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"While
(Muslims) recognize the Christians whom we hold dialogue with,
they don't recognize Islam as a heavenly religion," said
Qaradawi.
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By
Adel Abdel Halim, IOL Correspondent
CAIRO,
December 16, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Recognizing Islam as a faith
and Palestine as a Muslim country are essential to break the current
impasse in inter-faith dialogue, according to leading Muslim
intellectuals and scholars.
"The
agenda of interfaith dialogue is currently useless, and accordingly
should be amended especially that Islam is not recognized as a
heavenly faith and Palestine is not considered as a Muslim
country," said Dr Mohammed Selim Al-Awwa, secretary-general of
the International Muslim Scholars Union (IMSU).
"While
(Muslims) recognize the Christians whom we hold dialogue with, they
don't recognize Islam as a heavenly religion," said Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradawi,
a renown religious scholar and chairman of the IMSU.
The
statements came during the first meeting of the Supreme Council of
Islamic Sharia`h Intentions Studies Center associated with Al-Furqan
Heritage Foundation Wednesday, December 14, 2005.
In
contrast, Al-Awwa pointed out, the Christian side is keen on granting
unconditional permits to construct churches in Muslim countries,
allowing Christian missionaries to work in Islamic countries and
allowing marriage of a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man.
Muslim
scholars shouldn't participate in interfaith dialogue if the Christian
side keeps firm on its stances towards Islam as a faith and Palestine
as a Muslim country, so that they won't achieve gains while Muslims
endure losses, he stressed.
"Interfaith
dialogue is subject to special agendas. However, it should continue
but with a developed Islamic agenda so that we ask for correcting all
mistakes about Islam in (Western) curricula and media," said
Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Dr
Akmal Eddin Ihsan Oughlo.
Renowned
scholar Sheikh Al-Qaradawi, on his part, blamed the Christian side for
insisting on describing issues agreed on in the dialogue as
"spiritual and not divine."
Palestine
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"Interfaith
dialogue should continue but with a developed Islamic
agenda," Oughlo said.
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He
rejected any face-to-face dialogue with the Jews "as long as the
Palestine cause hasn't been resolved," and called for
"boycotting any dialogue with whoever accepts Israel's
practices" in the occupied territories.
"We
need to reconsider the agenda of the dialogue and pinpoint areas of
deficiency," said Sudanese Waqf Minister Dr Essam Al-Bashir.
Intellectuals
and Muslim scholars told IslamOnline.net in October that the spree of
interfaith forums cannot bridge the gap between the West and the
Muslim world as differences are basically political and not religious.
"The
West wrongfully thinks that interfaith dialogues could relax the
strained and marred relations with the Muslim world," Azzam Al-Tamimi,
director of the London-based Islamic Political Thought Institute,
said.
He
added that "intensifying" such dialogues by the West leaves
the impression that the current standoff between both sides is
religion-oriented, though it has everything to do with politics.
"Such
dialogue can’t undo what has been done by politics and differences
should have a political rather than a religious solution," added
the Palestinian-born intellectual.
Taha
Jabir Al-Elwani, chairman of the Islamic Shura Council of North
America (ISCNA), added that this kind of dialogue was designed to
appease anti-West feelings prevailing across the Muslim world over the
US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
He
said that such intense dialogues were aimed at "putting Muslims
on the defensive."
Al-Elwani
added: "Dialogues, when the power balance is disproportionate in
favor of the West, are nothing but a bid to convince Muslims of
normalizing relations and achieving the West's agenda."
Ambassador
Nabil Badr, a former Egyptian assistant foreign minister, agreed.
He
said the West wants to "contain" Muslim anger at
"aggressions by some western powers on Muslim countries and
peoples."
He
maintained that intensifying interfaith dialogues aims "at
concealing the interest factor which still largely controls world
affairs."
