CRPME Report III - 2017

Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2012

This research talks about religious pluralism in Jordan, since the founding of the emirate and so far, and about nature of the relationship between the various Ethnicities and creeds, and how it constitutes a unique case, a homogeneous, consistent , despite the small size of the country, its novelty, the small number of its population, the scarcity of natural resources, and the weakness of its industrial potential. But it could constitute an amazing mosaic. All this due to the tolerence of its people, simplicity, and the Security oasis they live and Enjoy , Making it a destination for all people, and Avail thimselves of the shadow , and participate population leading experience, and shared destiny, and despite the lack of estimators, but this country still welcomes all visitors, and refugees, and called to the rescue or relief or subsidy.

This paper will discuss the acceptance of pluralistic values in Islam. The concept of pluralism and its dimensions promoted in Islam has been attested to by comments from the international community in various publications and forums. The Holy Quran commands Muslims to treat all people fairly. Islamic history provides many examples of toleration towards other faiths. Muhammad (PBUH), the last of Allah's Messengers, preached and practiced tolerance and acceptance towards non-Muslims in every walk of life. This paper also deals with a comparative analysis of Islamic and Western concepts of pluralism. It also focuses on the way Islamic concept of pluralism has been misinterpreted by some western scholars at different levels in different ways, for instance Islam is wrongly associated with violations of non-Muslim rights in an Islamic State and also, certain scholars believe that Muslims living in the West are not loyal to the community to which they belong. This paper discusses reasons for such distortions of the Islamic concept of pluralism at national and international levels. This paper will attempt to remove the apprehensions and misperceptions related to Islamic concept of pluralism. Views and suggestions from the audience will be appreciated in order to review and refine the recommendations I make. All of us have to share the planet Earth; no matter what religion we belong to. So why should we not do it gracefully-in the true, pluralistic way?

Christianity in the Middle East , 2021

The aim of the CME report is to present and address the main features related to Christians living in the Middle East in regard to religious plularism and peaceful coexistence. The region of focus includes Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Moreover, emphasis is attributed to the relationship between the state and its institutions with the Christian communities, as well as in pinpoiting the factors and effects related to the Christian exodus from the Middle East. The documentation of the report reflects the research openly available on the CME website and serves as a database for the living conditions of the Christians in the Middle East. The CME reports are an ongoing endeavour, aiming at providing continuous updates on the state of religious pluralism for the Christians of the Middle East. The findings presented, therefore, are not exhaustive, but highlight main trends and continuities.

Pluralism in Islamic Contexts: Ethics, Politics and Modern Challenges (Springer, Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, 2021), 1-32. , 2021

Abstract This paper overviews the meanings of especially religious pluralism in the Islamic intellectual and political tradition, past and present, with reference to some major scholarly works in tafsīr, theology, and philosophy. First, before high- lighting the importance of pluralism in modern studies of religion, from both his- torical and theological perspectives, brief reference to some classical “Islamic” texts on inter-and-intra comparative religions will be mentioned, not only to show that comparative religions and religious pluralism as scholarly disciplines are not inexistent in the tradition, but most importantly to show that religious pluralism could flourish in premodern times even when the episteme was dominantly “reli- gious” - to use the terms here with reservations. The point here is that the plurality of interpreting one tradition, and the neutral or biased interpretations of other tradi- tions, is a confirmation of religious pluralism, however problematic this confirma- tion might be in the political or theological spheres. Second, with reference to a few recent works in the field of “Islamic” intellectual history, tentative definitions on what Islam, Islamic, plurality, pluralism, and pluralization mean will be introduced. Third, examples of how pluralism is examined in contemporary Islamic thought are provided. Keywords Pluralism · Religious pluralism · Plurality · Pluralization · Inclusivism · Exclusivism · Cumulative tradition · Muslim world · Islamic world

Islam and pluralism within the West, 2014

Islam in the West is anchored in Western multicultural reality. Today, it is indispensable to understand the remarkable pluralistic legacy of Islam as a religion and culture and its contribution in the modern and a broader pluralistic and cosmopolitan world. The book analyses and synthesizes socio-historical aspects, and charts an orientation in respecting Islamic virtues and culturalreligious diversity, making a distinction against misinterpretations. By exploring the eternal values and the concepts of knowledge in Islam, the book plays a part in knowing more deeply about Islamic pluralism and improving interfaith understanding, highlighting also the significance of the Golden Rule.

1999

The -Reasons Question‖ has been defined as: What kind of reasons do Christians, Muslims, Jews, and secularists have for holding beliefs uniquely associated with their religious (or non-religious) perspective, especially when these beliefs logically exclude other perspectives? To address this question, I propose to examine beliefs that are nonnegotiable, in the sense that one cannot abandon the belief without the abandonment of one's religious (or non-religious) perspective. Next, we should consider how nonnegotiable beliefs can logically exclude other perspectives. I will argue that a nonreductive approach to religious pluralism can help to create a space within which the non-negotiable beliefs of others that contradict one's own non-negotiable beliefs can be appreciated and understood as playing a justificatory role for the other. The appreciation of these beliefs through cognitive resonance also plays a crucial role to enable the understanding of those who hold other perspectives. Epistemological and spiritual consequences of this claim are explored.

2014

The book makes a full critical analysis of John Hick’s pluralistic hypothesis from an Islamic perspective. To be able to do this, it begins with a survey of Islamic responses to the problem of religious diversity in the first chapter. It then starts examining Hick’s pluralism by giving an extensive account of it. Drawing on the Kantian distinction of noumenon and phenomenon, Hick claims that great world religions, with their personal gods and impersonal absolutes, are phenomenal responses to the noumenal Real. After careful critical consideration, the book concludes that Hick’s pluralism cannot be compatible with Islam, unless it is modified from three angles: the total ineffability of the Real must be replaced with a “moderate ineffability”, a hermeneutical reading of the holy texts should replace Hick’s mythical approach, and Hick’s primarily ethical soteriological criterion needs to be extended to include the ritual aspect of religion. This modified version is named “moderate plu...

Salam: Quarterly to Promote Understanding, 2025

This paper explores the theological, historical, and contemporary perspectives on pluralism, emphasising its significance in fostering interfaith harmony and societal cohesion. Drawing from key Qur’anic verses on pluralism, prophetic practices, and scholarly interpretations in the early age of Islam, it highlights Islam’s recognition of diversity in race, ethnicity, and religion as a test of character and an opportunity for mutual understanding.

This paper examines the concept of "diversity" as mentioned in the Qur'an and how commonalities in diverse religions may be used as a model for civilizational dialogue towards achieving harmony. This study reveals that religious and cultural diversity are laws of nature which cannot be changed while the concept of "identity" is a contested issue in modern discourse. Results also show that peace may be established among diverse religions through their commonalities and the best way to exploit these commonalities and to reduce the religious divide is through civilizational dialogue. The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and other methods for changing the nature of religious differences and reaching a consensus-thus arriving at a peaceful co-existence-are also discussed. It was found that people are often misguided or divided in the name of religion and culture, despite the fact that the philosophy of every religion is based on peace and harmony.