Human history reveals that civilizations, notwithstanding ‘unpleasant’ manifestations of intolerance, conflicts and war, have always managed to benefit and flourish through multidimensional interactions without dissolving their specific identities. Since, there is no nation in the world today, irrespective of level of political and scientific developments, which could claim of being homogeneous, therefore, interactions entailing deeper values of dialogue at this point of time are much needed in order to ensure global peace. It is believed that ‘dialogue oriented’ interactions are the only way forward, to reform and transform longstanding political, ethnic or religious conflicts into unprecedented gateways of comprehensive peace building processes. It would help people to get rid of their ‘stereotypical’ past, overcome present ‘symbolic manipulations’ and, subsequently, learn ‘other’ not as a threat to their respective identity, rather, an opportunity of introducing them to diverse outlooks of the world.
Today, Islamic civilization is criticized of being “exclusivist” in approach vis-à-vis process of ‘state formation’, establishing worldview and also for possessing an inherent tendency of denouncing the presence of “other”. However this apparently serious allegation seems devoid of any scriptural reference, because after making critical evaluation of Islam; its theological formations; value structures and civilizational characteristics, it is established that Islam upholds the values of peace, tolerance and coexistence. The politically motivated narratives of so called “clash” between Islamic civilization and “other”, especially the West, actually derive their speed and substance from the recent geo-political tensions and not from the legacies of past as scholars like Bernard Lewis and Huntington believe. The explicit mention of religious plurality in the Qur’an and remarkable examples of coexistence such as Treaty of Madinah and Treaty with the Christians of Najran determine the quantum of relation between the worldview of Islamic civilization and universal values of justice, tolerance and coexistence.
These examples also accentuate the fact that Islam fundamentally advocates the creative perception of “living together” and embracing the dynamics of “multiplicity” when it comes to question of intercultural or inter-civilizational relations. However, it would be deceitful to overlook the recent appearance of fringe “so called Islamic” traits that aggravate the genuine differences between Islam and non-Muslims by misconstruing and fabricating their meaning and application.The actual purpose behind the creation of these so called “Islamic” institutions and organizations seems merely political. It is very much unfortunate on part of the international media that instead of identifying and straightening out all such elements from the mainstream Islamic discourse, these unfamiliar groups are portrayed as if they represent the sentiments of whole Islamic world- which of course is not true.
There are plentiful authoritative verses in the Qur’an commanding Prophet (s.a.w) to encourage his fellow Muslims that diversity of faiths and cultures is to be accepted and valued upto best of one’s capacity. It would not be out of place to mention that Qur’an recognizes honour of human life and unequivocally talks about philosophy of takreem-i-adam or dignity of man regardless of one’s religious beliefs- a concept that is inherently valuable and quite important while working with interfaith dialogue projects. According the principle of takreem, man occupies centrality in the sphere of whole creation, thus, giving due respect and honour to “other”, for just being a human, is integral to Islamic system of belief. It also outlines the fact that Muslims, while interacting with peoples of other cultures and civilizations, must be governed by the principle of takreem or honour in thought and practice.
It is also quite important to know that while embracing diversity, Qur’an equates the abandonment of rights of others including right to life and right to belief, to hold beliefs not compatible to Islam, with the denial of God’s wisdom for Himself allowing the “diversity” to prevail. In this regard Qur’an encapsulates:
“Say, ‘Now the truth has come from your Lord: let those who wish to believe in it do so, and let those who wish to reject it do so.” (Qur’an, 18:29)
“There is no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an, 2:256)
“And had your Lord so willed, He could surely have made all human beings into one single community: but (He willed it otherwise, and so) they continue to hold divergent views.” (Quran, 11:118)
“If your Lord had so desired, all the people on the earth would surely have come to believe, all of them; do you then think, that you could compel people to believe?” (Quran, 10: 99)
What all we understood from this discussion is that diversity of religions and cultures, in context of Islam, is not a result of human actions and forces; rather, it is an integral part of God’s divine plan. Therefore, the only possible way to accept and creatively live with the God’s divine plan (diversity) is dialogue- a religious requirement to recognize and respect the differences. The articulation of these Qur’anic verses also tells us that dialogue too is part of God’s divine order, but, unlike diversity, it is the outcome of active, tolerant and peaceful “interactions”. And by the virtue of such interactions, one doesn’t necessarily lose his/er religious or cultural identity, instead, one’s understanding about his/er “identity” is enhanced and protected, because, only after contextualizing him/herself among multiple “others”, one is able to see his/er own beliefs, values and identities more clearly.
