DELA CERNA
(Part 2)
Before moving on to the second part of echoing his article on “The Qur-anic Perspective of Tolerance: Eminent Muslims in Their Encounter with Christianity,” it is important to note that for 25 years, Prof.
Henry Francis Espiritu taught Philosophy and Asian History at the University of the Philippines Cebu. And all these years he had been a strong advocate of inter-faith dialogue, not just through his teachings in class and many lectures in and out of the campus and country but did so through prolific research and publications and significant inter-faith pilgrimages.
With reference to some eminent Muslim scholars, Espiritu emphasizes that “The divergence in each society’s ways of life should not be a cause of disharmony and differences; instead societal divergences should prod each community to vie with one another in the performance of virtuous conduct.”
Each religious community should do righteous deeds according to their tenets; leaving to God the judgment as to which community is the best. It is not for humans to pontificate which view is true and which is right.
Vain and fruitless arguments as to which religious, ethical, and ideological point of view is right or wrong will only lead to communal fracas and infringement of societal concord.
Human beings are admonished to contend with one another in good deeds by utilizing their own respective laws as bases of their righteous conduct.
Espiritu cited Ustaz Abu Ya’qub Sijistani, – although himself a Shi’ite – maintained amicable relations with the orthodox Sunni majority during the period of the Fatimid Caliphate in the 10th to 11th century A.D.
His endeavor to establish Sunni-Shi’a rapprochement was also matched by his spiritual and intellectual relationship with the Coptic Christians of Egypt, the Arab Orthodox Christians of Iraq, the Byzantine Christians of Anatolia, and the Jews.
He often consulted Jewish rabbis and Orthodox Christian hermits and inquired from them regarding their interpretation of some obscure passages of the Bible.
His encounters with Christianity and Judaism were indeed intellectually stimulating since Ustaz Sijistani wrote six (6) religio-philosophical treatises reflecting on his relations with Christianity and Judaism, not to mention the orthodox Sunni Islam.
Espiritu calls him an “ecumenical Muslim”. Sijistani opined that the Qur-an fully acknowledges the different expressions of worship undertaken by different religions, while at the same time firmly holding to the Islamic expressions of worship (i.e. the five-times-a-day liturgical prayers, prescribed pilgrimage, and Ramadan fasting, etc.)
The great master of Islamic mysticiam, Hazrat Shaykh-al-Akbar Muhaiyuddin Ibn Arabi (circa 1164-1240 A.D.), provided a very universal and inclusive interpretation of the passage on the practical dimensions of Islamic tolerance with respect to the different worship expressions of other faith-traditions.
Ibn Arabi’s frequent discussions and meetings with Jewish and Christian philosophers and mystics may have influenced his all-inclusive and panentheistic approach to understanding Ultimate Reality.
Ibn Arabi’s homeland, Andalusia, a cosmopolitan region in Spain was ruled during Ibn Arabi’s time by the extremely tolerant Umayyad sultans. The emirs of Andalusia encouraged learning and supported all educational institutions, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish.
It was during this period that Christians all over Europe flocked to Muslim Spain to study Greek philosophy as mediated by the Arabic textual sources. Ibn Arabi’s Islamic Andalusia ruled by the enlightened Umayyads offered an atmosphere of intellectual freedom — an atmosphere that was so different from the rest of Europe where inquisitions and religious persecutions were the order of the day.
In keeping with the example of the Prophet Muhammad, the second Caliph of Islam, Hazrat Umar al-Farooq, assured the delegation of Coptic and Orthodox Christians that their churches, convents, and monasteries were to be protected and to be held inviolable by the Islamic State.
The same Caliph climbed by foot to Mount Sinai, Egypt to sign a treaty guaranteeing the safety of the monks and nuns of St. Catherine’s monastery.
The continued existence of Arab, Coptic, Armenian, Greek, and Kurdish Christians communities in the Middle East and the marked presence of churches and convents in these Islamic realms give witness to the tolerant attitude of authentic Islam to the religious “other.”
Espiritu finds it regrettable that in our contemporary times, most of the so-called Muslim nations are perceived as lagging behind in fulfilling the spirit of tolerance as plainly expressed in the Qur-an and the Tradition (Sunnah) of the Prophet.
He also finds it equally lamentable that political and religious extremism failed to see the pluralistic, concordant, and tolerant dimension of Islam as found in the Qur-an and in the conduct of the Prophet.
It cannot be denied, as shown in history, that there were many instances of bloody conflicts between Christians and Muslims and that atrocities and violence can be equally attributed to both sides.
The era of the Crusades during the Middle Ages and the more recent phenomenon of Western colonization of Muslim lands painted a different picture of Christianity in the perceptions of Muslims – a grim and greedy “Christianity” which is far from the peace-loving Christianity of Christ and the Gospels.
Similarly, basing their perceptions on the Western media’s skewed descriptions of Muslims and the intolerance of some Islamic movements, Christians perceived a rigid and inflexible Islam – an “Islam” very different from the tolerant and inclusive Islam of the Holy Qur-an.
Espiritu calls on both Muslims and Christians to move past these historical contingencies – contingencies that were political, economic and pragmatic in nature and had nothing to do with the essential spiritual and religious contents of both faiths.
He urges them to go back to their respective Scriptures and be nourished by the precepts of tolerance, understanding, and amity enjoined by both the Bible and the Qur-an.
In doing so, both the largest and the second largest religions of the world will be able to contribute actively towards achieving world peace.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
