This article is partly from my presentation in a regional inter-faith conference on violence and peace-building in Cipayung, Bogor, Indonesia, Aug 16-19. I hope to work on revised portions of this presentation for this column in the weeks ahead.

The rampage in a Besut village in Terengganu on July 18 and 31 is a recent milestone which should compel Malaysians to reflect upon their faith traditions for a framework on peace in the face of violence and intolerance.

The basic foundation of our various belief systems is peace and social justice. I dare say, no Muslim would contradict that Islam is a religion of peace. The word Islam is derivative of the Semitic root word S-L-M which means peace as shalom is in Hebrew and salam in Arabic.

I was at an ICRC (International Committee for the Red Cross) conference on the protection of war victims in international humanitarian law and Islamic law in Islamabad, last year where Prof Tahir Mahmood of India exclaimed that if Pakistan is dar al-Islam (sphere of peace/submission), India is not dar al- harb (sphere of war, territories to be subdued). India, according to Prof Tahir is dar al-sulh , a territory of pact or contract.

Indeed, contemporary Muslim scholars have pointed out that the concepts of dar al-Islam and dar al-harb are defunct legal constructs. These two ideas are espoused in the early days of the Muslim political history of empire.

Taken together, these terms form the normative foundation of Muslim religious convictions about forming a transcultural community of believers who must ultimately subdue non-Muslims. The idea of dar al-sulh is perhaps a more relevant premise for multicultural societies.

In framing the issue of "religious violence", it has been found that exclusivist religious ideologies can be divisive and aggravate conflicts. In negotiating the multicultural terrain, a consensus should be worked among different groups to promote tolerance and non-discriminatory solutions that would respect difference.

Ascendancy of religion

Tolerance is the first step towards any meaningful dialogue. Toleration is not acceptance of what we consider to be the 'morally wrong' or 'religious wrong' position of the other. We need to move from this meaning to another. Thus, tolerance is not about seeing a group as the other, but of recognising a group as a concrete human community with real values.

Sociologists have recognised the ascendancy of religion since the 1970s. Peter L Berger maintains that modernisation has not brought about a decline in religion in society and in the minds of individuals. The so-called theory of the secularisation of society developed in the 1950s and 1960s is now debunked.

Abdulaziz Sachedina for example, contends that the rise of religious militancy is a growing reaction to the secularist denial of any religious inspiration for movements on behalf of peace and human rights.

A secularist outlook which prevents the dominance of one religion over others tended to marginalise faith communities. This marginalisation is also recognized as a factor contributing to militancy, aggression and separatism.

However, it is noted exclusivist religious doctrines can be a divisive force in the public domain. Further, a regime that privileges a particular belief system or tradition would impair the seeking of consensus in the public domain among different groups with conflicting political or religious convictions.

The challenge posed to us is whether our belief systems are indeed exclusivist.

The Quran embraces diversity. Diversity is not a cause for tensions; " We have created for you, male and female and appointed you nations and tribes, that you may know each other ". (49:14). Religious pluralism calls for active engagement with the religious other not merely to tolerate, but to understand. Muslims are urged to accept the other in the quest for the Divine.

In the famous chapter on "Unbelievers", the verse " to you your religion and to me my religion " (109:5), does not make the other, heathens, but a religious other. This verse underscores the pluralism of human religions. I am pleased that Dr Jamal Badawi (Canada) shared this same view of this verse at his lecture with the Muslim Professional Forum (MPF) last month. Let us hope that more Muslims would give voice to the Quranic pluralistic theology of the other.

The Quran also recognises the unity of human beings as God's creation. (21:92). The prophets (of which Muhammad is one), were sent to humans as a divine gift (9:18; 4:163). This gift requires humans, regardless of their religious affiliations to live harmoniously and work toward justice and peace. Humans are admonished " to compete with one another in good works " (5:48).

Intra-faith tensions

Cross-cultural dialogue among faith communities would encourage the ecumenism elements and develop the overlapping consensus in helping to understand and respect difference. The Quran is not short of ecumenical references and has a range of references to prophets and messengers. (e.g. 2:62, 4:163). Islam does not deny the validity of other human experiences of transcendence.

In our deliberations toward this overlapping consensus, it becomes imperative for faith communities to also work on intra- faith dialogue. Although this has been an on-going process in Islam, this process has faced the most tensions in contemporary societies.

In our exploration of the pluralist ethic in Islam, one would of course find even among modern commentators, readings that promote exclusivism which presses the case for intolerance.

For instance, the verse in 3:85, " Whosoever desires another din than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him; in the next world he shall be among the losers " has been interpreted as restricting salvation to Islam.

However, this verse can also reinforce the Quranic vision of humanity surrendering to God. It emphasizes the importance of 'surrender' (Islam in the verse). An ecumenical reading reads, " Whoso desires to behave in any other way than surrendering [to God], it shall not be accepted of him [by God], who will punish the individual by making him among the losers in the world to come ".

Sufis or Muslim mystics, Rumi and Hafiz often remind scholars against the appropriation of the text to legitimise a de facto hegemony over the other. Their reflections emphasise the human dimensions of theology and that "there are many paths leading to God as there are human beings".

Sayyid Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood in Eqypt has been cited for writings which assert that the only religion of human commitment is historical Islam, which according to him is the religion that must be accepted by all people. Sayyid Qutb has an immense following among the Malaysian Muslim youth movements for decades. Some of the youths exposed to the theology of Sayyid Qutb are in political parties and NGO leadership (including ulama associations) today.

Any serious dialogue between peoples of different religious traditions has to be anchored in their normative teachings. It is the revelatory guidelines, teachings and interpretations thereto that governs the possibilities for an inter-religious relationship among communities with different doctrinal traditions.

Sachedina, as many scholars working on democratic pluralism and respect for the human rights of the religious and cultural other in Muslim societies, opine that the anti-pluralist perspectives steer the inter or intra-religious relationship toward toleration at best or confrontation at worst, but seldom toward respect.

He suggests reclaiming the once conceived but now forgotten pluralist theology in Islam. This requires an active intra-faith engagement from Islamic revelation, by taking into account the constantly changing realities of human life.

References:

Abdulaziz Sachedina, (2001), The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism . Oxford University Press.

Peter L Berger, (1999), The Desecularisation of the World: A Global View, in Peter L. Berger (ed), The Desecularisation of the World-Resurgent Religion and World Politics . Washington DC: Ethics and Public Policy Centre.