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Reflections on the Lecture
of
Pope Benedict XVI
Dr.
Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri
The lecture given by Pope Benedict XVI on 12
September at the University of Regensburg has raised again the debate on the
issue of reason in Islam, reason and the Quran, or reason in Islamic
civilization, and on the issue of Islam spreading by the sword. Indeed, these
two issues have been raised by a number of Orientalists since Orientalism began
to arouse suspicions, distort the truths and fundamentals of Islam and cast
doubts on its beliefs. The Pope has reiterated what Byzantine Emperor Manuel II
stated: «not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature». Therefore, he
accused Islam of not urging humans to use their intellect in all actions they
undertake. He also claimed that Christianity has converged with Greek
rationality. On that premise, Christianity has elevated the mind to a high
status and its followers have resorted to rationality in their acts and deeds.
Hence, the Christian faith, according to his claims, is opposed to Islam which
advocates violence to spread its message. Thus, it is surprising to claim that
Islam heeds no attention to reason. In actuality, the Holy Quran calls for
rational thinking in forty-nine verses. It mentions “Lub” (understanding) in
sixteen verses and “Nuha” (intellect) in two verses. “Fiqh” and “Tafaqquh”
(reason and rationality) are found in twenty verses. “Taddabur” (pondering) is
mentioned in four verses and “I’tibar” (learning lessons) in seven verses. As
for the verses that advocate wisdom and refer to the heart as means of
understanding and rationality, they amount to one hundred and thirty-two, let
alone those referring to knowledge, learning and scholars, which exceed eight
hundred verses.
Since the first centuries of the Hegira, scholars
have defined the meaning of reason. In this connection, Al-Raghib Al-Isbahani
states in his book Mufradat Al-Quran (Vocabulary of the Quran) that «intellect
refers to the faculty prepared to accept knowledge, and to the knowledge that
Man acquires thanks to this faculty». According to theologians, reason is the
basis for applying divine law on earth. This means that performance of religious
duties is connected to reason and that the aims of religion cannot be understood
except through employing reason. Above all, the first pillar of Islam, the
proclamation of Allah’s oneness and Mohammed’s prophethood (peace be upon him),
presupposes the use of reason. For the Shahada (profession of Islamic faith),
being an absolute testimony, is not deemed valid except through thorough
knowledge and full certainty. The Shahada as such cannot be reached except
through reason, for how one would profess that there is no deity but Allah and
that Mohammed is His Messenger, if one were not fully conscious and certain that
what one professes is right and true.
Sheikh Mohammed Abdou says: «Reason is the most
valuable faculty ; it is the essence and the cornerstone of all human faculties.
The whole universe is the range of its vision and the book it reads through. All
that is read constitutes guidance and a way to reach Allah’s path.»
In fact, the Islamic message underlies two calls:
a call to believe in the omnipotence and oneness of Allah, and a call to believe
in the message of Mohammed, peace be upon him. The first call is destined to
draw the attention of the human mind to ponder over the universe, to use the
right deduction by analogy, and to refer to the orderly arrangement of the
universe and to the connection between causes and effects in order to infer that
the universe has an Omnipotent, All-knowing, All-Wise and Powerful Maker. This
Maker must be unique to preserve the unity of the universe laws and must have
ordained the human mind to pursue its course without any limitations as
determined by the natural disposition. In this call to believe in Allah’s
oneness, Islam relies but on rational evidence and human thought which follow
its natural system ; thus, it will not strike you as supernatural.
Sheikh Mohammed Abdou went on to say that «we are
given reason to consider the purposes, causes and effects and to distinguish
between the simple and the compound objects. We are also given the conscience to
grasp the occurrences of pleasure and pain, as well as fear and serenity that
take place in the soul and the body».
Abbas Mahmoud Al-Aqqad, for his part, says: «The
Holy Quran never mentions reason except to praise it or to draw attention to the
necessity to resort to it. Reference to reason does not occur in the verse in a
gratuitous or concise manner; it comes in the form of a clear-cut wording and
significance; it also re-occurs in all instances of command and proscription
which urge the believer to resort to rational thinking and blame the offender
for not employing the mind. In addition, reference to reason never comes in one
of its various meanings; it rather involves all Man’s cognitive functions.
