Week of Global Interfaith Dialogue -- 2007

Buddhist-Muslim Dialogues

JORDAN

The Other In My Tradition
URI Middle East 2nd Conference
4th Middle East Abrahamic Conference
8 - 11 September 2003

SUMMARIES OF THE PRESENTATIONS:

The Jewish perspective was presented by Yoav Frenkel of the Interfaith Encounter Association. He started by the contrast between the pagan Greek and Roman tolerant approach to a variety of gods. However, the Jew could not enjoy it as when he came to Rome he could not act like a roman, but had to continue acting like a Jew, and by doing so he became for 1500 years "the Other" who does not respect the ruling culture. On the other hand - Judaism also referred with contempt and undermining to the Greek and Roman pagan culture. After many centuries, Judaism encounters in Christianity and later in Islam, religions that are more similar to it and chooses to respond in a complex way that can be described by 5 guidelines:

1. There is no attempt to understand the Other in order to examine the truth of his beliefs (conversion is not an option);

2. However, there is an attempt to understand the Other in order to classify him and to understand how he should be referred to;

3. The self-identity has to be always maintained and no customs are to be adopted from the Other;

4. There is a separation between the person and his or her belief so it is possible to respect the person even if his or her belief is rejected;

5. In some peripheral cases - laws can be bent in order to prevent a conflict and maintain peace.

The Muslim perspective was presented by Mohamed Mosaad of the Egyptian Interfaith Association. He took the course of defining the concepts of the "Self", the "Other" and the attitude to the 'other'. There are many types of "Others" and the Quran says that the basic variety is a human trait: the People of the Book are as varied and the Muslims and the diversity is based on personal behaviour and not on ethnic, religious or any other form of affinity or grouping. It is also related to historical context and no one is responsible for acts of another, even if from the same religion or nationality.

The border line between the self and the other is vague. The self is the believer and the other is the non-believer but even the person himself can not know if he is a real believer or a hypocrite. And the Quran even mentioned a situation when two groups of Believers (which is a higher degree than a Muslim) are at war and instructs to separate between them. But it does not judge that since they are at war it means they are not true believers, as it refers to the human reality in which even higher people can make mistakes.

The true difference between the believer and the non-believer is faith but the only one who can determine the sincerityof faith is God and humans can not make any judgement on that. The Quran says that the Jews tells that the Christians are wrong and vice-versa, but unlike the expectation that it will claim that both are wrong - it says that God will judge between them. The attitude to the other, then, can not be determined by his or herfaith, as this will become known to people only in the next world. It is determined by they everyday behaviour and earthly decisions. The Quran also stress the commandment to treat the other in a fair way, which is less than the emotional attitude of love.

The Druze perspective was delivered by Sheikh Tawfiq Salameh of the Interfaith Encounter Association, Secretary of the Druze High Religious Council in Israel. As the Druze religion is secret, he discussed the issue from a historical perspective. Every person is created in the image of God and the Druze approach accepts the plurality in the ways of worship of God.

The Druze appreciates every person according to his or her behaviour in front of God and with fellow humans. The Druze will condemn another Druze if he is not acting well, and will respect a non-Druze that is acting

well. The Druze community is considered pure and beautiful. During wars with non-Druze, the Druze warriors fought with bravery but if occupied a village of their enemy they did not harm any of its inhabitants. The laws of conduct are strongly kept by the Druze community and anyone who violates them is severely punished by the community. These laws protect the stranger in the same manner they protect the Druze.

A famous example is the story of the Shiite refugee who found shelter in the house of Sultan El Atrash. When he was arrested by the French, the Druze decided that this was against their tradition of defending the other and rebelled against the French. In the Druze community there are no parties - it is all one community in which the religious authority is highly significant to religious as well as non-religious people.

The Christian perspective was presented by Prof. Muhanna Haddad, Professor for Anthropology and Religion at Yarmukh University in Irbid. He quoted a researcher who defined religion as all those things that are not subject to empirical tests. Judaism, Christianity and Islam in particular and religions in general are characterized by the belief in super-power. Basically "the other" in Christianity is the non-Christian.

Unlike Judaism, Christianity is not related to a given nation but is a missionary religion, like Islam, and when it becomes the religion of the Roman Empire - everyone had to become Christian. The churches in the Middle East saw the Greek as an "other" that has to be deported and when the Muslims came they were not considered as an "other". This changed as a result of political changes in the structure of the Muslim administration that started with the Umayins and continued with the Abassians: when a state was built with Islam as its religion - the Christians became "the other". With time, many churches shifted and maintain that the other is my neighbour and therefore I should love him. This approach is also applicable to the neighbourhood of the nations of the Middle East.