Bickering Brothers

The following is is a response paper originally written for the Modern Muslim Thought class that I took as part of my religious studies program at the university I attend.  I apologize that I am not able to supply the document that I am referring to in the paper, as I cannot find a corresponding link online already and I do not have permission to publicly distribute the pdf I obtained in my class. However, the topic is certainly research ready: it was an account of a fatwa debate about the Arab-Israeli Peace Initiative that took place between Shaikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Shaikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz. The paper follows.

Oh, al-Quds / Jerusalem, what a quandary you are. I thought of the title to this response paper by linking what I understood to be the main issue at hand. I am also reminded of a song, but think that words should be replaced… “This land is my land, no this land is my land”… The undying war has reared its ugly head. I’m going to be upfront and admit my bias. I think they (the ever fighting siblings, the Palestinians and the Israelis – or if you prefer, the Muslims and the Jews), aka Ishmael and Isaac)) are all being idiots. I do want to highlight my use of the word “fighting” as I am only shunning the ones hell bent on destroying each other. I know that there are many on both sides praying for peace, and I also know that not all Palestinians are Muslim. Another cliché comes to mind: “Can’t we all just get along?”

Ok, so now for my take on these fatwas. 

Shaikh 'Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz

I think the basic fault line between the two Shaikh is their Definition of what a Jew is. I think that Shaikh ‘Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz thinks of a Jew as a person. A person who, because of religious and power differences throughout history, may or may not, be an enemy to Muslims. I think that he would rather see the end of this conflict, even if it means, to some extent, “giving up”. Sometimes we have to realize and cut our losses in life. I think he sees what many of us throughout the world see: continuing bloodshed and senseless death over a conflict that may never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, especially when satisfaction for either party means complete annihilation of the other (here I refer to the fundamentalists or further, the extremists, on both sides). I am afraid I have to put Shaikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi in the fundie box.

Shaikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi

Shaikh Yusuf virtually spits hatred at Jews. Not just any particular Jew who has done him wrong, but ALL Jews. To me, he sees a Jew not as a person, but only as the enemy. I think that he might accept a situation that does not call for annihilation of all Jews, only if it meant that they surrendered Israel to Islam. I imagine by his arguments that he would see them leave as well (at least). Yusuf argues that ibn Baz’s fatwa cannot hold its own because it doesn’t apply to the reality at hand. He doesn’t see the analogy of the Quarysh tribe as making sense now. Because, that would only apply to regular enemies, not the JEW! At least that is how it read to me. The problem I find with his rebuttal to Ibn Baz is that reality is a matter that is subjective by nature. I think Yusuf sees surrender as not only weakness, but an affront to God, because how dare the Muslim give up when God is on his side? My answer? Perhaps he doesn’t understand God’s plan. What if God’s plan is to teach these disrespectful, bickering children to get along, once and for all.

What saddens me is what it usually takes to get estranged siblings to come back together…

Pluralism and Salvation

In today’s global society, the need for interreligious dialogue is becoming very important amongst efforts for creating peace. It is for this reason that I returned to school to pursue a BA in Religious Studies and a career in interfaith relations. I intend to work closely with Muslim – Christian relations, and as such, knowing the contemporary arguments for religious ecumenism is as important as knowing the history for and against pluralism and salvation of the “other” in Islam.

In Mohammad Hassan Khalil’s “Salvationand the ‘Other’ in Islamic Thought: The Contemporary Pluralism Debate (inEnglish)”, the fact that not all pluralists are created equal is made known. Pluralism in Islam (and likely elsewhere) has divisions which is a main reason for the diversity in arguments for pluralistic salvation. Categorizing the arguments starts by categorizing the types of pluralists. It is of some importance to note that most of these pluralists write in English and reside in predominantly non-Muslim countries.

The esoteric perennialist school of thought began with Rene Guenon. Its core belief is that each of the major religions has truth and lead to God. Later, John Hick argued a congruous form of pluralism akin to the story of the elephant and the blind men – the seeming differences in religion are actually only because of perspective and frame of reference. Building on the perennialist thought and distancing from Hick’s view, Reza Shah-Kazemi uses the term universalism and suggests that in order for a religion to be a valid path to salvation, it need to be divinely inspired, not a human construct.

A critical issue with all of these arguments is that they frequently refer to the Qur’an almost exclusively, whereas the majority of Muslims view hadith to be authoritive. In order for many of these Muslims to be open to the pluralist arguments, there may need to be some reconciliation with their views based on hadith. Simply writing hadith off as fabricated or corrupt does a disservice to the debate, as it is akin to telling someone that what they believe in is lies.

The best way to move forward in the debate, which is one important to interfaith relations locally and globally, is to determine how best to help create a paradigmatic revolution. These paradigm shifts are possible, as history has shown us – in both the USA with the civil rights movement and in recent times, in the Middle East with the Arab Spring.

