Dialogue of Religions

Photo montage religious dialogue (AP Graphics/Bilderbox/DW)

Dialogue between Religions

The supposed "clash of civilizations" has given new impetus to interreligious dialogue involving Islam. Yet the dialogue between Catholics and Muslims in particular has been nothing less than turbulent since Benedict XVI became pope. Our dossier has all the details


Chandra Muzaffar (photo: ces.fas.harvard.edu) The Malaysian Muslim Scholar Chandra Muzaffar

The Basic Moral Values of the Koran

Chandra Muzaffar is one of Malaysia's best-known human rights activists and public intellectuals. While being critical of western global hegemony, he says Muslims have to fundamentally re-evaluate their understanding of Islam and its traditions. By Yogi Sikand More »


Adonis (photo: 'West-Eastern Divan') Adonis on Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue

Humanity Takes Priority

In his essay, the acclaimed Syrian-Lebanese intellectual Adonis criticises the monotheist religions' dogmatism and uncompromising claim to truth, blaming them for blocking constructive Euro-Mediterranean dialogue to this day More »


Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany's Minister of the Interior (photo: AP/DW) Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior

"Muslims Should Feel at Home in Germany"

A dialogue between the religions is absolutely essential for the German State, writes Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble. It strengthens the foundations of the community, beyond questions of religious claims to truth More »


Third Congress of World Religions

The Vision of Shared Moral Values

The third "Congress of World Religions" took place the first two days of July 2009 in Kazakhstan. By appealing for more tolerance and cooperation between the religions, the host country wants to raise its profile as international peacemaker. By Edda Schlager More »


Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany's Minister of the Interior (photo: AP) Wolfgang Schäuble on the Need for Religion

Faith as a Moral Instance

Germany's interior minister Wolfgang Schäuble has written a short book describing how faith, correctly understood, protects us from totalitarianism and abuse of power. He also addresses how best to integrate Islam in Germany. A review by Lewis Gropp More »


Jesus is depicted in 'The Savior' by El Greco, Prado (photo: AP) Jesus in Islam

Rasul Allah – The Messenger of God

There are many differences between Islam and Christianity, but also similarities; Jesus has a significant role for Muslims too. Aiman Mazyek on the Islamic prophet known as Isa in the KoranMore »
Prince Hassan of Jordan (photo: picture alliance/dpa) Interview with Prince Hassan of Jordan

"Why Do We Blame Everything on Religion?"

Prince Hassan of Jordan has been awarded the Abraham Geiger Prize for 2008 in recognition of his advocacy of ecological sustainability, reconciliation and dialogue between the religions. Nasser Jubara and Bassam Rizq spoke with him More »


Melanie Miehl (photo: private copyright) Christian-Muslim Dialogue

Good News Is No News

Christian-Muslim dialogue activists are faced with a media landscape where a statement such as "We condemn terrorism" has no news value whatsoever, says Melanie Miehl. In her article she explains why Muslims taking part in the dialogue need to be thick-skinned More »


Catholic-Islamic Dialogue: Interview with Christian Troll

For Freedom of Faith

The beginning of November saw the first Catholic-Muslim Forum held in the Vatican – which came about on a Muslim initiative. One of the participants was the Jesuit and professor of Islam Studies, Christian Troll. In an interview with Lewis Gropp, he talks about freedom of religion in Europe and Islamic countries, and the challenges of the Enlightenment for belief

What are the successes of the Catholic-Muslim Forum from your point of view?

Troll: The meeting is a positive start; the atmosphere at the talks was good. The new aspect is that the initiative came firmly from the Muslim side, and that this group wanted to set new accents by placing the focus on the dual command of love that we also know in Christianity. The Muslim representatives cited the commandment to love God and love thy neighbour as thyself from the Old Testament and St. Matthew's Gospel, explaining that it is also a central commandment of Islamic law – which gave us a completely new starting point. What was said was that we would take this affirmation as a common ground for dealing with issues together.

