http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=62194&d=16&m=4&y=2005
Saturday, 16, April, 2005 (07, Rabi` al-Awwal, 1426)
Vatican's Ties With Islam
Amir Taheri
While officially there is no election campaign in choosing a
successor to Pope John Paul II, the half a dozen cardinals in line for the job
are engaged in their version of electioneering. Some have taken to the media
like duck to water, heightening their profile through TV and radio interviews.
Others have relied on friends to keep their miters in the ring.
One issue that is dominating the debate about the succession
is the attitude that the next pope, leader of the world's estimated one billion
Catholics, should adopt toward Islam.
For centuries the Catholic Church either tried to ignore
Islam or clung to medieval prejudices borne out of misunderstanding or
ignorance. By the middle of the last century, however, the Vatican, the state
expression of the Catholic Church, felt obliged to develop a policy toward
Islam if only to organize its relations with a growing number of Muslim
countries. At the start of the last century there were just six more or less
independent Muslim states. By the year 2000 that number had grown to 53.
The first pope to put relations with Islam on the agenda was
Paul VI who initiated the first inter-faith dialogue. The idea was that
Christianity and Islam must find a modus vivendi as two neighboring
civilizations. Much of the dialogue, however, consisted of diplomatic exchanges
and bland assertions of common values. The relationship remained distant and
cold; it was as if the two sides were merely seizing each other up.
By the time of Paul VI's passing the world had changed. The
decolonization process had produced dozens of new Muslim states while a growing
flow of Muslim immigrants into Europe altered the religious composition of the
continent.
When John Paul II became pope, Islam was no longer a
neighboring civilization of Europe but a significant and growing presence
within the continent.
The history of the past three to four decades is one of
intense competition between Islam and Christianity, especially the Catholic
version, for converts. The last three decades of the 20th century witnessed
major successes for Islam in winning converts, especially in black Africa where
at least 12 nations that had been mainly Christian or animist were largely
islamicized through conversions.
In 1980, John Paul II ordered a review of relations with
Islam.
He faced two divergent views.
One belonged to cardinals who claimed that there was no need
for a theological dialogue with Islam or, any other faiths for that matter, and
that relations should remain confined to political and diplomatic domains.
That view was backed by the argument that Christianity, as
the ultimate truth had nothing to learn from other religions. Another claim was
that Islam, having concluded that the Shariah contained the ultimate answer to
all issues, no longer had an evolving theology that could help Christian
theology grow stronger by challenging it.
The second view belonged to those who wanted a polite, but
ultimately inconsequential, dialogue as a matter of political expediency rather
than theological interest.
The issue was further complicated because Islam does not have
church-like structures and does not recognize a pope-like figure. Thus it was
not clear who the pope should dialogue with. The easy way out for the Vatican,
being a state and a member of the United Nations, was to pursue the dialogue
through diplomatic relations with Muslim states.
In Islam, however, contrary to what some in the West imagine,
the state is not the personification of religion. Even when the state bears the
label "Islamic", as is the case in the Islamic republics of Mauritania, Iran
and Pakistan, for example, society as a whole does not seek its religious
guidance from government officials. To complicate matters further, in some
Muslim countries, the most active Islamic elements are in opposition to the
state.
John Paul II insisted on developing a third position. This
was based on the idea of a grand alliance between the Catholic Church and Islam
to oppose both the Communist bloc led by the USSR and the growing
secularization of life in the world. He regarded Islam and Catholicism as
objective allies because while the former fought against the Red Army in
Afghanistan, the latter took on the Soviet "evil empire" in Central and Eastern
Europe. In Western Europe, the heartland of Catholicism, the pope saw Islam as
an ally on such issues as homosexual "marriages", abortion, euthanasia, human
cloning, and the status of women.
John Paul II pursued his quest for alliance with Islam in
1986 by becoming the first pope to visit a Muslim country. During that visit to
Morocco he had this to say: "We believe in the same God, the one and the only
God, who created the world and brought its creatures to perfection."
In 2001 John Paul II visited Damascus and became the first
pope to pray in a mosque. He also issued a formal apology for what he termed
the misdeeds of Christendom toward Islam, including the Crusades and
colonialism.
That strategy was not an easy sell to many Catholics. Islam
and Christianity are the only two major religions that wish to convert the
whole of mankind. For them to set their 1400 year-old competition for converts
aside in the name of fighting the common enemies of secularism and atheism is
not an easy option.
Politically, John Paul II's strategy has scored a number of
victories. The Vatican has united with a number of Muslim states, notably Iran
and the Sudan, to block the extension of the secular concept of human rights in
several instances.
In the Beijing conference on women, for example, Vatican and
the Islamic bloc managed to prevent measures that would have given women equal
rights with men.
John Paul II's charisma was such that few dared challenge his
strategy. Now that he is no longer there, however, his strategy will be
subjected to scrutiny within the Catholic Church.
One critic is Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, a leading candidate
for papacy. Ratzinger believes that John Paul II's strategy of alliance with
Islam has put the Vatican not on the side of the Muslim peoples but on the side
of despotic regimes that dominate the Muslim world. Ratzinger sees relations
between Islam and Catholicism as one of competition over the truth.
Ratzinger suggests an alternative strategy under which the
Catholic Church would focus on the consolidation of its position in its
traditional strongholds in Europe and the American Continent. In that context
Ratzinger has publicly opposed the admission of Turkey into the European Union.
Ratzinger regards a formal dialogue with Islam as a handicap
for the Catholic Church because it would assume a measure of equality between
the two faiths, signaling to people, especially in Europe, that they can shop
around for religion. Ratzinger's strategy enjoys much support in the College of
Cardinals. But it also has critics.
Cardinal Angel Scola, the archbishop of Venice and another
contender for John Paul II's succession, regards Ratzinger's strategy as
"defensive" and based on the West's traditional fears about Islam. Cardinal
Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the archbishop of Westminster, goes further and
described dialogue with Islam as "an urgent need".
"We must find interlocutors in all Muslim countries," he
says. "Christianity and Islam have a shared responsibility in defending world
peace."
Both Scola and O'Connor believe that John Paul II's public
opposition to the war in Iraq helped prevent a "clash of civilizations".
An even more ardent advocate of dialogue with Islam is
Cardinal Francis Arinze, also a leading candidate for John Paul II's
succession. A Nigerian, Arinze has direct experience of Islam because more than
half of his native country's population is Muslim.
At a meeting in Rabat, Morocco, several years ago, Arinze
told us that he believed Christians had much to learn from "the sincere ardor
of Muslims" while Muslims could benefit from the West's openness to new
scientific and political ideas.
Like John Paul II, Arinze believes both Islam and
Christianity need a united "anti-secularism" front to protect further erosion
in their faith.
"Many Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of faith
having its say on all issues," he said. "In Islam, however, religion is still
regarded as a legitimate participant in the public debate. We must work
together to make this case in the global arena."
In the next few days we shall know who has won the argument
in the Vatican.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for
anyone who cares about public education!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/O.5XsA/8WnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
***************************************************************************
Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.org
***************************************************************************
__________________________________________________________________________
Mohon Perhatian:
1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik)
2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari.
3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru;
4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
