001 were denounced by top religious establishments in the Islamic Wrld.
Shortly after the attacks, Saudi Arabia condemned the attacks thereby eliminating any theological cover used to justify them. On the other hand and on the eve of Iraq invasion, Pope John Paul II spoke openly against the war vividly describing it as "risky, immoral and a crime against peace."
Although relationship between Islam and Christianity is sometimes clouded with mutually deep mistrust and misunderstanding, it is not puzzling that people of the two faiths have coexisted peacefully throughout history. A great deal of acculturation took place during medieval ages between the flourishing culture of Islam as a religion and civilization and that of the Christian Europe.
Mutual understanding between both faiths was firmly established during the 800-year presence of Muslims in Spain. At that time, many Europeans poured into Muslim-ruled Spain to attend lessons in far-advanced "science and thought" centers. Greek and Roman heritages were explained, rewritten and transferred to Europe by Muslim scholars who, unlike many in the Christian West, did not find any contradiction between what these philosophical texts contain and the teachings of Islam.
Although military confrontations between Christian West and Muslim East ended with the rise of civil states, certain faith-driven comments emerging now and then could jeopardize any attempt at initiating Muslim-Christian dialogue. President George Bush's famous "crusade" phrase is a glaring example. The use of such offensive word reminds Muslims that modern confrontations symbolize those that flared up during Medieval Ages and that conflicts do perennially shape relations between both religions. However, a major blow to the reconciliation aimed at reaching a common ground of mutual understanding between Christianity and Islam came from Pope Benedict XVI. In September last year, the Pope gave a lecture at the University of Regensburge, Germany, in which he quoted a 14th century historian who accused Muslims of preaching their religion by sword and that Islam as a faith was anti-reason. His quotations drew widespread condemnation from Muslim leaders, religious figures, commentators and millions of agitated ordinary people. Before that, the offensive cartoons that had appeared initially in a Danish newspaper and consequently reprinted in other European media led to massive protests, riots and unprecedented calls for boycotting Western states commercially, diplomatically and culturally.
To a lesser extent, the so-called Clash of Civilizations theory with its irrefutable axiom that world's civilizations are doomed to clash would overshadow and partially cripple any dialogue attempts.
In spite of the fact that these incidents and theories truly damage prospects of reaching mutual understanding, the rift in relations between both faiths can be bridged by a face-to-face dialogue. Such dialogue is particularly significant if it is sponsored by the two religious centers: the Vatican and Saudi Arabia. Mutual visits between Vatican representatives and their Saudi counterparts would foster dialogue and open the door wide for more comprehensive discussions of global conflicts and on ways to settle them peacefully. Vatican, the heart of Catholic World, and Saudi Arabia, the heart of Muslim World, have shown signs of agreement on an array of political and moral issues. They both share a vision that Israel should stop its offensive against innocent Palestinians and that a half century-long of dispute is to be resolved between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Furthermore, both sides have raised similar concerns on the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Darfur, Sudan.
The dialogue between key religious figures in Saudi Arabia and their Vatican counterparts goes back to mid-70s. In March 1972, Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting in which key Christian clerics and intellectuals were invited to discuss an array of religious issues in Riyadh. In 1974, King Faisal sent the highest Saudi religious delegation ever to visit the Vatican to continue Riyadh Dialogue. The delegation was headed by then Minister of Justice, Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al-Harkan, and included Deputy Justice Minister and the Saudi Ambassador in Rome. Muslim-Christian meetings continued with the Vatican announcement in 1975 that it was ready to meet the visiting Saudi delegation which was touring Europe at that time. Since then, high-level meetings have continued on a number of occasions.
The King's recent visit to the Vatican is a turning point in relations between both sides since it marks the first summit of its kind between a Saudi king and the Vatican Pope. Each side is fully aware of the pivotal rule the other is playing in ending regional conflicts and promoting peace.
Notwithstanding the troubles that have engulfed Mideast, King Abdullah and Pope Benedict can work together to ensure followers of both faiths that religion should no longer be used as tools to stoke conflicts, as exemplified by extremists on both sides, and that values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence must prevail.
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Saudi Gazette
Monday, 12 November 2007
By Abdullah Al Asmary
THE historic hand-clasping between King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Catholic Church, is significant not only in its timing but also in its expected consequences. Its importance stems from the fact that although Christianity and Islam have coexisted peacefully throughout history, both faiths are continually used to justify and fuel conflicts of the modern times. For many in the Christian World, Islam is widely viewed as a violent religion and, therefore, a threat to world peace and stability.
