Religious Affinities or Animosities?
By Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui
Editor
Pakistan Link

How did an average Muslim perceive the United States of America in the pre-September 11 period? A country to envy and despise? A bulwark of Christianity and Judaism? A sworn enemy of Islam? Undisputed leader of the West on a collision course with the Ummah?
The answer to all such questions is in the negative.
Despite misgivings about US foreign policy and Washington’s ambivalent posture on crucial issues like Palestine and Kashmir, Muslims have been profoundly appreciative of America - a country that unreservedly embraces diversity of race, faith and creed like no other. Those who take the Oath of Allegiance with teary eyes admire the country infinitely more.
I have vivid recollections of my childhood impressions of the United States: The stagecoach winding its way on a dusty trail, eager prospectors panning for gold, the rush for California, and entrancing characters - Buffalo Bill, Daniel Defoe, Kit Carson, and the Lone Ranger – triumphantly striding the ‘Wild West.’
With time, I came to identify the US as the epitome of anything and everything quintessential with its prestigious Ivy colleges that were soon to be the focus of all our strivings. Not many of us could make it to Cornell or Harvard. But the unrivalled excellence of American institutions continued to exercise a magnetic pull on professionals, including the men in the khaki, who were keen to avail of an opportunity to train at Fort Benning or West Point.
A closer exposure to American academics and Nobel Laureates during their visit to Pakistan had a singularly beneficent influence on my formative years. Professors Hans Bethe, Michael Moravscik, Octave du Temple, Nicholas Negroponte, et al., were not just outstanding achievers, they were fine human beings too.
The past too furnished many telling proofs of a vibrant, pluralistic American society:
As early as 1783, George Washington declared, “The bosom of America [was] open to receive...the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions .... They may be Mohammetans, Jews, or Christians of any sect, or they may be atheists.” In 1797, John Adams, the second US president, signed the Treaty of Tripoli, and documented his observations with due deference to Islam: “The US has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility of Muslims.” Adams described the Prophet Muhammad as one of the world’s “sober inquirers of truth” and cited him as a model of compassion. Benjamin Franklin was equally forthcoming in his respect for Islam. “Even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service,” he remarked while contributing to an interfaith center.
In his recent article Thomas Jefferson and the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad in MAYDAN, an online publication of Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University, John Andrew Morrow writes: The revelation that Thomas Jefferson had a Qur’an and that Islam had influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States was groundbreaking. Inspired by the findings published by Denise A. Spellberg in Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders …, I set off to study the nearly seven thousand titles in Thomas Jefferson’s personal library in search of any traces of the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad, namely, the charters of rights and freedoms that the Messenger of God had granted to the Christians of the Middle East and the world. The results of this research are remarkable. They confirm that Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and its third President, had numerous accounts of the Covenants of the Prophet in his library collection. This suggests that the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad, along with multifarious other sources, may have played a role in the creation of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights…”
Come September 11, 2001, and the scene drastically alters. The media churns out story after story to suggest that Islam and the West are on a collision course! There is a concerted effort to lend credence to Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations.’ A negative perception is aired day in and day out through newspapers, TV, radio, and films. We are more than familiar with the ridicule that Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington and a host of others hurled on the Muslim world without the slightest call of compunction.
Which brings us to the oft-debated question: Are Islam and the West on a collision course? Professor Ralph Braibanti, an eminent scholar who served on the faculty of Duke University as early as 1953, makes the incisive point in his illuminating essay “Islam and the West: Common Cause or Clash?” published by the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University. An excerpt:
“The ecumenical decree of Vatican Council II, Nostra Aetate (In Our Times) 1965 was a stunning repudiation of an attitude towards Islam regnant for more than half a millennium. It erased in a few poetically elegant sentences the imagery in Dante’s characterization of Mohammed as seminator di scandalo e di scima. Its newly sensitive appraisal of Islam eclipsed the somewhat less felicitous but more potentially powerful final sentence of paragraph 3: ‘On behalf of all mankind, let them [Muslims and Christians] make common cause of safeguarding and fostering social justice, moral values, peace and freedom [et pro omnibus hominibus justiciam socialem, bona moralia necnon pacem et libertatem communiter tueuntur et promoveant].’