Furthermore, reference to reason deliberately differentiates between these
functions and characteristics following the message to be conveyed. Accordingly,
addressing the mind is not only destined to the conscientious mind, or to the
discerning one. Also, it is not confined to the mind which is entrusted with the
truthful meditation and sound judgement. Rather, the discourse in Quranic verses
involves all characteristics and functions within the scope of the human mind».
The religious duty of thinking and reasoning in
the Holy Quran -as mentioned in al-Aqqad's book Thinking: an Islamic Duty-
encompasses the entire human mind, with all these functions and their
specificities. It addresses the wise and rational mind. Moreover, the Holy Quran
does not refer to the intellect summarily, but cites it elaborately in a way
unequalled in any other Divine Book. Examples where the Holy Quran addresses the
mind in general are the following verses where Allah the Exalted says: «Verily,
in the creation of the heavens and of the earth, and the succession of night and
day : and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to man :
and in the waters which God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the
earth after it had been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to
multiply thereon : and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their
appointed courses between sky and earth : [in all this] there are messages
indeed for people who use their reason» (Al Baqara - the Cow: 164); «And He it
is who grants life and deals death; and to Him is due the alternation of night
and day. Will you not, then, use your reason?» (Al-Mu'minun -the Believers: 80)
; «And so We propound these parables unto man : but none can grasp their
innermost meaning save those who [of Us] are aware» (Al-'Ankabut - the Spider:
43); and «Do you bid other people to be pious, the while you forget your own
selves -and yet you recite the divine writ ? Will you not, then, use your reason?»
(Al Baqara - the Cow: 44).
The intellect for Imam al-Ghazali is the reason
provided for in the Islamic law ; both seek truth and explore knowledge
everywhere, without obstacles, and are always on the quest for new and further
insights.
For Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah, the mind «controls
what the heart has reached and holds it so that it does not slip away from the
heart». He says in his book Miftahu Dari As-sa'ada (the Key to Happinness): «reason
may mean the same instinct with which man perceives, discerns, seeks benefits
and avoids harm». As to al-Harith al-Mohassibi, he defines the intellect as «an
instinct through which the theoretical sciences are grasped and understood». For
al-Shatibi, «the intellect is not independent of course and cannot be formed
without an established a priori; rather, it depends totally on a presupposed a
priori and there cannot be any other presupposition without the fundamental
acceptance of Revelation». On the other hand, Dr. Taha Abdurrahman
differentiates between the abstract intellect, the guided intellect and the
supported intellect which sets right the ethical and scientific mistakes the
guided intellect commits.
The intellect in Islam is the way to reach belief
in the existence of God, and in His oneness and attributes. Belief in God
precedes belief in the Prophet (blessings and prayers be upon him) and in the
Book revealed to him. Credence in the Book (Revelation) depends on the
truthfulness of the Messenger who has brought it; and credence in the Messenger
depends, in its turn, on belief in the God who has sent this Messenger and
revealed the Book to him. This is the statement of Dr. Mohammed Amara, who
underlines the absence of any binary opposition between mind and revelation in
Islam, for the complementarity existing between them. Opposing intellect to
revelation is in fact a trace of the contradictions that have characterized the
intellectual course of Western civilization.
As a matter of fact, the West perceives Islam
through its own contradictions with revelation. It projects therefore its own
conceptions on the Islamic intellect, and ultimately issues misjudgements, as
the one given recently by the Pope of the Vatican.
The importance that Islamic civilization attached
to the intellect is reflected in the progress that science witnessed; because
Muslims, as Dr. Ali Sami al-Nashar, uses reason in an unprecedented manner in
research and exploration, which led to the development and flourishing of
science. Were it not for this new impulse, science would have neither survived,
nor been recognized by European historians of science. Muslims have adopted an
investigation-based approach, without which science in the Islamic world could
not have advanced or could have stopped at the progress reached until then by
the Greeks, the Indians and the Persians.
In “the Introduction to the History of Science”,
by George Sarton, we find great testimonies to the momentous contribution of
Arab Islamic science in the Middle Ages. This book was translated into Arabic,
and was published in six volumes by the Cairo-based Dar al-Maarif. It is a
highly important reference attesting to the excellence and distinction of the
Arab Islamic intellect during the historical eras in which Europe was living in
ignorance, bigotry and hatred. If those Westerners who have an outrageously
distorted view of Islam consult the European historical references, they will
undoubtedly change their attitude.