Although such connection is repeatedly denied, Islam has also been linked to the sporadic violence at least in the post-Cold War era. To a great number of Muslims who cherish Islamic values, Christian West is waging cultural, economic and military wars against Muslim countries on a purely religious ground.
However, the connection established between these two main divine religions and world's military and ideological conflicts is not correct. The barbaric and hideous attacks on New York and Washington in Sept. 11 2001 were denounced by top religious establishments in the Islamic Wrld.
Shortly after the attacks, Saudi Arabia condemned the attacks thereby eliminating any theological cover used to justify them. On the other hand and on the eve of Iraq invasion, Pope John Paul II spoke openly against the war vividly describing it as "risky, immoral and a crime against peace."
Although relationship between Islam and Christianity is sometimes clouded with mutually deep mistrust and misunderstanding, it is not puzzling that people of the two faiths have coexisted peacefully throughout history. A great deal of acculturation took place during medieval ages between the flourishing culture of Islam as a religion and civilization and that of the Christian Europe.
Mutual understanding between both faiths was firmly established during the 800-year presence of Muslims in Spain. At that time, many Europeans poured into Muslim-ruled Spain to attend lessons in far-advanced "science and thought" centers. Greek and Roman heritages were explained, rewritten and transferred to Europe by Muslim scholars who, unlike many in the Christian West, did not find any contradiction between what these philosophical texts contain and the teachings of Islam.
Although military confrontations between Christian West and Muslim East ended with the rise of civil states, certain faith-driven comments emerging now and then could jeopardize any attempt at initiating Muslim-Christian dialogue. President George Bush's famous "crusade" phrase is a glaring example. The use of such offensive word reminds Muslims that modern confrontations symbolize those that flared up during Medieval Ages and that conflicts do perennially shape relations between both religions. However, a major blow to the reconciliation aimed at reaching a common ground of mutual understanding between Christianity and Islam came from Pope Benedict XVI. In September last year, the Pope gave a lecture at the University of Regensburge, Germany, in which he quoted a 14th century historian who accused Muslims of preaching their religion by sword and that Islam as a faith was anti-reason. His quotations drew widespread condemnation from Muslim leaders, religious figures, commentators and millions of agitated ordinary people. Before that, the offensive cartoons that had appeared initially in a Danish newspaper and consequently reprinted in other European media led to massive protests, riots and unprecedented calls for boycotting Western states commercially, diplomatically and culturally.
To a lesser extent, the so-called Clash of Civilizations theory with its irrefutable axiom that world's civilizations are doomed to clash would overshadow and partially cripple any dialogue attempts.
In spite of the fact that these incidents and theories truly damage prospects of reaching mutual understanding, the rift in relations between both faiths can be bridged by a face-to-face dialogue. Such dialogue is particularly significant if it is sponsored by the two religious centers: the Vatican and Saudi Arabia. Mutual visits between Vatican representatives and their Saudi counterparts would foster dialogue and open the door wide for more comprehensive discussions of global conflicts and on ways to settle them peacefully. Vatican, the heart of Catholic World, and Saudi Arabia, the heart of Muslim World, have shown signs of agreement on an array of political and moral issues. They both share a vision that Israel should stop its offensive against innocent Palestinians and that a half century-long of dispute is to be resolved between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Furthermore, both sides have raised similar concerns on the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Darfur, Sudan.
The dialogue between key religious figures in Saudi Arabia and their Vatican counterparts goes back to mid-70s. In March 1972, Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting in which key Christian clerics and intellectuals were invited to discuss an array of religious issues in Riyadh. In 1974, King Faisal sent the highest Saudi religious delegation ever to visit the Vatican to continue Riyadh Dialogue. The delegation was headed by then Minister of Justice, Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al-Harkan, and included Deputy Justice Minister and the Saudi Ambassador in Rome. Muslim-Christian meetings continued with the Vatican announcement in 1975 that it was ready to meet the visiting Saudi delegation which was touring Europe at that time. Since then, high-level meetings have continued on a number of occasions.
The King's recent visit to the Vatican is a turning point in relations between both sides since it marks the first summit of its kind between a Saudi king and the Vatican Pope. Each side is fully aware of the pivotal rule the other is playing in ending regional conflicts and promoting peace.
Notwithstanding the troubles that have engulfed Mideast, King Abdullah and Pope Benedict can work together to ensure followers of both faiths that religion should no longer be used as tools to stoke conflicts, as exemplified by extremists on both sides, and that values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence must prevail.
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