“This is clearly an exhortation to act. The errors of the past were acknowledged, animosities were to be forgotten, and points of agreement between the two religions were portrayed without animus or condescension,” writes the erudite professor.
Nostra Aetate unequivocally spelled out the religious affinity between Muslims and Christians: “Upon the Muslims, too, the Church looks with esteem [respicit]. They adore [adorant] one God, living and enduring, merciful and all-powerful, Maker of Heaven and earth and Speaker to men. They strive to submit wholeheartedly even to His inscrutable decrees, just as did Abraham, with whom the Islamic faith is pleased to associate itself. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere [venerantur] him as prophet. They also honor [honorant] Mary, his virgin mother; at times they call on her, too, with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will give each man his due after raising him up… Although in the course of the centuries many quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Muslims, this most sacred Synod urges all to forget the past and to strive sincerely for mutual understanding. On behalf of all mankind, let them make common cause of safeguarding and fostering social justice, moral values, peace and freedom.”
Dr Braibanti’s essay is studded with valuable information. It spotlights several well-meaning but little-known initiatives, mentioned in the later part of this opinion piece, to strengthen interfaith bonds. In the preface to the illuminating essay, Dr Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, then Secretary General, Islamic Society of North America, expresses the hope that “Dr Braibanti’s work will serve as a powerful tool in promoting a better understanding of the two Abrahamic faiths and in exploring areas of cooperation in building a better America.”
There are reasons to buoy such optimism: “The presence of a vibrant Muslim community in America has created a new religious environment for Muslims as well as Christians. The era of recognition of mutualities and celebration of differences has ushered in with the new millennium.”
Viewed in this context, the May 6, 2001visit of Pope John Paul to the Ommayad Mosque in Damascus was an event of singular importance. He happened to be the first Pope to set foot on a mosque and his message on the momentous day was instructive: religious conviction was never a justification for violence. The Pontiff, who had earlier given a new dimension to Judeo-Christian ties with his visit to Rome’s synagogue in 1985, said it was a propitious time to open a new chapter in relations with the Muslims. “For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness from the Almighty and to offer each other forgiveness…Better understanding will surely lead to a new way of presenting our two religions, not in opposition as has happened too often in the past, but in partnership for the good of the human family.”
A few years later, another news emanating from the Vatican signified a major milestone: Pope Benedict XVI expressed his unreserved admiration for Muslims and Islam and urged freedom of religion and faith that rejected all forms of violence.
Returning from a four-day visit to Turkey that included an unscheduled stopover at Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, the Pope discussed his trip during his weekly audience at the Vatican. He spoke with candor and conviction: “On one side, it is necessary to rediscover the reality of God and public importance of religious faith, on the other to assure that the expression of faith is free, devoid of fundamentalist degeneration, capable of firmly repudiating any form of violence. I, therefore, was given the propitious occasion to renew my sentiments of esteem for Muslims and the Islamic civilization … At the same time, I was able to insist on the importance that Christians and Muslims work together for mankind, for life, for peace and for justice.”
The Pope described his visit to the mosque as “a gesture that was not initially planned but that turned out to have great significance. During a few minutes of reflection in that place of worship I turned to the only God of Heaven and earth … May all believers see themselves as his creatures and bear witness of true brotherhood.”
Towards the end, the Pope was reported standing shoulder to shoulder with Istanbul’s Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici for about a minute. Newspaper accounts of the historic event were graphic. The Pope kept his arms crossed at his waist. His lips could be seen moving silently. Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici prayed aloud and touched his face in the traditional Islamic gesture at the end of the prayer. The Pope nodded and the two exchanged gifts.
The visit should prompt the moderate-majority among the Muslims and the Christians to be seized of their responsibility – to be conscious of religious affinities and to shun age-old animosities. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are three Abrahamic religions whose followers have a lot in common and they ought to work for a common cause – a peaceful, livable world.
