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Nostra Aetate: On Muslims and Catholics

Shrine+of+John+the+Baptist%2C+Great+Umayyid+Mosque%2C+Damascus%0ACourtesy+of+James+Gordon
Shrine of John the Baptist, Great Umayyid Mosque, Damascus Courtesy of James Gordon

Recently the Aquinas Institute conducted “The True & Holy Catholic Engagement of Islam.” Pope Benedict XVI declared 2013 a “Year of Faith” for Roman Catholics, which coincides with the 50-year anniversary of “Nostra Aetate;” a document from the Second Vatican Council released in October 1962. The discussion from the Aquinas Institute was intended to examine how far we have come in Muslim-Catholic relationships and where we have failed over last 50 years.

“Nostra Aetate” was originally written for Jewish and Christian interfaith relationships. Pope John XXIII called for the council to ponder the role of the Catholic Church in World War II and asked how the Holocaust occurred in Europe. Many Catholic leaders from the East strongly recommended addressing the Catholic and Muslim relationships in the document too. World War II and colonialism had led to a deteriorating understanding of Christian faith among Muslims. “Decretum de Judaeis,” an initial draft of “Nostra Aetate,” was never discussed. Later on, five documents covering different areas were adopted, including “Nostra Aetate,” all discussing the Church’s relations with non-Christian religions.

Fifty years later, the improvements as well as steps backward are what shape the Muslim-Christian relationships. Christians and Muslims make up over half of the population of the world, so these kinds of interactions cannot just be “feel good” communications.

Nostra Aetate states, “One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth. One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men …

“Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going? …

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“The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

“Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.”

Shrine of John the Baptist, Great Umayyid Mosque, DamascusCourtesy of James Gordon
Shrine of John the Baptist, Great Umayyid Mosque, Damascus
Courtesy of James Gordon

Dr. Keating from Providence College in Rhode Island while discussing the Christian-Muslim relationship, clarified the word “forget” in “Nostra Aetate,” which was to encourage people to forget the past and move forward. She aptly substituted the phrase “to surpass” for forget. I believe that to surpass the past experiences is the first step toward forgiveness. We do not forget difficult relationships, events; we learn to move on. Unfortunately we are not moving on, we have been moving away from each other; we have not enhanced positive things from the past and not learned from negative interactions. As we have not “surpassed” the past, an eye for an eye for an eye for an eye goes on. We are interpreting today’s events from past experiences.

One important consideration is that most Muslims are not familiar with the different denominations of Christianity. Acts of any denomination are believed to be a reflection of all the Christians. Similarly, many Christians have limited or no knowledge of Islam, which leads to misperceptions, fear and eventually hostility. Political issues, land disputes, power struggles get intertwined into interfaith relationships and instead of moving forward, our relationships have taken many steps backward.

If some misguided Muslims resort to violence to express their hurt over Danish cartoons, or comments of Pope Benedict XVI; Christians may assume that Islam is a violent religion. A misguided priest threatens to burn a Quran, leading Muslims to believe that Christianity is out to destroy Islam.

About 54 years before “Nostra Aetate,” Sunni Muslim theologian Said Nusri addressed 10,000 Muslims, including many scholars, and recommended continued dialogue and positive relationships with Christianity. Many efforts since then have not brought the desired results in “Nostra Aetate” and other official statements. I believe we break down the communication when we start to prove the other person’s faith to be either wrong or not perfect as our own. Each faith claims to have the whole truth, but not any faith has the right to deride the other faith. This is a sure way of shutting down any doors leading to any meaningful interaction, reconciliation and eventual peace.

Another hurdle is that there is no religious hierarchy in Islam as there is in Catholicism. There is not one person who will speak on behalf of 1.5 billion Muslims. Scholars, leaders, intellectuals and individuals give their opinions and also engage in dialogues with other faiths, but there is not one face to represent all of them. The question of why Muslims are not speaking persists and unfortunately the dissenting voices among Muslims are given more coverage and importance.

In 2007, 138 scholars, academics, politicians and Muftis from many Muslim countries signed a letter titled “A Common Word Between Us and You.” The author was Jordanian Prince Ghazi bin Talal.

The letter states, “Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.

“The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity.”

The Prophet Muhammad said, “None of you has faith until you love for your brother what you love for yourself,” and, “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself.”

The Catholic Muslim relationships have to be at different levels: individual, community, organizational and global. An individual at grass root level will contribute just as equally as the governments and institutions do engaging in an ongoing process.

A conference called “A Common Word and Future Muslim-Christian Engagement,” was held by the Archbishop of Canterbury in partnership with the University of Cambridge Inter Faith program and the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute from Oct. 12 through 15, 2008. The recommendations put forth were:

 

  • To identify and promote the use of educational materials, for all age groups and in the widest possible range of languages, that we accept as providing a fair reflection of our faiths
  • To build a network of academic institutions, linking scholars, students and academic resources, with various commitments and teams which can work on shared values
  • To identify funds to facilitate exchanges between those training for roles of leadership within our religious communities
  • To translate significant texts from our two religious traditions for the use of the other

In America we have better relationships due to values of tolerance, but we do not have a deep understanding of Islam. According to Hoppler-Bell-Donaghey (HBD) theory, there are three phases to reach the goal of good Muslim-Christian relations:

  1. Initial phase: conflict and hostility
  2. Transitional phase: Tolerance
  3. Ultimate and desired phase of progression leading to harmony

 

At this time in America we are in the second phase of interactions and relationships; the hardest part is reaching for the last phase. It can be achieved if we are willing to invest at all levels.

 

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