My Jihad

Although I had to take a break Thursday after becoming literally ill from reading many hateful comments (from all sides) regarding a recent religious hate crime, and the fact that the walls may have thickened in some, I am not giving up. I believe in the Interfaith Movement and I believe that I have a role to play in it, no matter how small. These brick walls were meant to be torn down, even if my head bleeds while banging my head on them.

I will not give in because there are ignorant people out that that will use any excuse to stir up trouble. This is my path, and I tread it with passion. I know how I am and how emotional I can get and how passionate those emotions can be, so strong as to take me off my feet at times. I won't let it take me out. I may have to rest my eyes from the carnage from time to time and breath in fresh air to re-liven my spirit, but with God's help, I will keep on.  I will fight for the rights of anyone to believe that which is their own, with only one exception - don't abuse those beliefs to hurt others. That is not what has been taught by the wise men and women of the ages. Love is. And love it will be.

I will support my friends of all faiths and non-faiths. I will hold their hands and help raise them up when their spirits are down. I will do my God given work to tear down the walls between people with differences and help them toward mutual respect. It starts with me and hopefully continues with you.

Ameen.

(Note: I was taking a break from the debates and dialogues and news that were erupting everywhere, in the Facebook groups I belong to, and on my own Facebook wall. Feel free to come take a look, I take subscribers to my public posts)

Blundering Into an Interfaith Opportunity

How does that old saying go? "Life is what happens when we are making other plans"? Well, God has a sense of humor, for sure - I'm the proof.

Seriously though, all day I had been looking forward to hearing my best friend and her new band play their first gig tonight. I had to  make my typical four hour (round trip) Friday journey to my ex-marital home to drop of my kids with their father, but I was still sure that I could make the show before it was over. I double-checked the time on my Facebook event invite, and sure enough, I should be able to catch an hour and half of the show, if I hurried. Cue God laughing...

I made it to the location of the gig, a quaint little gift shop not far from where I live at 9 pm. The invite said the show ran until 10:30... I was in luck. I saw my bestie outside the front door and assumed she was taking a breather, so I didn't holler, figuring I would rather tackle-surprise her with a big hug instead. I finished rolling up my windows, and headed into the store, as I didn't see my friend outside anymore. I saw a young red-headed girl sitting at a table and thought it was my friend's daughter (I think I should start wearing my glasses more), but my friend wasn't anywhere to be seen, nor was her band.

The people who were in the backroom, where the microphones and seating was, welcomed me graciously. I explained who I was and found out that they had just left. I felt so bad. Not for me, but for my friend because I had promised I would be there to support her, but I had missed it. I called her and apologized for missing it and told her I hoped I could make it to the next gig.

Everyone who was still in the backroom invited me to stay and listen to who was going to play/sing next and mentioned that there was a couple who knew my friend from their church still there. They asked me some things about myself and I happily volunteered details (I talk too much). One question led into another and I began telling them about my majors in Religious Studies and Arabic at MSU. I explained that I intend to have a career in the interfaith movement, and that I was focusing on Christian and Muslim relations. I was steadily getting nervous, because I could just feel the question coming... "but you're Christian, right?"

Silence.

Expectation.

Realization.

Half of me wanted to run out the door as fast as I could. My bestie loves her Christian faith and has been active in her church communities for years, even as a very successful youth pastor for a time. I had no doubt that I was amongst other very devout Christians. I was tired. I had driven for four hours already and since I had missed the gig, I wanted to go home. I didn't feel up to the challenge of standing up for my beliefs at that moment.

The other half was yelling at me, "OPPORTUNITY!" I had just told them I was focusing on Christian and Muslim relations. It wasn't time for me to be a coward. Yup, God was laughing at me. And pushing me. And reminding me why I am passionate about this in the first place. And showing me I can do it. Yes, this is still my path.

My silence only lasted about a second, in reality, although it felt longer than that. I am sure I blushed some as I said, "I used to be."

No one ridiculed me. No one belittled me. No one yelled at me. No one threw me out. There were some Christian affirmations. There were questions. I answered to the best of my ability. Every one was very nice and very polite. I had one gentleman approach me  and tell me that he understands a little bit about what it must be like to try to explain that although our beliefs may be somewhat different, or the terminology is somewhat different, that we love the same God and how beliefs can change as we learn new things. For me, it was reading the Qur'an; for him, it was learning about and embracing his Native American roots.

I am reminded by this experience that we interfaith activists never know when we might be presented with what I am going to call an "interfaith opportunity" much as I would also call it a "teachable moment". We should never shy away from it because we have other plans, or are just too tired for polite debate. We should instead remember our passion for this work, reach in, pull it out, and embrace the moment same as we embrace our new friends.

Have you ever blundered? I would love to hear your stories or reactions.Please take a moment to comment below.

Salam, which means PEACE!