According to Wikipedia, “Islamic–Jewish relations started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. The two religions share similar values, guidelines, and principles. Islam also incorporates Jewish history as a part of its own. Muslims regard the Children of Israel as an important religious concept in Islam. Moses, the most important prophet of Judaism, is also considered a prophet and messenger in Islam. Moses is mentioned in the Qur’an more than any other individual, and his life is narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. There are approximately 43 references to the Israelites in the Qur’an (excluding individual prophets), and many in the Hadith. Later rabbinic authorities and Jewish scholars such as Maimonides discussed the relationship between Islam and Jewish law. Maimonides himself, it has been argued, was influenced by Islamic legal thought…”
Blissfully, as Prof Braibanti documents, there are shining examples of communities demonstrating the sterling spirit of peaceful co-existence. The Christian population in Jordan, for example, barely aggregates three percent of the country’s total, yet it has enjoyed the love and respect of the Muslim majority. The late King Hussain and Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal worked to nurture a spirit of harmony among believers of the Abrahamic faiths. They established the Royal Institute of Inter-Faith Studies in 1994, which successfully organized several conferences and published books, including Prince Hassan’s ‘Christianity in the Arab World.’
A year later, in 1995, the largest mosque in Europe emerged in the neighborhood of the Vatican marking an attitudinal change among followers of the world’s two major faiths. Yet another significant event occurred on September 12, 1997, when the Supreme Pontiff and Prince Sultan, the Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, met in Rome.
Quite a few other developments enumerated by Professor Braibanti testify to this wholesome trend: The establishment of the Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations of Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham, England; the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown and publication of its journal ‘Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations’; and the publication of ‘Islamochristiana’ by the Vatican’s Pontificio Istituto di Saudi Arabia. Sincere strivings of MPAC, UMA, AMA, CAIR, ISNA, etc. and well-meaning initiatives like the production of PBS documentaries ‘Islam: Empire of Faith’ and ‘Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet’ provide fresh proof of this trend.
The Oxford lecture by the Prince of Wales in 1993 too seemed to mirror the changing scene. Prince Charles affirmed, “Islam can teach us today a way of understanding and living in the world which Christianity itself is poorer for having lost.” After two years, the Prince desired to have the Crown’s title “Defender of the Faith” changed to “Defender of Faith.” Islam was mentioned by the Prince as one of the faiths of Britain.
In the herculean task of cementing inter-faith bonds, Dr Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, Washington, DC, stands out. “Functioning between both worlds, through his writing and broadcasting,” Wikipedia testifies, “Ahmed has attempted to bridge the Muslim-West world divide and encourage communication between both groups”. He has published several insightful books – work of dedicated scholarship – based on his journeys into the United States and Europe in the company of a select group of researchers - and excelled in the role of advisor to President George W. Bush and Prince Charles on Islam. His lectures in places such as the US Congressional retreat in Greenbrier, the National Defense University in Washington DC, the State Department and the House of Lords in London, have been well received. Hence, the ardent desire of Barry Hoffman, Hon Consul General of Pakistan in Boston, who symbolizes Jewish-Muslim friendship, “If there were only 1,000 Akbar Ahmeds! It would be such a wonderful world.”
A world that responds to the noble exhortation of English novelist Charles Dickens: ‘Let us be moral. Let us contemplate existence. Let us conserve a livable world.’ A world that is seized of Martin Luther King, Jr’s inspirational wisdom: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
It is in this context that one of President Bush’s Iftar party addresses at the White House appears particularly kindred and edifying: “Islam is a religion that brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people around the world. It has made brothers and sisters of every race. It has given birth to a rich culture of learning and literature and science. Tonight, we honor the traditions of a great faith by hosting this Iftar at the White House…We see in Islam a religion that traces its origins back to God’s call on Abraham. We share your belief in God’s justice, and your insistence on man’s moral responsibility. We thank the many Muslim nations who stand with us against terror. Nations that are often victims of terror, themselves…”
Scintillating words that seem to resonate well with Professor Braibanti’s observation: “The significance of the attitudinal change suggested by these developments is truly astounding. They represent a reversal of sentiment which had been deeply embedded in the West for more than a thousand years. This new attitude provides the philosophic underpinning and the emotional climate which encourages a new partnership – not Islam against the West - but Islam and the West against the decline of civilization.”
The New World holds the key to resolving the intricate problems plaguing the Old World.