It is that ignorance or denigration of the
verities of history which causes such unfounded allegations and fallacies,
especially those claiming that Islam has spread by the sword. It is an
undeniable fact that, as early as the time when the Islamic conquests were
launched until the present time, religious minorities in Islamic countries have
been living in peace among Muslims. Some of them did enjoy a high status during
the rule of caliphs and sultans. There were physicians, astronomers, teachers as
well as officials in charge of financial affairs in the Islamic states. Glorious
chapters in our history bear witness to the climate of tolerance that was
prevailing in Islamic societies. It is a universally acknowledged truth that
Islam stretched to eastern Asia as well as eastern and western Africa, Europe
and the Americas rather through trade and preaching the word of Allah than
invasions and the sword.
In several verses of the Holy Quran, evidence is
there that freedom of creed is guaranteed. Allah the Most High says, «Let there
be no compulsion in religion». The Pope says that this verse of the holy Quran
was revealed at the very beginning of the message of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
when he was still frail and oppressed. The Pope seems to forget that this verse
from Surat Al-Baqara was revealed at Madina, the period in Islamic history when
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and Muslims were establishing a glorious, fortified
state.
Allah the Almighty says, «If it had been the
Lord's will they would all have believed all who are on earth! Wilt thou then
compel mankind against their will to believe!». Allah also says, «Call unto thy
Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation and argue with them in a way that is
best». The word of Allah goes on, «It is not required of thee (O Messenger) to
set them on the right path but Allah guides to the right path whom He pleaseth».
Such is the very Quranic line of conduct which Muslims followed in calling to
Islam in good preaching. History is there to bear witness to this truth.
It is important not to loose sight of the wretched
fanaticism which swept over Europe and was instigated by the Church during the
Middle Ages. Here, we point out to the chronicles of French writer Gustave Le
Bon. In his book The Arab Civilization,(1) Le Bon quotes bishops and historians
who followed along Crusaders when they marched to Al-Quds, and reported scenes
of wholesale carnage that was wrought on the city of Jerusalem. Bishop Robert,
an eyewitness of the horrendous acts that were committed in Jerusalem, describes
the savagery of his people in the following manner, «They waded through the
streets and squares and took to roofs. Furious like wild lionesses that lost
their cubs, they held tenure over everything! And in a gory passion of avarice
and greed, they slaughtered little infants and youth alike, ripped open dead
bodies and sacked everything in their way. The streets ran knee deep in blood
and dead bodies were found scattered all around in the city».
Among the other scholars who confirm this view is
Priest Bartolomé de Las Casas. In his «Brief Account of the Destruction of the
Indies», translated into Arabic, Las Casas gives a vivid description of the
atrocities the Americas suffered at the hands of the Spanish Christians. The
conquistadors spoke to indigenous peoples in Spanish, a language which none
there would understand, calling them to Christianity, [«We inform you of the
presence of «God» and the «Pope» and that this land is the property of the King
of Castile. We will fight you if you don’t surrender… They penetrated into the
country and spared neither children nor the aged, nor pregnant women, nor those
in child labour, all of whom they ran through the body and lacerated, as though
they were assaulting so many lambs herded in their sheepfold. They made bets as
to who would slit a man in two, or cut off his head at one blow, or open up his
bowels. They tore the babes from their mothers' breast by the feet, and dashed
their heads against the rocks. They made a gallows just high enough for the feet
to nearly touch the ground, and by thirteens, they put wood underneath and, with
fire, they burned them alive.]
La Casas goes on, «Yet into this sheepfold, into
this land of meek outcasts there came some Spaniards who immediately behaved
like ravening wild beasts, wolves, tigers, or lions that had been starved for
many days. In the forty years that have passed, with the infernal actions of the
Christians, there have been unjustly slain more than twelve million men, women,
and children».
In the same connection, Marcel Patiéron, a French
historian, says : «Bartolomé de Las Casas is the most important personality in
the history of Latin America, second to it discoverer, Christopher Columbus».
Dr. Sobhi Essaleh states : «it seems that it is no
longer necessary to destroy the myth that Islam was spread by the sword and
violence. Many scientific books refute that view. Only those who refuse to cast
an objective view on history still maintain in their minds such a sterile
pattern».
The tolerance that sets apart the Islamic
civilization stems from belief in the Quran, respect for the intellect and
deference to human dignity.
