When it comes to covering the on-going protests in Egypt, the religious angle is impossible to ignore. That's why it's so fascinating to read through this 22-point list -- published last week on the website of the Egyptian magazine "Yawm al-Sâbi" -- on how Islam can experience renewal from within, in order to progress in dialogue with the other main world religions. The contributors? Twenty-three prominent Muslim scholars and clerics, including the former grand mufti of Egypt and the brother of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Sandro Magister has posted a translation of the "Document for the renewal of religious discourse" on his blog, Chiesa. The provocative list provides a glimpse at the challenges faced by those seeking to reform Islam from -- as Magister puts it -- "a superficial and external practice of it to a more authentic and essential one." It includes:
- Find a new practice of the concept of interaction between the sexes.
- Clarify the Islamic view on women and find convenient forms for marriage rights.
- Explain the Islamic concept of jihâd [inner and outer holy war], and specify norms and obligations that regulate it.
- Separate religion from the state.
- Formulate the virtues common to the three revealed religions.
- Purify the heritage of the first centuries of Islam (Salafism), eliminating the myths and aggressions against religion.
- Give guidelines on Western customs, and eliminate incorrect behaviors.
- Clarify the relationship that must exist among members of the different religions through schools, mosques, and churches.
- Recognize the right of women to become president of the republic.
- Combat sectarian claims, [emphasizing] that the flag of Islam [must be] one.
- Invite the people to go to God through gratitude and wisdom, and not with threats.
- Recognize the right of Christians to occupy important positions [including] the presidency of the republic.
- Separate religious discourse from power, and reestablish its connection with the needs of society.
Magister also links to commentary from Jesuit theologian Father Samir Khalil Samir, who describes this call for a renewal within Islam "truly revolutionary." (Father Samir has also written before on Pope Benedict XVI's vision for dialogue between Islam and Christianity). Writing on AsiaNews.it, Father Samir notes that the list was published one day before riots broke out in Egypt, underscoring the intertwining of politics, economics and religion in the unfolding events.
"[T]here is an intellectual current that is fed up with the Islam that has spread in the last 30 years in the country, an 'externalized' Islam that puts the emphasis on external things (clothing, beard, veil, etc. ..)," Father Samir writes. "This shows that there is a global movement - both spiritual and political - in Egypt that wants to transform the country. And since it is a leading country in the Middle Eastern world, one can expect that the changes in act in Cairo will spread throughout the region."
While the reaction to the document has been overwhelmingly negative and outright hostile, Father Samir notes that such a declaration from this caliber of Muslim theologians is unprecedented. Also impressive is how quickly -- and to what extent -- the article has been distributed. Magister reports that by the night of its publication, the document had been posted on more than 12,000 Arab websites.
"The path of renewal will be long and require much time and effort," Father Samir writes.
Four years ago, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Islam as having reached a defining moment -- and even more, that the the Catholic Church can empathize with the decision that lies ahead:
The Muslim world today finds itself facing an extremely urgent task that is very similar to the one that was imposed upon Christians beginning in the age of the Enlightenment, and that Vatican Council II, through long and painstaking effort, resolved concretely for the Catholic Church. [...]
On the one hand, he continued, people of faith must stand opposed to the "dictatorship" of a secular ideology that excludes God from society. On the other hand, there is the necessity of upholding human rights, particularly religious freedom.
"Just as in the Christian community there has been lengthy inquiry into the right attitude of faith toward these convictions – an inquiry that certainly will never be concluded definitively – so also the Islamic world, with its own tradition, stands before the great task of finding the appropriate solutions in this regard," the pope observed.
Is Islam ready for a "Vatican II moment"? Only time will tell -- but watching current events in the Middle East, the answer to that question will deeply influence the faith and politics of this volatile region of the world.
-- Elizabeth Hansen
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