Mohamad El Husseini: Religions convergence is the dialogue base among civilizations
Mohamad El Husseini: Religions convergence is the dialogue base among civilizations
The world is storming with escalating unprecedented events and developments of an unprecedented fever of religious extremism, accompanied by bloody terrorism slowly Pat casting a black shadow on the various regions of the world, particularly after the bloody terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015 which forms abnormal danger and threat. It is very essential that there will be a joint international work and effort to curb the leash of this threat, and to find a setting of civilized and humane approach that calls and urges for rapprochement, cooperation, love and intimacy.
Today, in light of the pressuring World’s threats, and the mounting violence and cruelty language coincided with a religious nature (and the religion in fact is innocent of it), the emphasis on the rapprochement issue between religions has become again an urgency more than ever especially among the followers of the three monotheistic religions, Judaism - Christianity –Islam, pursuing to find commonalities that gather religions, and seeking for joint action to reduce any phenomena or manifestations that calls for jealousies, divergence, discord and confrontation among the three religions or on their behalf; and because the three religions source and foundation is The Almighty God, there is no doubt that it could find more than a suitable platform for rapprochement and understanding between religions, especially if this effort is supervised by sincere clerics who put human interest and the interest of the whole world above any other interest, above all there has never been a doubt of any religion to call for world hatred and vanish for the cause of that religion continuation and survival.
Extremists and terrorists, and those who have an interest in showing Islam as anti-humanity religion and claim that it excludes love, familiarity and tolerance; there are many evidences and legitimacy clues within the Holy Quran and Sunnah that completely prove otherwise, even what is stated included in Surah Quraysh (For the accustomed security of the Quraaysh. Their accustomed security in the caravan of winter and summer. Let them worship the Lord of the House, who has fed them, from hunger and made them safe from fear) proves that Islam as heavenly religion is against frightening, terrorizing and starving the people; in fact the Almighty God in this dignified Surah, cites intimacy which means affection and closeness between people as an urging symbol and a positive blessed model, at the same time the Almighty calls people to worship him as he is who "fed them from hunger and safe them from fear ", and definitely he provided them life and safety, and certainly the Almighty God provides livelihood for beasts and for all the living and human organisms for those who believes him and to those who do not; therefore those who frighten, intimidate and starve people and extortion them on the basis of Islam in fact Islam is completely innocent of them.
Love and affection in Islam, is not something arbitrarily or emergency as there is assurance in the Sunnah and of the Holy Quran itself, as stated in a verse in Surah Al-Imran: (Say that you were love God, follow me God will love you forgive your sins, and Allah is Forgiving Merciful). Hence, here focus on love within the dignified verse in two locations demonstrates the importance of the concept of love and affection in Islam, especially when love is linked with the Almighty God,
And in the same context, we find the prophetic saying that ensures in a clear and decisive image the nature and essence of Islamic religion when Prophet Muhammad says:( religion is love and love is the religion), and here as we can see is that Islam confirms on affection and calls for it contradicting by this extremists and terrorists allegations.
Call for love is not limited to Islam only, but we also find it in Christianity, where it came from the Bible: "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God, Honor the Lord", as well as: "And now abide: faith and aspiration and love, these three; but the greatest of these love" or "love never falls" in the Old Testament, there are texts that also calls for love and urges for it as an example: (hatred agitates antagonism, and love hides all sins), also: (Beams meal with love, better than ox with hatred), or: (requesting discipline is love, and love is abiding the law and maintaining legislations is the stability of Purity).
Hence, the confirmation of the three religions on the importance of love and its obligation, and the rejection of hatred and animosity (IT), makes IT definite that this should become, for example but not limited to, the basis of common platform that gathers the three religions and unifies them in this context; which in turns consolidates rapprochement, understanding and collaboration; a matter which makes IT basis for a vital and vibrant dialogue platform among civilizations confronting extremism, terrorism and narrow-mindedness.
Cleric Mr. Mohamad Ali El Husseini
Secretary General of the Arab Islamic Council in Lebanon
