Yesterday, I began a discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey; today, let's continue that thread...
One of the issues the Pope is trying to address with the Muslim world is reciprocity - as Muslims demand more respect in Western countries, they continue to deny the same respect and freedom to other religions in Muslim-majority nations. Muslims do not see this as a problem, since they see Islam as the final, complete revealed word of God, and do not believe anyone should worship God in any other way. A good discussion of this mindset, and of the difference between "triumphalist" and "relativist" religions, can be found in Bernard Lewis's classic 2003 essay, "I'm Right, You're Wrong, Go to Hell."
Lewis notes that a triumphalist (such as a Muslim) views his as "...the only true and complete religion, all other religions are at best incomplete, and more probably false and evil; and since he is the priviliged recipient of God's final message to humankind, it is surely his duty to bring it to others..." From a Muslim point of view, Lewis continues, Judaism came first, Christianity developed from Judaism, and Islam came last to perfect the message of God. Therefore, "...Judaism and Christianity were both true religions at the time of their revelation, but they were superseded by the final and complete revelation of Islam...Anything subsequent to Mohammed...is, from the Muslim perspective, inherently false."
This does not bode well for mutual respect among the world's great religions. If you deeply, sincerely, and truly believe that your creed is the only true one, and that all others are misguided or evil, respect and tolerance will probably be difficult, if not impossible, to attain, particularly given the other related problems I discussed in yesterday's post.
I don't particularly care how a person chooses to relate to his concept of God. To me, it is more important to follow the basic ethical guidelines of the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments than it is to wear a particular religious label. Unfortunately, not everyone believes that way. Worse, we live in a world in which the label is more important than the actions one lives.
So where do we go from here? I wish I knew. I don't think there is any particular hope that Islam will develop a new sense of respect and tolerance for other religions - regardless of what the Koran may say about Christians and Jews being "people of the book" and worthy of respect, it is clear that there is no real Muslim interest in respect for any religion but their own.
Sadly, Islam appears to embody the triumphalist point of view described by Lewis: "I'm right, you're wrong, go to hell."
And that's a terrible thing to have to contemplate as we approach the Christmas season, isn't it?
Have a good day. More thoughts coming.
Bilbo
1 comment:
Well, Bilbo my lad, you've once again hit the nail on the head. You know who this is, but I'm not particularly interested in any Muslim fanatics knowing who wrote this. This post is about the role of reform and revolution in preserving the relevance of relitions. Moses reformed Judaism to make it applicable to the world in which it existed. He wrote the rules that helped transition the Hebrews transition from a hunter-gatherer economy to the agricultural age. Jesus came along and completed that reformation by filling the gaps in Mosaic Judaism--most important--strengthening the influence of women, and making possible democratic forms of government as we know them in the west. Martin Luther not only created the Protestant Church, he reformed the Catholic one by hacking away at the "Roman" part of it, and its reaction to the Reformation is one of the reasons the Pope remains relevant in the modern world. All of these reformations, including the reform of Brahmanism which we name after its promulgator, Buddha, made their religions viable in the current world. Religions have to change to remain relevant for more than 1000 years.
Islam is overripe for a similar reform.
Islam has never had a reform, led by a reform prophet. Because it is a hermetically sealed truth, as you point out, it will be very difficult for a reform prophet to arise. But if the new prophet does not arise, the remainder of the world will either find a way to force a reformation through violence, or be swept away by the intransigent, unreformed Islam.
A 10,000 year dark age will follow if Islam triumphs before it reforms. All religions which reformed did so in reaction to outside pressures. The West will only survive if it is the forcing function in Islamic reform.
Post a Comment