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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Focus Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Finding a common language
By Tarek AtiaLast week's meeting between Pope John Paul II, head of the Roman Catholic Church, and Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, was supposed to represent the crowning of nearly 30 years of dialogue between the two faiths.
But what exactly is religious dialogue, and who does it benefit?
According to Ali El-Samman, vice-president of Al-Azhar's Permanent Committee for Dialogue between the Monotheistic Religions, "the target is to find the common values, where we can work to find a common ground".
To the layman, it might seem difficult to get beyond the major differences in belief between faiths. "The first rule is that we never have a dialogue about the dogma," El-Samman says. "I am asked to respect your dogma, and ask you to respect mine."
Sheikh Tantawi has also explained the dialogue as such: "Religious leaders must meet each other so that peace and security prevail in this world and spread friendship among human beings."
Getting to this point was certainly not easy. Centuries of strife, including major events like the Crusades, are hard to forget. Now, the Catholic Church seems ready to apologise for past errors.
Some would argue about the usefulness of such an apology at this point in time. El-Samman disagrees: "It's not so simple. To apologise means that you want to go deeper, go further, into cooperation."
The practical results of this cooperation may mean changes in the way history is presented to students in the West, for instance.
"It is a matter of fact that the day must come," El-Samman says, "that justice must be done to Salah El-Din, whether in books or the media. To say that this man was not guiding an invasion; he was guiding a resistance to an attack."
On Islam's part, acknowledgment has been made of historic Christian personalities like St Francis of Assisi, who El-Samman calls, "the only man to oppose the [Crusades]. The story of St Francis is an excellent bridge in the future between Muslims and Christians".
The Pope's visit to Al-Azhar, three years in preparation, gave "a push to our cause", says El-Samman. "The symbolism [of the visit] is so important, and when it happened, more than half of the [work] was done."
El-Samman says he has been criticised in the past for concentrating more on the international scope of religious dialogue, as opposed to promoting it at home. "I must confess that internally I work very discreetly with very discreet persons from both sides, finding guidelines for us to work with." He credits this effort as being behind recent steps that have been taken to introduce Coptic history in the school curriculum, among other things.
Plus, he hopes that "the symbolism of the Pope and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar meeting will also have a strong effect internally".
Part of the trouble, argues El-Samman, is that "the media wants what's exciting. If you say one day, 'Christians, Muslims and Jews are working together,' it's not exciting. But if there is a conflict in the organisation between a Muslim president and a Christian vice-president, that's exciting. I regret it, but I understand it. This year we hope to hold a round table with 10 major international media decision makers in an attempt to find a common language."
El-Samman who, in 1995, expanded the dialogue to also include Judaism, also mentions a forthcoming event in Sinai where "the youths of all three religions will pray together, and think together". That dialogue, however, will be adapted for its target audience who, El-Samman says, "shall also sing, and listen to music, because dialogue can also mean happiness and joy".
Such a project is, however, likely to be considered controversial not only from a religious viewpoint, but politically too. When asked how he would respond to criticism of such an endeavour, El-Samman said, "Every one of these religions has a universal mission, and should not close itself off from others."