So it was less of a political approach; they consciously placed the focus on a theological statement, and that gave us a brave thesis! Had the Muslim delegates said, the focus for us is solely God's mercy and the call for people to be merciful, that would have been less surprising. But this vocabulary of God's love of humankind and humankind's love of God is actually relatively insignificant in the Qur'an. It plays a major role in the great Sufi tradition, on the other hand, so it's clear that a large part of the Muslims who are actively behind this initiative are strongly influenced by Sufism.

What would you say about the fact that there were no representatives of Islamism at the meeting? Is that a possible option for the future?

Troll: It is an option to some extent, yes, because Islam is very diverse, so initiatives of this kind always have to be examined as to which weightings are taken into account. The Vatican has been involved in other, longer-running dialogues with Muslim institutions, for example the Al-Azhar University, the Muslim Call Society from Libya and the Shi'a Establishment in Iran. In this case, the make-up of the forum came about because the Muslim representatives took the initiative, and there's no particular institution involved.

So one can't say that the initiative came from the royal family in Amman or the Center for Strategic Studies in Amman. Instead, there are a number of individuals on the Muslim side who are particularly significant for the project: Aref Nayed from the University of Cambridge, Prince Ghazi, the president of the Jordanian Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Timothy Winter alias Abdal Hakim Murad, a professor at Cambridge University, and Sayed Hussein Nasr, the former director of the University of Teheran under the shah and now in exile in the USA, where he has been a professor at George Washington University for many years.

The Muslim delegation in Rome was relatively strongly centred on Muslims from the "West", from the USA and Europe. But Tariq Ramadan also took part. There were relatively few participants from the Middle East: Mustafa Sherif, a former minister of culture from Algeria, and an ayatollah from Iran, who was very quiet though and hardly spoke, and is more of an academic – Professor Damat. The head of the delegation, by the way, was Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Was there a delegate from Saudi Arabia?

Troll: No, there was nobody present from Saudi Arabia. The delegation that came to Rome was dominated by prominent Muslims from the West, as I said.

After the meeting, the Pope once again urged both political and religious leaders to ensure that believers around the world can practice their religions freely. Do you think that message is appropriate in this case, considering most of the individuals at the meeting were from the academic sector and thus have little influence over politics, let alone freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia?

Troll: It's not so easy to draw that line any more; the spheres are all connected nowadays. Incidentally, the Vatican said from the very beginning, at the preparatory meeting in March, that it made little sense to focus on a strictly theological issue. The Vatican's position was that it was very commendable that the Muslims placed the focus on love of God and one's neighbour – and it wanted to respond to that. So we dedicated the first day to the issue, but our primary concerns are human dignity, respect, human rights, freedom of religion – and all this also plays a very large role for Muslims in Europe.

Freedom of religion plays a major role in the Middle East in a different way, more with respect to the Christians and other minorities there, to say nothing of the Baha'i in Iran! These are global problems today, and that was the subject of the second day.

And one can't talk about human dignity and respect without talking about freedom of religious practice. There were also four bishops from countries with a Muslim majority present at the meeting: Bishop Multan from Pakistan, the apostolic legate of Abu Dhabi, whose diocese covers six or seven Arab countries with two and a half million Catholics, the bishop of Kirkuk in Iraq and the Melkite Archbishop of Aleppo. Naturally, they expressed very determined standpoints on the subject of freedom of religion, which were listened to very carefully by the Muslim side and supported to a large extent by a man like Mustafa Ceric. Ceric himself calls for the same thing from Europe.

The common factors are always particularly emphasised at religious dialogue meetings. But what about the more problematic passages in the Koran, for example sura 9, the call to fight Christians and Jews? Were these aspects addressed as well? Troll: Those aspects were of course brought up a number of times, including by the bishops from countries with a Muslim majority. Whenever peaceable Qur'an texts were cited, it was always pointed out that there are some very different verses in the book; it was very consciously addressed.

But there weren't any major controversies over the subject…?

Troll: Yes, there were tensions, of course, but not necessarily controversies. I mean, one can't develop an entirely new form of hermeneutics at a meeting like this, all one can do is draw attention to the points in question, and every intelligent believer – of whatever faith – will naturally notice there's a major hermeneutic problem at stake. But there's no way to deal with such issues in depth at a meeting of this kind.

