Download Who is my neighbour? - Richmond Hill United Church

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Richmond Hill United Church
Sunday April 30, 2006
By Raheel Raza
We begin all our prayers, sermons and reading of scripture with the words Bismillah –
begin in the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful. This reminds us that God IS
merciful and compassionate and we are also urged to instill compassion, tolerance and
mercy into our lives.
But we know for a fact that trusting in each other’s religions with respect is not the path
the extreme religious right wants us to travel.
This is why I was amazed to see a Polish newspaper with a picture of Pope John Paul II,
holding a copy of the Quran and speaking to the Catholic Community of Europe,
"Christians and Muslims have many things in common, as believers and as human
beings. We live in the same world, marked by many signs of hope, but also by multiple
signs of anguish. For us, Abraham is a model of faith in God, of submission to his will
and of confidence in his goodness. We believe in the same God, the one God, the living
God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection."
Similarly, I believe that if we are ever to have peace between nations, we must begin with
peace between religions, so today, I choose to talk a language of peace and love,
emphasizing similarities and commonalities between our traditions, rather than
differences.
There is an old Arabic saying that words from the lips reach only the ears, but words
from the heart, reach the heart. So I invite you to listen with open hearts.
God did not create diversity for it to become a source of tensions, divisions and
polarization in society. Indeed, whether humans recognize it or not, human diversity is a
sign of divine genius. The Qur’an, which is the holy book of Muslims, says “humanity is
one community”. This is a concept that envisages a world in which people, regardless of
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their differences, are united by their devotion to God. The emphasis on the universality of
God’s message is characterized in the Quran’s fundamental teaching that God has
revealed His message to all peoples and to all cultures; not a single people or nation has
been forgotten. Although humans may have misinterpreted that message to suit their
needs in creating conflicting traditions, all religions, at their core, have sprung from the
same divine source and inspiration.
The idea that God’s message is universal, but its manifestations plural, provides the
manner in which the Quran relates itself and the faith that it preaches, with the religious
traditions that preceded it - namely Judaism and Christianity. Far from denying the
validity of these predecessor traditions, the Quran repeatedly affirms their essential truth,
acknowledging that their message comes from one and the same God, and that the Quran
is only the latest of God’s revelations to reaffirm the revelations that preceded it.
Confirming this pluralistic stance is the following command in the Qur’an to believers:
“Say: we believe in God and what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to
Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes, and in what was given to Moses, Jesus,
and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between one and another
among them and to Him [God] do we submit” (Quran, 3:84).
Quranic beliefs in the truth of the Judaic and Christian traditions are also encapsulated in
another term: the ahl al-kitab or People of the Book. This is the umbrella term in the
Quran to refer to communities, or peoples, who have received revelation in the form of
scripture. Significantly, the Quran does not claim that it abrogates the scriptures revealed
before it. On the contrary, it affirms their validity. In one verse addressed to the Prophet
Muhammad, God advises him “And if you [Muhammad] are in doubt concerning that
which We [God] reveal to you, then question those who read the scripture [that was
revealed] before you” (Quran 10:94). Another verse addressed to the Muslim faithful
says, “And argue not with the People of the Book unless it be in a way that is better, save
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with such of them as do wrong; and say we believe in that which has been revealed to us
and to you; and our God and your God is one and unto Him we submit” (Quran 29:46).
Christianity and Islam both look upon Abraham as their spiritual ancestor. Christian and
Islamic cultural, historical and religious traditions emanate from the same geographical
and historical source. Both are religions of ethical monotheism – both believe in
Prophets, angels, revelation and a scripture. In perhaps the most beautiful parallel
between Mohammad and Jesus (pbuh) both insisted that their spiritually enriching
messages were for all humanity.
Jesus tells his disciples in John 10:16 “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen” –
The Koran tells Mohammad “all those who believe, the Jews and the Sabeans and the
Christians – anyone who believes in God and the last day and does good – will have
nothing to fear or regret”. It may surprise some of you to know that Jesus is mentioned
more times by name in the Qur’an, than Muhammad.
Historical Islam began as a minority tradition in a non-Muslim setting. When Prophet
Mohammad received his first revelations in Mecca in 610 ce, the people around him were
largely tribal and polytheistic and the majority population of Arabia was of Christians,
Jews and Zoroastrians. Therefore, the Qur’an as a message to Mohammad from God,
talks clearly and eloquently about human relationships, about forming alliances and trusts
and about respect for those who follow a different path.
As in Judaism, Muslims draw heavily from oral traditions and story telling. I want to
share with you an incident in the History of early Islam, to put into perspective the fact
that while religion can divide, it can also be a great unifying force, depending on who is
propagating the message.
