Dialogue with
People of the Book
By Dr Muzaffar K Awan
Michigan, USA
All Muslims are required to believe in God’s
Prophets and Messengers. As we read in the Qur’an
2:136: Say, O Muslims: “We believe in God,
and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham,
Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes; that given
to Moses and Jesus; and that given to (all) Prophets
from their Lord. We make no difference between
them, and we submit to God.” Qur’an
3:84 and 4:163 convey the same idea. At the very
outset, the Qur’an calls Muslims to accept
the former Prophets and their Books. Having such
a condition at the very beginning seems very important,
especially in the matter of an interfaith dialogue.
On September 17th, President General Pervez Musharraf
delivered the key address at a gala dinner organized
by the American Jewish Congress in New York. Many
distinguished Jewish leaders, Pakistani Americans,
American and Israeli citizens were present. President
Musharraf underlined the need to support the endeavor
to promote an interfaith - inter civilizational
dialogue and harmony. As Israel took bold steps
to withdraw from the Gaza, Pakistan initiated
an official contact with Israel and foreign ministers
of both countries met in Istanbul through the
good offices of the Turkish government that has
friendly relations both with the Jewish state
and Pakistan. Musharraf also said that as the
peace process progresses towards the establishment
of an independent Palestinian state, Pakistan
will take further steps towards normalization
and cooperation, leading to full diplomatic relations
with Israel. Speaking on the occasion Chairman
of the American Jewish Congress, Jack Rosen said
President Musharraf's presence before the Jewish
Congress was a ground- breaking initiation of
Muslim-Jewish dialogue and the culmination of
two years of preparatory efforts.
Muslims and Jews must learn to live together in
peace and harmony once again as they did for centuries
earlier. Islam, which came to dominate much of
the world from Arabia to Spain and to South/Central
Asia during the Middle Ages, was very tolerant
of Jews; Muslims to this day consider Jews, along
with Muslims and Christians to be "People
of the Book". The term Ahl al-kitab (people
of the book) is mentioned in the Qur’an
twenty-four times and refers to Christians and
Jews in particular. The relationship between Muslims
and the “People of the Book “(Jews
and Christians) has been a subject of discussion
among Muslims throughout the centuries.
The ecumenical aspect of Islam and its theological
foundations for dialogue are under constant focus.
To begin with, Muslims can frame their ideas of
dialogue around the primordial Qur’anic
verse: “All mankind, we have created you
from male and female and have made you nations
and tribes that you may know one another”
(Qur’an 49.13).
Islam, besides accepting the formal origin of
other religions and their prophets, requires Muslims
to respect them on the basis of ethical Islamic/universal
values. A Muslim is the follower of Muhammad and
is at the same time a follower of Abraham, Moses,
David, Jesus and other Biblical prophets. From
this perspective, not to believe in the biblical
prophets and their scriptures mentioned in the
Qur’an is enough of a reason to place someone
outside the circle of Islam.
The peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Jews began
at the time of the Prophet of Islam himself. He
had begun the initiatives towards good relations
with Jewish and other communities in Medina even
before his Hijrah (migration). The Jewish communities
of Madina, along with the rest of the city's inhabitants,
warmly welcomed the Prophet in Medina at the time
of his Hijrah. The Prophet signed treaties with
the city's Jewish, Christian and other tribes.
He established the first Islamic state in Medina
- actually a Jewish-Muslim federation that extended
to religious minorities the rights that were guaranteed
to them in the Qur’an and based on Mithaq
–al- Madina. It was indeed the first constitution
of the world and one of the greatest politico-social
documents ever prepared in human history. The
Prophet’s Medina was based on a social contract
agreed upon by Muslims, Jews and others treating
all of them as equal citizens of the state. They
enjoyed the freedom to choose the legal system
they wished to live by. Jews could live under
Islamic law, or Jewish law or pre-Islamic Arab
tribal traditions. There was to be no compulsion
in religion even if Medina was an Islamic state.
The state of Medina was based on a constitution
that applied divine law but only in consultation
and with the consent of all citizens regardless
of their faith. Roots of democracy were thus certainly
constitutive to the very first Islamic state in
Medina established by the Prophet of Islam.
Caliph Omar also made a pact, in the 7th century,
called a pact of Omar that allowed the Jews to
return to Jerusalem - the Holy City after 500-year
exile. Omar was known for his tolerance and has
been viewed benevolently by the Jewish tradition.
For almost 800 years prior to 1492, a remarkable
multicultural phenomenon called the Convivencia
took place in Islamic Spain. From the Latin convivere,
literally meaning “to live together,”
the Convivencia was a period of religious toleration,
mutual respect and forbearance among Christians,
Jews and Muslims. Muslim Spain was indeed a "golden
era" of creativity and advancement for Muslims
and also for Jews. The land of opportunity for
Jews -- from the 8th to the 14th century -- was
certainly Islamic Spain. In Muslim-ruled Spain,
members of the three communities spoke each other’s
languages and shared their philosophies and theologies,
their sciences and their cultures.
Saladin (1138-1193) was one of the most charismatic
and successful Muslim rulers of the middle Ages
in the Middle East. In 1187, Saladin raced through
what is now Israel, conquering Tiberias and Jerusalem
among other cities. His victory over the Crusaders
and retaking of Jerusalem reflects his character
as a true Muslim. Sorely tempted to slaughter
the Christian Crusaders of Jerusalem in the same
way the Crusaders had butchered the Muslims and
Jews of the city in 1099, Saladin chose the nobler
and humane path of forgiveness for Christian Crusaders.
Saladin's magnanimous treatment of the Christians
was long remembered, and he developed a reputation
in Europe over the centuries of a civilized conqueror
Saladin was also generous in his treatment of
the Jewish community in his realm. In 1190, he
called on Jews to settle once again within the
walls of Jerusalem, since they had been banned
from the city during the Crusader’s occupation.
The illustrious Maimonides, one of medieval Judaism's
greatest thinkers, was court physician to Saladin.
(To be continued)
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