November-December 2007 
Year 14    No.126
Editorial


A moment in time

Is time linear? Perhaps it is. Even so, some moments in time are clearly of far greater import than
others. Consider the following –

October 13, 2007: 138 Muslim scholars, clerics and intellectuals from around the world, representing every denomination and school of thought in Islam, come together "for the first time since the days of the prophet" to declare there is common ground between Christianity and Islam. In an open letter, "A Common Word between Us and You", addressed to Pope Benedict XVI and other top Christian leaders, they appeal for a common commitment to work for global peace.

November 18, 2007: Overwhelmed by the tone and content of the "extraordinary" message, 300 Christian leaders, main line and evangelical, issue a full page advertisement in The New York Times. "We want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. in the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. in excesses of the ‘war on terror’) many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbours. Before we ‘shake your hand’ in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the all merciful one and of the Muslim community around the world," says the missive. The concluding sentence reads, "It is with humility and hope that we receive your generous letter and we commit ourselves to labour together in heart, soul, mind and strength for the objectives you so appropriately propose."

November 19, 2007: The Vatican expresses "deep appreciation of the positive spirit which inspired the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace in the world", adding that the pope was "most willing" to receive a delegation representing the 138 signatories of "A Common Word".

December 1, 2007: The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), an umbrella organisation and the largest body of Muslims in the UK, reverses its earlier policy and announces that from now on MCB will join Jews and everyone else in the UK to observe Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27).

So can we think of a tentative date by which peace will descend on earth? Not so fast. But to appreciate the significance of this highly welcome Muslim initiative, one has but to recall images of angry Muslims across the globe only a year ago, vociferous in their response to Pope Benedict XVI’s speech suggesting a historic link between Islam and violence. The 138 Muslim signatories trace the inspiration for "A Common Word" to the same controversial statement by the pope.

More dates.

November 25, 2007: In an all-UK competition conducted by the Islam Channel, Madni Jamia Masjid, Bradford, is declared winner of the ‘Model Mosque Competition’! Best practices and inclusive policy are what clinched the issue in this mosque’s favour.

November 29, 2007: UK’s year-old Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) releases the draft of a national guideline for mosques. The guidelines are said to be the most radical attempt so far by UK Muslim leaders to tackle extremism and introduce an effective system of self-regulation. Significantly, the draft wants all mosques in the UK to preach to Muslims that forced marriages and domestic violence against women are "un-Islamic".

December 3, 2007: Two Muslim politicians from UK’s House of Lords, Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, play a key role in Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s presidential pardon to a British woman, Gillian Gibbons, convicted on charges of blasphemy. The Muslim Council of Britain had earlier condemned her arrest as a "disgraceful decision" and demanded presidential pardon.

"Winds of change appear to be sweeping across the Muslim world", said our cover story ("Islam Reform") in May 2005, while cautioning our readers not to expect miracles overnight. Two-and-a-half years later, CC is pleased to record more happy signs. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that we are not just talking about individuals and groups that may be dismissed as "fringe elements" on the margins of Muslim society. You can’t get more middle-of-the-road than the Muslim Council of Britain, the largest Muslim organisation in the UK, or the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim body with offices in 30 cities in the US. Both are constantly criticised by progressive Muslims for their views and positions on a whole range of issues.

When bodies such as these start defending a Muslim’s right to convert, promote a Muslim woman’s right to equal space inside the mosque, take the initiative in creating guidelines for self-regulatory mechanisms to ensure mosques are not abused for promoting extremism, teach imams to preach that forced marriages and domestic violence are "un-Islamic", it is a sure sign that the times they are a-changin’!

There is a lot the Indian Muslim could learn from the impressive intellectual and theological leaps being made by a fast growing tribe of fellow Muslims living in the West.

— EDITORS

 

 


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