Islam and Dialogue Among Civilizations Prerequisites and….doc

Islam and Dialogue Among Civilizations: Prerequisites and Preparations Syed Farid Alatas*  Be distinguished by God-given morals and turn towards God Almighty with humility recognizing your impotence, poverty, and defectiveness, and so be a slave in His presence (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words, Thirtieth Word, First Aim).1IntroductionIslam is probably the most maligned religion in the world. Since the inception of Islam, it was regarded as a threat to the Christian West resulting in the formation of a centuries old tradition of the demonization and stereotyping of the various Muslim peoples and their religion. The current world dominance of Western and in particular American culture has meant that these misconceptions and attitudes towards Islam are global in their spread. So, what is this religion and civilization called Islam? How can it be that a religion with lofty ideals and that has made stunning advances in science, technology and the arts in the past only seems to make headlines today when something bad happens somewhere in the world? Also, how can dialogue between Muslims and other religious communities be established and facilitated? In order to begin to answer these questions, it is not enough that we simply list some of the basic beliefs and practices of Islam and quote a few versus of the Qur'an in order to show that Islam is a progressive and peaceful religion. To have an appreciation of Islam as an advanced civilization, we must try to understand how Muslims translated their beliefs into a way of life. Therefore, it is necessary for us to turn to history, that is, to see how Islamic beliefs were put into practice in different areas of life such as philosophy, sciences, literature, medicine, and so on. It is also fitting to begin with history for the simple reason that Islam today seems to be in a unique position vis-à-vis the West, that is, a position of protracted conflict. While conflict is not the only feature of the relationship between Islam and the West, it is an important one, if not a dominant one. No other civilization has had this type of relationship with the West.This paper aims to advance the hope spread in the early part of the last century by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi that "man's true nature will search with all its strength for eternal life, which it truly loves and yearns for…(Nursi, 2002: 167). As noted by Thomas Michel, Nursi was among the first religious personalities of the twentieth century who advocated inter-religious dialogue (Michel, 1998). Such a hope is our incentive to pursue the idea of inter-religious and inter-civilizational dialogue.The next section provides a brief introduction to Islam in terms of the historical background and religious experience of Muslims. I then turn to a brief discussion of the question of "moderate and extreme Islam". The two sections after this go on to provide an account of the historical background of the misunderstandings concerning Islam and the misunderstandings themselves. The next three sections then discuss problems in public discourse and the social sciences that obstruct successful dialogue. This is followed by some concrete suggestions for dialogue, for what can be done to create more interest, understanding and admiration between religions and civilizations. At various points I shall be referring to the thought of Said Nursi which provides guidance for our thinking on the question of dialogue.The Origins and Meaning of IslamThe Arabs, like the Jews, are descendants of the Noah through his son Shem. Jesus and Muhammad are descendants of the patriarch Abraham through Isaac and Ishmael respectively (may peace be upon them all).The Prophet Muhammad was born in the mercantile town of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsular, which was made up of nomads called Bedouins (Ar. badawa). The term Arab originally applied to these Bedouins but later on in pre-Islamic times referred to the descendants of Bedouins who settled in and around the towns. The term Arab was also extended to cover all who spoke Arabic, that is, those who became arabised, especially after the rise of Islam.The Prophet saw it as his mission to bring back the people of Arabia to the true teachings of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the other prophets of his past. Islam, which literally means, "surrender", "reconciliation" or "submission" is derived from the word salam, meaning peace. It was revealed to the Prophet between 610 and 632 AD. Islam is the second and last of the universal religions and has about one billion followers. Almost every country in the world has at least a Muslim minority.Historically, Islam is the third major religion of Semitic origins and is closely related to the other two. It accepts all the Prophets of Judaism as prophets of Islam, and accepts Jesus not as a divine manifestation of God but as a prophet. The prophets mentioned in the Quran are: Adam, Alyasa' (Elisha), Ayyub (Job), Da'ud (David), Dhu al-Kifl (Ezekiel), Hud,。