You have written in the past that Muslim-Catholic dialogue meetings are also important for Christianity, because it needs qualified criticism from outside the religion. What type of impulses were you thinking of in that context?

Troll: On the practical and political level, a paper like that published by the German bishops on building new mosques would be inconceivable without dialogue with Muslims. This particular issue made it clear that we have to defend and fight for rights in Europe – including the basic religious rights of minorities, including Muslims – if we realistically expect changes in the mindset and the legislation in places like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and in the majority Muslim countries in general! It's a learning process, of course – on both sides.

But there's another level, the values level. For example, take the value of the family, which has lost a great deal of weight in Europe and the West. In this case, the Christian church can recall its core values to do with the family together with the Muslims.

Furthermore, there are parallel texts in the Qur'an for values such as the Ten Commandments; that was another subject of intense discussion in Rome and is probably the most important area we have in common.

And not to forget the example of the many Muslims who courageously practice their religion, including in public and against great resistance – the Muslim devotion to liturgical prayer, for example.

Critics such as Hamid Dabashi assume that Christianity only reformed under political pressure, because the Enlightenment put an end to its claim to power. How would you characterise the relationship between Islam and the Enlightenment?

Troll: The challenge of justifying faith in the face of critical reason and the modern methods of the humanities, re-interpreting the sources, is something Christianity started out on more than 200 years ago. In my editorial for the November issue of the Christian cultural journal Stimme der Zeit (Voice of the Time), I quote at length from the Pope's speech of 22 December 2006, in which he addressed precisely this subject and said that the Islamic societies generally have yet to face this challenge.

On the Muslim side, including in the Sufi tradition, there is a certain tendency to idealise the classical period of Islam and to see modernity as negative, branding it as a sign of degeneration. The Catholic opinion on the matter is rather more complicated. On the one hand we'd say the Enlightenment is first and foremost a challenge that has led to a lot of good as well – for instance the emphasis on individual freedom and the realisation that there is no point to belief if it is not chosen by free will. On the other hand, however, there really are signs of degeneration in modern societies, and that's something we can certainly think about together. This subject – faith, biblical faith, Koranic faith and the challenge of modernity – is certainly an area where this forum in particular can make progress.

Interview: Lewis Gropp

© Qantara.de 2008

Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire

Christian Troll is one of the most important proponents of Christian-Islamic dialogue in Germany, and has had an eventful academic career. He was a professor of Islamic Studies in New Delhi from 1976 to 1988, then senior lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations an der University of Birmingham up to 1993, and after that a professor of Islamic Institutions at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome until 1999. He was appointed an honorary professor by the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in 2001.

Until 2005, Troll was a twelve-year member of the Catholic Church's subcommission for religious relations with Muslims, which is part of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID).


Qantara.de

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The Catholic bishops have published guidelines on 'Mosque Building in Germany' as a contribution toward 'making the debate more objective'. It is a rejection of all those who attempt to politically instrumentalize people's fears at Islam's growing presence. Claudia Mende reports

First Catholic Church in Qatar
Signal for New Religious Tolerance
The first catholic church was recently dedicated in the Muslim Gulf State of Qatar. Among those taking part in the dedication was Bishop Paul Hinder, apostolic vicar for Arabia. He told Ina Rottscheid about the new reality of religious freedom in the Gulf States

Benedict XVI's Statement on Islam and Reason
The Mistakes of the Pope and the Mistakes of the Muslims
Both Pope Benedikt XVI and the Muslims made some mistakes in their recent skirmish. But now it's time to forgive and forget, since Christians and Muslims have much more important challenges ahead, writes media scholar Khaled Hroub

Pope Benedict XVI (photo: AP) The Vatican and Inter-faith Dialogue

Thrown Back by Centuries?

