(Text of my speech at the Interfaith for World Peace Youth Symposium – Vancouver, BC; March 10, 2013)
I praise God, the creator of the universe and its sustainer. And I invoke zher blessings on prophets and messengers who introduced God to us and educated us about zher will.
And I wish you all God’s blessings, peace and security, and soundness in every sense; or as we say in Arabic, I wish you salām!
My dear friends: In these few moments with you, I would like to identify something that seems to limit the effectiveness and value of interfaith discussions and engagement. I will then try to present an alternative approach to interfaith engagement that, I think, is more likely to bear fruit in terms of interfaith harmony and mutual respect between communities.
Let me first talk about what looks like a limiting factor to me in interfaith engagement.
Interfaith discussions often take place in theological settings. That is because people most invested in religion are the ones who take their own religious identity seriously, and see other people as members of another faith community, and feel the need to reach out to them. People who are not invested in religion are usually less concerned with religious identities, and are content with relating with others in entirely secular settings. Thus, we notice that interfaith meetings are usually hosted by churches, synagogues, mosques, and other centers of worship.
There is nothing wrong with that per se. If anything, the efforts of religious folks to reach out to members of other communities must be appreciated.
However, interfaith meetings organized in places of worship often involve discussions of religion itself. The participants are expected to put aside their own truth claims, and see the beauty of other faiths. Followers of each faith tradition (particularly Christians and less so Muslims, who are concerned with sharing their understanding of God’s word with fellow human beings) have to compromise on their missionary zeal. And quite often, the discussion ends up assuming and promoting theological pluralism that considers all faith traditions to be equally valid expressions of religious truth. Religious truth is rendered “relative”. And differing accounts of religious truth are denied advantage over one another.
It is for these reasons, I believe, that we see limited participation in most interfaith initiatives.
So how do we make interfaith engagement more meaningful?
Even though different communities differ in their conceptions of God and in their understandings of zher will, we do have certain shared concerns. We often support causes that other communities support too. From my point of view, these shared concerns and common causes offer an important avenue for meaningful engagement between communities. I believe working together for common causes may be more effective in drawing participation from individual communities than engagement on philosophical and theological questions.
So what kind of concerns do we share? And for what kind of causes can we work together?
Foremost among potentially shared concerns is our concern for justice. Desire for justice enables people to rise above their identities and advocate for others what they would like for themselves.
Here, I would like to share with you some passages from Qur’an that outline God’s expectation of justice from believers:
On one occasion, it is said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاء لِلّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقَيرًا فَاللّهُ أَوْلَى بِهِمَا فَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ الْهَوَى أَن تَعْدِلُواْ وَإِن تَلْوُواْ أَوْ تُعْرِضُواْ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
Believers, be among those who establish justice; and bear witness [to what is true] for the sake of God, even if [your testimony goes] against yourselves, or your parents, or other kinsfolk. Whether the person [you testify for or against] is rich or poor – God can best protect both; so follow not [your] whims, lest you should swerve. And if you distort [the truth] or avoid [to do justice], God is well-acquainted with all that you do. (Qur'an 4:135)
On another occasion, it is said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ لِلّهِ شُهَدَاء بِالْقِسْطِ وَلاَ يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُواْ اعْدِلُواْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ إِنَّ اللّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
The verse starts out like the previous one, but additionally emphasizes that the enmity of a people should not derail believers from the path of justice. (Qur’an 5:8)
On still another occasion, it is said:
وَلاَ تَجْعَلُواْ اللّهَ عُرْضَةً لِّأَيْمَانِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ وَتُصْلِحُواْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
The verse tells us: Do not, in God’s name, excuse yourselves from doing good to others and making peace between people. (Qur’an 2:224)
On yet another occasion, it is said:
لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ
God does not forbid you from being kind and just to those who neither fight you nor dispossess you of your homes and property. Indeed God loves those who are just. (Qur’an 60:8)
I believe these verses of Qur’an offer a model sense of justice that all of us can relate with regardless of our backgrounds.
It is such a sense of justice that enables Jewish members of civil society to rise above their identity and demand justice for Palestinians. And I have no hesitation admitting that nothing has drawn me closer to the Jewish community than their active presence in rallies and protests expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine. It is these rallies and protests where I see Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, members of indigenous communities, Muslims, Sikhs, and of course, agnostics and atheists standing shoulder to shoulder advocating justice. The united demand for justice awakens love in their hearts for each other – for as Cornel West says, “justice is what love looks like in public.”
Similarly, social and charitable causes is another area where different faith communities can and do collaborate with each other. At least some members of each religious community are concerned with the well-being of vulnerable members of the society. Alleviation of poverty is a goal that cuts across religious boundaries.
Thus, in our own city, a joint Jewish-Muslim initiative, Feed the Hungry, has been offering food to the homeless in downtown for several years. And First United Church, a Christian institution, has been hosting them. Over the years, more than a thousand volunteers have participated in preparing and serving food to the needy.
My dear friends, I have tried to articulate before you my impression that engagement on philosophical questions in theological settings draws limited participation from respective communities, and therefore, has limited value. On the other hand, working together for charitable, social, and political causes is more likely to establish significant grassroots connections between different religious communities, and is more likely to humanize the “other”.
I pray to God that zhe enables us to effectively reach out to fellow human beings within and beyond our faith communities. I pray to God that zhe enables us to stand for justice even if our testimony sometimes goes against our own selves or our communities – for without justice, there can be no peace.
Thank you.
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