In the early days of the revelation of the message of Islam, the followers of Prophet
Mohammad were persecuted and he advised them to leave Mecca and take refuge in
Abyssinia, a Christian country ruled by a Christian king, whom he had heard was a just
ruler. A small band of Muslims were called to the court where the ruler asked them what
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they knew of Christianity. One of the companions of the Prophet, Jaffar read from the
Koran the chapter on Mary and the birth of Jesus and it is recorded that king stepped
down from his throne and with tears in his eyes, drew a line in the sand and said “the
difference between us is as minimal as this line and we are the light of the same candle”
Through the centuries, however, this message and others like it, have been sidelined and
Islam has been subjected to anti-pluralist, or exclusivist, interpretations in order to
advance both political and religious subversive agendas
The Quran, says in chapter 49 verse 13: “O humankind We [God] have created you male
and female, and made you into communities and tribes, so that you may know one
another - not to conquer, convert, subjugate, revile or slaughter but to reach out with
intelligence and understanding. Surely the noblest amongst you in the sight of God is the
most godfearing of you.”
The Arabic word Islam means submission to the will of God and when you believe in
God, you open your heart to all faiths. From the time that Muhammad received his first
revelation in 610 to the year 622, Islam was a persecuted minority religion in Mecca, and
remained a minority tradition until two years before the death of Muhammad. In the year
622 Muhammad immigrated with his community to Medina, where Islam was also a
minority tradition. Muhammad, in a spirit of pluralism asked each Meccan to befriend a
person from Medina irrespective of their faith. Muhammad’s reputation as a just and
honest guide had reached Medina so the Jews and Christians of Medina took his counsel
in matters of legal proceedings.
In 628 C.E., after Heraclius, Ceaser of the Byzantine Empire had captured Constantinople
from the Persians he went to Jerusalem to thank God for his victory. In the ancient holy
city, he received a most extraordinary letter from a land further to the East. “In the name
of God, the compassionate, the Merciful. From Mohammad, slave and messenger of God,
to Heraclius ruler of the Byzantium. Peace upon all who follow guidance. I call you with
the call to submission to God. Surrender to God and you will be safe. Surrender to God,
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and God will give you a double reward. If you turn away, then the misdeeds of the
peasants will be your fault. People of the Book – come to a word common to both of us,
that we worship only one God”.
Heraclius summoned a noble Arab to inquire about the author of the letter. Afterwards he
declared, “I asked what he enjoins upon you, and you stated that he enjoins you to
worship God, and not to associate anything with God, and not to worship the fetishes of
your ancestors. And he enjoins you to pray, to give charity and to be chaste, to keep
promises and to fulfill trusts. This is the description of a Prophet. I knew he would
appear, but I did not know he would be coming from among you”.
About the followers of Moses, Koran says Chapter 7:159 “And from the people of Moses,
there is a community that leads with truth and establishes justice”
The Koran tells us that our challenge is not to eliminate or hide these differences but to
live with them. Unity of human beings does not mean their uniformity but it needs to
also reflect the essence of the multifaith spirit that binds us with a common thread.
In Islamic history, the followers and companions of Muhammad, chose to follow the
model of pluralism that he preached and practiced. In 638 Muslims under the rule of
Caliph Umar, the second successor to Muhammad arrived at Jerusalem. Umar walked
into Jerusalem as time approached for prayers, so he asked for a place where he might
offer his prayers. The Patriarch offered Umar the opportunity to pray at the Holy
Sepulcher, one of the most important Christian sites. Umar refused saying that wherever,
he, the first Muslim ruler in Jerusalem, was to offer his prayers, his followers would build
a place of prayer (a mosque). He would not let that place be inside a spot that was of
crucial importance to Christians. Instead, he prayed outside the Church. Today, there is
small mosque of Umar across the street. Clearly Umar’s actions were done out of respect
to Christians and their places of worship.
It’s important to emphasize that Islam has long existed in Western culture, first in Europe
and later in North America. The pluralism that we see in the modern Western world has
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ancient roots. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, much of Spain was Muslim and AlAndalus (Muslim Spain or Andalucia) was a high point of Islamic civilization. In the 9th
and 10th centuries, Cordoba in Muslim Spain became one of the most important cities in
the history of the world. Christians and Jews were involved in the Royal Court and in the
intellectual life of the city.
Today, the architecture of Spain reflects the glory of a pluralistic tradition that didn’t just
tolerate – but embraced other faith traditions.
But why go that far? Right in the heart of Toronto, we have what we proudly call “The
Spiritual strip”. On Bayview Avenue there is a Zoroastrian temple, a Buddhist temple, an
Anglican church (where I’ve spoken), a Muslim mosque and a Jewish synagogue. Two
Montreal film-makers were so taken up by the fact that the mosque and synagogue share
a parking lot, that they have made a documentary called “A Lot to Share”.
Averroes (ibn Rushd) was a famous philosopher and the head of religious judges in
Cordoba in 1182. He said that philosophy could be a bridge to accepting the truth from
others of different religions. He observed that religious diversity is not a barrier to build
dialogue. He read and commented on Aristotelian philosophy, which originated from
outside the Muslim tradition. According to Youhanna Qalta, a priest in an Egyptian
church, Averroes opened the hearts of Christians to welcome other religions.
I’ll end with my favorite line from the Quran – humanity is one community and a quote
from Pope John Paul again “I wonder if it is not urgent, precisely today when Christians
and Muslims have entered a new period of history, to recognize and develop the spiritual
bonds that unite us, in order to preserve and promote together for the benefit of all men,
‘peace, liberty, social justice and moral values' as the Council calls upon us to do "
Thank you.