The scandal over the Holocaust denier Richard Williamson and the Society of Saint Pius X has prompted a tidal wave of indignant Catholics to leave the church. Representatives of other religions – like the Muslims – are also beginning to question the pope's willingness for dialogue. By Peter Philipp More »


Pope Benedict XIV and Jordanian Prince Ghazi Bin Talal (photo: AP) Arab Reactions to the Pope's Visit

Signs of Hope

Although the Pope's speech in Regensburg still casts its shadow over relations between the Muslim world and the Vatican, Benedict XVI met with a mostly positive reception on his recent visit to Jordan. Details from Fakhri Saleh More »


Bishop Paul Hinder (Picture: AP) First Catholic Church in Qatar

Signal for New Religious Tolerance

The first catholic church was recently dedicated in the Muslim Gulf State of Qatar. Among those taking part in the dedication was Bishop Paul Hinder, apostolic vicar for Arabia. He told Ina Rottscheid about the new reality of religious freedom in the Gulf States More »


Pope Benedict (photo: AP) Iran and the Pope

Easing Relations

The Vatican and leading Iranian theologians have reached agreement on a declaration on "Faith and Reason in Christianity and Islam." The paper sends out an important signal in terms of easing religious and political tensions. Reinhard Kleber reports More »


Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in (photo: AP) Catholic-Shiite Dialogue

Reasonable Understanding

The Vatican and leading Iranian theologians have recently published a joint statement on "Faith and Reason in Christianity and Islam". The initiative demonstrates that Rome is clearly trying to nurture relations with Islam, says Ulrich Ruh More »


'Hassan and Morcos' main poster (source: www.hassanwamorcos.com) Muslim-Christian Relations in Egypt

"We Are One People"

Relations between Muslims and Christians in Egypt are strained these days. Violent disputes are frequent. Now a film has come out that puts a satirical spin on the religious fanaticism and provides a glimmer of hope for peaceful coexistence. Jürgen Styriak reports from Cairo on "Hassan and Morcos" More »


Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II (photo: AP) World Religious Summit in Moscow

Promoting Religious Dialogue

More than 150 representatives of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism took part in a three-day World Religious Summit in Moscow. The world's religious leaders exchanged views about the role of religions in dealing with conflicts. By Hermann Krause More »


Bulgarian Muslim women during a wedding ceremony in the Rhodope Mountain village of Ribnovo, some 230 km (143 miles) south from capital Sofia, November 2006 (photo: AP) Islam in Bulgaria

New Freedoms and New Conflicts

Around one million Muslims live in Bulgaria. Like all religious groups, they enjoyed more freedoms after the political changes of 1989. But the coexistence with Bulgaria's non-Muslim population is not free of political and social tensions. Mirko Schwanitz reports More »


Jakarta's cathedral (photo: Arian Fariborz) Muslims and Christians in Indonesia

Interreligious Dialogue in a Time of Tension

In Indonesia, political and economic crisis have led to increasing tension between Christians and Muslims. Arian Fariborz has been finding out how churches are reacting to the increasing wave of Islamisation in the country More »


Mar Musa Monastery, Syria

Muslims and Christians Sharing Spirituality

In 1983, a Jesuit Father rediscovered an 11th century monastery in the Syrian desert. Twenty years on, it is a place where monks and nuns live together and where Muslim visitors sometimes even pray with Christians. By Christina Förch

It stands isolated, in the middle of the Syrian desert. The name of the monastery is Deir Mar Musa el-Habashi. In the sixth century, it is said, an Ethiopian hermit lived in a cave there. He was not just any Ethiopian – he was Saint Moses of Abyssinia, son of a king. He refused the crown, preferring to strive toward the Kingdom of God, and died as a martyr.

After his death monks built a small church, founding a monastery in his name. For the past two hundred years it stood vacant, fallen into disrepair, until 1983, when the monastery was rediscovered by the Italian Jesuit Father Paolo dell'Oglio. He spent ten days there in meditation, finally deciding to restore the monastery and found a new religious community.

In 2003, the renovation of the church was finally completed, bringing to light frescoes from the 11th and 12th centuries. Long before completion the little jewel in the middle of the desert began to attract pilgrims – and it proved so popular that the little monastic community decided to add several more buildings in a simple, archaic style to house visitors and pilgrims.

