The Question: Pope Benedict's recent baptism of a well-known Italian Muslim has prompted criticism in much of the Islamic world. Has Benedict done enough to build bridges to Islam?
While Pope Benedict has consistently signaled his desire to extend a hand of respect and dialogue to the Muslim community, he has routinely acted without caution, thus impairing the bridge-building work of innumerable Catholics and Muslims. This is true in the case of the Magdi Allam baptism. Read my earlier post on this issue.
The Catholic Church has certainly supported a number of important interfaith initiatives. For example, high-level Catholic and Muslim leaders recently established the “Catholic-Muslim Forum” to foster dialogue. The first Seminar of this ongoing Forum, initially proposed by 138 Muslim scholars globally, will center on the theme “Love of God, Love of Neighbor.” Though this Forum represents a significant step sponsored by the Vatican, Pope Benedict has not yet lived up to former Pope John Paul II’s legacy of consistent and sincere outreach to Muslims.
In spite of the confusing messages sent by the Pope, efforts towards improved relations persist unabated. Catholic and Muslim individuals and organizations continue to affirm their commitment to the principles of tolerance, mutual understanding, and interfaith dialogue. By forging personal bonds and relationships of trust, this dialogue enables us to transcend our divisions and enrich our collective heritage as humans. To do so effectively, we must dialogue as equals, seek points of genuine consensus, and identify theological principles for respectful disagreement. Within this safe context, misunderstanding becomes an opportunity for learning rather than an occasion for offense.
As Muslims and Catholics sit in the same global space, we recognize numerous shared concerns that can become the focus of this dialogue: combating the stereotypes of our respective religions frequently propagated in the media, defining our faiths within disparate contexts, struggling against the erosion of family structures, promoting the love of God through service, and creating a better world with this interfaith tolerance and respect.
In Liberia, for example, Christian and Muslim women recently joined forces in courageous opposition to former Liberian President Charles Taylor and in support of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female head-of-state. With the support of their mosques and churches, these women of different faiths struggled together for peace and stability in their war-torn homeland. This epic has been documented in the upcoming film “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” Watch it witness the power of unity to create societal change.
My organization – the American Society for Muslim Advancement – shares office space with a Catholic group, and this experience has daily reaffirmed my conviction that our religions can coexist, cooperate, and unite around certain issues. One brief example exhibits how this respect can be realized in practice. Last Christmas, our Catholic officemates were hosting a Christmas party in the office, and I was so touched when they approached me and asked if serving alcohol at their event would offend me. This was their space as much as ours, on their holiest day. Yet this extreme act of religious sensitivity on the part of our Catholic friends demonstrated to me the message of mutual respect and honor we can send to the rest of the world.
I wonder, what is the possibility of Muslims and Catholics setting a profound example by taking the lead in cultivating healthy, pluralistic, and tolerant societies? Imagine these two huge blocs of faiths – comprising nearly 3 billion people worldwide, close to one half the world’s population – coming together and affirming their obligation to God and humanity, their commitment to both uphold their particular religion and respect that of the other. This is the mandate of our time!
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