Christianity and Islam, together with Judaism, spring from the same Abrahamic roots. The religion of Abraham upholds the principle of monotheism and the belief in a personal deity. Islam is distinguished from Christianity by its rigorous monotheism and an inclination towards transcendentalism, while it differs from Judaism by its universalism.
The doctrinal differences between Christianity and Islam, though important, cannot possibly justify hostility between them. Indeed the Holy Qur'an says of Christians "Thou (Mohammad) wilt find that, of all people, they who say, `Behold, we are Christians', come closest to feeling affection for those who believe (in this divine writ): this is so because there are priests and monks among them, and because these are not given to arrogance." (Sura 5 verse 82).
And also "And thereupon We caused (others of) Our apostles to follow in their footsteps; and (in the course of time) We caused them to be followed by Jesus, son of Mary, upon whom We bestowed the Gospel; and in the hearts of those who (truly) follow him We engendered compassion and mercy" (Sura 57 verse 27).
Islam believes in the virgin birth and the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven. It venerates the Virgin Mary in a manner indistinguishable from that of many Christians. Those Christians may find it surprising how close Christianity is to Islam. Indeed, a Muslim who does not accept the message of Jesus and who fails to venerate the Virgin Mary would be regarded as an apostate.
If the two religions are so close in basic beliefs, they are closer still in their cultural heritage. Both of them adopted the Hellenistic culture which they adapted to their monotheistic beliefs and enriched with the depth of their contribution. Throughout the Middle Ages the universities and scholars of Muslim Spain were the leaders in all areas of intellectual, scientific, and technological endeavour. The Arabic language was, for almost 1,000 years, the lingua franca of the cultural elite of the world.
Sharing a religious ancestry and a cultural source should have made the two faiths allies, not enemies. Regrettably Islam and Christianity have historically met more often on the battle fields than in the debating chambers. Their conflicts were often described as religious wars.
The most celebrated of these conflicts were the Crusades in Palestine and Spain which to this day colour Muslim perception of Christians and the West. Indeed in today's reporting of Western activities in the Muslim world they are always described as the new Crusades.
I have always maintained that "religious wars" are a contradiction in terms. The essence of religion, and especially the Abrahamic religions, is peace. Life, and especially human life, is sacred. All of them have inherited this from the experience of Abraham when he proceeded to sacrifice his son and found a ram in his place sent by God as a lesson to humanity that the Lord of the Universe shuns human sacrifice.
When a religion descends to shedding blood in its own cause it betrays its principles and becomes idolatry. Wars are embarked upon for territorial aggrandisement, control of resources and dominance over others. Religion is wheeled in by politicians, generals, and colonists, to dignify their base ambitions and to mobilise the pious innocent.
In today's world, the need for going back to the basis of our faith has become an urgent necessity. Not only is this essential for our common good and mutual understanding, but for the very survival of our two faiths. Religion is now faced with the most serious challenge in its history. The phenomenal development of science has reduced the area human beings used to consider to be the province of God alone. In the past, God was perceived as the cause of the phenomena that human beings could not comprehend. But the expansion of our knowledge of the world has given us such self confidence that many scientists have expelled God from their laboratories and banned faith and ethics from their scientific thinking.
Many scientists believe God resides in the dark corners of human ignorance and that He abandons them at the first glimmer of scientific light. The victories of science have given a fillip to the secularist movement. Many a secularist now argues that religion in every shape or form is a collection of irrelevant myths which prey on the human intellect and enslave humanity to backward ideas and hidebound morality. Clearly this challenge is so serious that it should engage our full attention and divert us away from conflicts among ourselves.
We cannot deny the achievements of science. We are powerless to stop or even limit the impact of technology. But a technological and scientific world needs a faith to give a meaning to the material world and a purpose to the life of a human being.
Christianity and Islam, standing shoulder to shoulder rather than face to face, can save humanity from God-less despair and anarchial morality. The break-up of families, the disintegration of communities, the growth of individualism and materialism, may have been the inevitable consequence of substituting secular science for religious faith.
Humanity needs religion and ethics as well as science and technology. This however demands new interpretations of the religious texts to take note of the scientific discoveries. This should not be an invitation to theologians to read science and scientific theories into the sacred texts. It is simply an invitation to purge our theological work of outdated concepts about the physical world.
To move forward in this way requires a number of things. First, the two faiths must come to grips with each other's fundamental beliefs. There should be no room for misunderstanding or misrepresentation. Our common monotheism is interpreted differently by both faiths. Let us understand the differences and move forward in the battle against secularism and atheism.
Second, the two faiths share common ethical values, based on the principles of justice and social welfare. We should together proclaim these principles to the world. We must invite world leaders to close the widening gap between rich and poor. We must alert the more advanced countries to the needs of the less advanced in literacy, health, and employment opportunities.