Most telling in the case at hands is the Pope’s
quoting Emperor Manual II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire saying to a Persian
scholar, in the 14th century : «Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new,
and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to
spread by the sword the faith he preached». This text cited by the Pope in a
lecture on the link between faith and reason -the text, by the way, has nothing
to do with the main subject of the lecture- was deliberately chosen to draw
attention to some issues of concern to western societies, which are mostly
Christian, especially as there is a growing interest in the studying and
embracing of Islam by large numbers of westerns, and given the fact that the
Islamic presence in these societies has become increasingly visible. The text
was also meant to draw attention to Turkey’s eagerness to join the European
Union, and to remind that this country is the inheriting state of the Ottoman
Empire which imposed a blockade on Emperor Manuel behind the walls of
Constanti-nople, when he fled the Palace of Sultan Bayézid in the city of Bursa
where he used to live a s refugee.
That the Emperor’s interlocutor is a Persian
insinuates to the feeling of apprehension about Iran’s persistence to acquire
nuclear technology ; which poses a threat to the West and to Israel, which was
mentioned by the Pope when he made reference to the relation between Judaism and
Christianity and their convergence with the Greek thought. The Pope says : «Within
the Old Testament, the process which started at the burning bush came to new
maturity at the time of the Exile, when the God of Israel, an Israel now
deprived of its land and worship, was proclaimed as the God of heaven and earth».
The historical truth holds that it was the kings
of Byzantium, including Manuel II, who first ordered the crusades against the
Islamic orient, when they called the kings of Europe and the Popes of the
Catholic Church to lead military expedition to fight Muslims (Arabs, Persians,
Seljuk and ottoman Turks). Manuel II, himself, cited by Pope Benedict XVI,
ordered the crusade led by King Sigmund against Muslims, which failed in 1396.
Emperor Manuel II fought bloody wars with his brother Andronicus IV, and his
nephew John VII, to take seizure of the Byzantium throne, and used the sword to
defeat and to eliminate his contenders. Most striking is that Emanuel II
concluded a friendship and peace agreement with Sultan Mohamed Al-Fatih. The
agreement stipulated the payment of Jizya (Poll tax) to Muslims. That is may be
what explains Emanuel II’s hatred for Muslims and Islam.
A close consideration of the Pope’s lecture shows
clearly that its main purpose was to restore the Catholic Church’s influential
status in the Western mind and the developments of western policy, through
intellectual concessions to bridge the gap between the Catholic Church and the
currents of modern thought in the west. The lecture may even constitute a frame
of reference for a western civilizational alliance to face Islam and its
civilization. That is the most cherished wish of extremists both in the East and
in the West who are intent on fuelling conflict and animosity and seek to
undermine peace and security in the world.
It is regrettable that Pope Benedict XVI, who is
the supreme leader of the Catholic Church, arouses suspicions and levels
accusations against Islam in a time witnessing alarming growing waves of
religious fanaticism and contempt for religions. In doing so, the Pope behaved
as if he were one of those extremists, while his status requires him, rather, to
preach religious dialogue, civilizational respect and just peace.
Having apologized for the statements that caused
outrage among Muslims and un-biased parties in the world, the Pope would
hopefully reconsider that dangerous attitude which goes contrary to pacific mind
and does not call for love, which is the core message of all Prophets.
Overall, the lecture of Pope Benedict XVI, yet
meticulously written and delivered in one of Europe’s most prestigious
universities, still lacks the main requirements of the academic discourse in
university, that is objectivity, impartiality and rational integrity.
In spite of the Pope’s fierce attack on Islam in
his suspicious lecture, our confidence in dialogue and alliance among
civilizations, culture and religions will not decrease nor be undermined. We
believe that the constructive, serious and civilized dialogue we are advocating
and seeking to achieve is the real alternative to confrontation, conflict,
hatred and fanaticsm. We are confident that there are wise men within the
Christian family who believe in dialogue and share that view with us. Therefore,
the statements made by Pope Benedict XVI against Islam prove to be irrelevant
and will fade into insignificance as has been the case with the statements of
Islam’s enemies everytime and everywhere.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(1) This book was translated into Arabic by Dr.
Adel Zuaïtar. The first edition of the Arabic translation was published by
Dar-al-maarif (Egypt, 1945), the second edition was published in 1948, and the
third was published in 1979 by Dar Ihaa’al-Thourat-al-Arabi (Beirut).
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