Today eight monks and nuns live in Mar Musa, all of them around thirty years old. It may be the only monastic community in the world where men and women pray and work together, while living separately.

A new building houses the nuns' quarters and the wing for female visitors. The men's quarters have been expanded as well. The monastery dwellers lead a very simple life – having chosen poverty voluntarily, they dress in dark cotton habits.

They tend the garden, keep goats and bees. But the monastery also has computers and an Internet connection – for Mar Musa exists in the virtual realm of the Internet.

Recognizing Islam as an equally valid religion

This monastery has many unusual aspects. "We've always had a somewhat difficult relationship with the Vatican," says Brother Frederique from France, who has lived in the monastery for a year now. The major problem was not that it is a mixed monastery. Rather, it is problematic that the nuns and monks recognize Islam as an equally valid religion.

In Syria Muslims and Christians have been living together peacefully for centuries. And the inhabitants of Mar Musa hope to continue strengthening and deepening this dialogue.

"Many Syrian visitors come on the weekends – for them the monastery is a place to go on a normal outing," says the monk. All visitors are welcome. After the strenuous climb they can rest in a Bedouin tent, drink a glass of water or share a simple meal with the monks.

Hospitality and communication are priorities – in part because monks in the Middle East have always cultivated the tradition of accommodating visitors.

Muslim visitors praying with Christians

"Receiving visitors is like welcoming Jesus Christ," feels Brother Frederique. This has nothing to do with proselytizing, however. Muslims often admire the frescoes, and sometimes even pray together with the Christians.

"Our shared spirituality is based on the simplicity of our life, on peace and the recognition of Islam and Christianity as religions of God." The different religions are part of the "mystery that is humanity".

The monks maintain contact with Islamic scholars, priests and intellectuals and hold joint seminars on religious, social and political issues. Mar Musa is also committed to the concerns of Syrian Christians, who are leaving the country in ever-increasing numbers. "We've come to see that Syria's plurality is threatened by the fact that minorities are emigrating," the monk explains.

The language of liturgy is Arabic

The monastery follows Syrian rites, and the language of the liturgy is Arabic, although the nuns and monks come from Italy, Switzerland, France and Syria. They invite Syrian Christians to the monastery on a regular basis.

But of course this alone is not enough to keep Christians from leaving the country. That is why Mar Musa is also committed to local social projects. For example, the monastery helped renovate old houses to provide homes for young families – or to enable émigrés to return.

Upcoming projects focus on ecology, with the goal of preserving creation for the good of humanity. For example, an ecologically-friendly goat farm in the desert is meant to provide young families with a source of income.

In a country with a population which is growing as fast as Syria's, it is especially important to preserve one's natural resources.

Ultimately, however, Mar Musa is an oasis of tranquility, meditation and self-discovery far removed from the region's political, social, economic and ecological problems. And that, too, is the main goal of the monastery inhabitants.

"The desert has a spirituality of its very own," feels Brother Frederique. And, he says, it is always a very special thing to encounter the spirit of God – or Allah – in the desert.

Christina Förch

© Qantara.de 2004

Translated from the German by Isabel Cole

Qantara.de

Religious Conflict in Turkey
A Cold Wind Sweeping the Tur Abdin
In south-eastern Turkey a neighbourhood dispute over a few hectares of stony ground has escalated into a religious war between the Mor Gabriel Monastery and the surrounding Arab and Kurdish villages. Susannne Güsten has the details

Turkey's Aramaean Minority
More Than Just Mor Gabriel
Driven out by economic hardship and discrimination at local and state level in the 1960s and by forced evacuations in the 1990s, Southeastern Turkey's Aramaeans are starting to return home, only to find that their ancestral lands no longer belong to them. Ayse Karabat reports

The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul
Limited Religious Freedom in Turkey
The situation for the Ecumenical Patriarch in Turkey, the spiritual leader of all Orthodox Christians, is difficult. The very existence of the Patriarchate is threatened by a law on private schools that was recently passed by the parliament in Ankara. Cyrill Stieger reports

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