Third, our two faiths must encourage all societies to live up to the principles of good government. A government which excludes its people from participation and stands above accountability should be rejected by our faiths as being tyrannical and devoid of any ethical or religious legitimacy.
Fourth, our two faiths must inject moral values into the media which has become so powerful that no other force appears to be capable of restraining it, and so influential that it has become the guide that decrees the rules of conduct. It has arrogated to itself the power to undermine all institutions, especially the religious institutions, while claiming for itself to be beyond reproach.
It has often exploited a single misdemeanour to tarnish the reputations of an entire profession or faith. We should co-operate together to inject ethical restraints into the media to make it more an instrument of good and less a threat to our values and our society.
Fifth, our two faiths should seek to rescue humanity from its preoccupations with rights and alert everyone to the principle of duty. Our two faiths are duty-oriented rather than rights oriented. Human rights are sanctioned in both our faiths as duties to God. The right to live can be based on the principle of "Thou shalt not kill". And the other commandments can be seen as sources for the other rights listed in the Universal Declaration (of Human Rights). Religion, and especially the Abrahamic religions, are often labelled male-dominated religions. Women seem to be given an inferior position in the religious scheme of things, be it in the place of worship, the family, or society.
We need to stand together and recover the principle of equality enshrined in our two faiths. The Qur'an often repeats and emphasises the high status of women. The Arabs at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) denied their womenfolk the freedom to choose their husbands or to free themselves from an unhappy marriage.
They also denied them the right to own property or to participate in public life, and female infanticide was widespread. Islam revolutionised the position of the woman and granted her equality in the teeth of well-entrenched, hostile custom. Admittedly, not many Muslim societies live up to the high standard enshrined in the Holy Qur'an and the Prophet's Tradition, but together we can help each other to find our pristine principles and adhere to them.
Sixth, we both should support the principle of tolerance which should go beyond the mere negative acceptance of the other. We should be committed to each other, caring for each other's needs and securing for each other the protection and support due to people of the same family of faith.
This is particularly urgent where the adherents of one religious faith live as a minority among the majority of the other faith. Islam has always recognised Christians as the People of the Book and accorded them autonomy in belief and social customs. The example of Spain at the zenith of its civilisation remains to this day a beacon to the world in providing an environment for different religious faiths to dialogue with each other in unity and open mindedness.
There are, of course, obstacles to the programme suggested. There is history. Muslims still remember the atrocities committed by the Crusades in Palestine and the draconian rule of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. On the other hand, Christians still subconsciously hear the war drums of the Turkish armies at the gates of Vienna.
FOR all the weakness of the present-day Muslim world, many in the Christian world still consider it to be a mortal danger. Though it is difficult to unburden ourselves of the unhappy legacies of the past, we must exert our energy to look to the future rather than backward into history.
The second obstacle is the present-day conflict of interests. The Western world, which is seen by us (Muslims) as primarily Christian, has in modern times imposed its will on all Muslim nations, plundering their resources, deciding their destiny, violating their laws and traditions and sometimes imposing upon them unpopular rulers. We should together stand against this injustice and call upon our co-religionists to seek the common good of all.
The third obstacle is the stance of the Christian world against the Palestinians in the calamity that has befallen them. Their plight, which is authored by the Christian world, appears not to trouble the Christian conscience. This is regarded by the world of Islam as a complete negation of moral and religious principles. We should stand together to see that the Palestinians are treated as human beings and not as a cumbersome problem to be disposed of in the manner of the genocide practices of the past. The fourth obstacle is the sense of superiority from which we both suffer. The Christian world claims cultural superiority and heaps contempt on the current situation in the Muslim world whereas we Muslims proclaim our religious superiority and question the monotheistic commitment of the Christians. Perhaps the two of us can look at the positive aspects of each other and move forward in dignity and mutual respect.
For all these obstacles I feel optimistic about the future co-operation between Islam and Christianity. The advocates of the theory of inevitable conflict between the two cultures ignore the fundamental similarities between both faiths.
They harp on the dynamic of historical events to drag us into conflict. Strangely, the adherents of this theory of inevitable war between our two faiths are the extremists on the side of the Muslims who legitimise war not only against non-Muslims but also against other Muslims.
On the side of the Christians are those who, enticed by the Huntington theory of the conflict of civilisations, exaggerate skirmishes in Nigeria or Indonesia or the Balkans as evidence of the correctness of that theory.
Both groups miss the point. The vast majority of Muslims and Christians are peace-loving and aspire to create a world inspired by the love of humanity as a manifestation of the love of God.
Dr Zaki Badawi is principal of the Muslim College in London
