The President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue returning from Al-Azhar: dialogue is the best antidote to relativism and represents the best alternative to war.
A Gift to humanity and an opportunity for sincere" friendship " in a historical juncture crossed by tensions and discrimination, reminding us that, 'either there is war or there is dialogue". With these words, Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue, described the seminar hosted on 22 and 23 February Al-Azhar (Cairo), the most prestigious institution of Sunni Islam.
Leader of the Vatican delegation in the Egyptian capital for a date that marks the official resumption of relations between the Holy See and the Islamic institute after the misunderstandings of the past years, Tauran added, “The past is now behind us, today’s emergencies as in the violence of the so-called Islamic State, the issue of education, the issue of migration, must overcome any distrust of interreligious dialogue, which the French cardinal emphasizes, "is the best antidote to violence, but also to relativism. " We must strive together for world peace as believers belonging to two great religions.
Eminence, your visit to Cairo marked the reopening of dialogue between Al-Azhar and the Holy See: What is your final evaluation? Have you discussed about the “past’s pause” mentioned in Benedict XVI’s famous Regensburg speech? How do you expect this relationship will develop in the future?
"In Cairo, the two sides agreed it was time to turn the page, so we sat around the table to see what we could do for today and tomorrow. Among the delegation of Al-Azhar I found persons of great intellectual qualities and very open on a human level. It can be said that there was a climate of friendship, of great mutual respect for other’s opinions. It truly was a very nice atmosphere. There is awareness of the difficulties that today religions face, that they can be scary, and of the need to be consistent believers. I hope that such initiatives will continue in the future because there is no alternative: either war or dialogue. "
The Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmad Muhammed Al-Tayyib, said in a recent interview to La Stampa, that "with the concept of "citizenship" instead of that of "minorities", Al-Azhar is reviving an old practice that the prophet himself had adopted in the first Islamic society in Medina”. What are its implications for Middle East Christian communities? Could it also be a "key" when addressing the issue of Christian persecution in the Middle East?
"This idea of citizenship is much discussed within the Islamic world, especially among its most open component. It is good, first because every believer is a citizen: not just a citizen or just a believer, but citizen and believer. And this puts aside the notion of "minorities": if we are all citizens of a country we all cooperate for the common good, both individually and through the religious community to which we belong. We appreciate this understanding of citizenship. When one feels respected in their religion one will collaborate more willingly to society’s project. "
More generally, in the background of Daesh, the so-called Islamic state, what is Al-Azhar’s role in the Muslim World? How do you evaluate commitments such as the training of imams, also in Europe, and the revision of the school textbooks to eliminate those deviations added by, in Al-Tayyib’s words, "those who use violence and terrorism and by armed movements that claim to work for peace"?
"Education is important both in school and college. Therefore, by being a prestigious cultural institution, Al-Azhar can change attitudes. To me this seems to be a priority. Imam training is also very important, because they influence the way one thinks and acts. As to textbooks, you can not talk with great friendship and fraternity, and then find that in some books Christians are called "unbelievers." The teachers we met in Cairo have understood this. Whenever I gather with a group of Muslims I thoroughly insist on this: you cannot dialogue and at the same speak of Christians as unbelievers. From this point of view education is important. It is also very important the way the history of a country is accounted, because that's where the patriotic spirit is formed. Therefore, education and its sources must be credible. If the key to education are schools and universities, the content must correspond to the truth.
The presence of Daesh is a serious threat to the dialogue’s credibility. As for these young people who are fighting in the ranks of this terrorist organization there is a problem of education in the family and in school. How are they raised? What are their future social projects? Reality is that most of these young people who fight in Daesh are frustrated kids. I always remember this interview of a young man from Melbourne who was fighting in Damascus. He explained his choice by saying: "My whole life have seen my dad come back exhausted from work. I do not want this life for me" Also in this case education is important. "
The issue of Islam is intertwined, at least in Europe and the United States' political debate, with the theme of immigration and integration: did you address this issue in Cairo? What is your vision? Do you agree with Olivier Roy’s analysis which emphasizes more the "Islamization of radicalism" rather than "Islamic radicalization"?
"I share Roy’s point of view on Islamization of radicalism, and would add that there is also an attempt of Islamization of crime. We addressed the issue of immigration issue in Cairo. In the final joint statement, we refer to the need to identify the causes of the phenomena of violence, to consider poverty, ignorance, the political abuse of religion and in the incorrect interpretation of religious texts. I think we must recognize that we do not know each other enough. The struggle comes from a shared ignorance, both from Christians and Muslims, and this is terrible. We must be way more interested in each other, because inter-religious dialogue presupposes a certain interest in the other, a certain "curiosity" to get to know the other better. I take this opportunity to say that interfaith dialogue is the best antidote to relativism, because the first thing one does is to witness their faith. When it is said that dialogue favors relativism it is not true, of course, the dialogue must be done right. "
Stefania Falasca wrote in Avvenire that "the Pope might travel to Egypt. On 6 February, the patriarch Isaac Ibrahim Sedrak and the bishops in their ad limina visit to the Patriarchal Church of the Copts of Alexandria have submitted a formal written invitation to Pope Francis. An invitation that follows another invitation from other bishops, from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, received in audience by the Pope on November 24, 2014, and from Ahmed Al-Tayyib, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar. " What is the meaning of such journey?
"The Pope has been invited, one day or another, he will find a way to go to Egypt. This would be a journey that not only would support the local church but would also encourage interreligious dialogue especially the one promoted by Al-Azhar. "
What is the Holy See's approach in the dialogue with Islam in a historical juncture in which Islam itself is crossed by tensions between Shiites and Sunnis?
"We are in solidarity with the true Muslims who see their religion corrupted and betrayed by terrorist organizations such as Daesh. Moreover, Christians and Muslims account for 58 per cent of humanity. If we want humanity to be at peace, the members of this 58 per cent should be brothers and sisters. "
The Osservatore Romano reported that the latest recommendations stated in the final joint statement concerning concrete actions to counter a realistic and feasible terrorism and terrorist organizations, included the cutting of its resources, stopping whoever supplies money and weapons and closing all access to social communications to protect young people from their destructive ideologies. Can you further deepen this point?
"In my last words at the symposium at Al-Azhar, I insisted that the great Western crisis is a crisis of values transmission. We have been incapable of transmitting values such as peace, family, honesty, solidarity, so that now we are facing a generation of young people who are heirs without inheritance and builders without role-models. Therefore, I think that a meeting like the one in Cairo is a gift that we offer to all humanity and that allows us to understand that when we close the door or we impose ourselves with violence, even verbal, we are fostering extremism. "
