Speaking about the Qur鈥檃n鈥檚 vision of an inclusive and embracing pluralism, Reza Shah-Kazemi, Research Associate at 久久久福利国产, has been delivering a series of keynote lectures at important research centres in Lahore, Kuala Lampur and Amman. The tour is sponsored by Jordan鈥檚 Aal al-Bayt Foundation.
Dr Shah-Kazemi delivered lectures on 鈥楾he Qur鈥檃nic Concept of Universality鈥 at the Iqbal Academy, Lahore, the Institute of Policy Research, Kuala Lampur, and in Amman at the Aal al-Bayt Foundation. In his paper, he employed esoteric interpretations of the聽Qur鈥檃n聽to demonstrate Islam鈥檚 position as an inclusive religion that reaffirmed the revelations that form the basis of other monotheistic faiths. Furthermore, the聽Qur鈥檃n聽encourages a pluralism that embraces difference, including divergence in religious worldviews.
Citing the Qur鈥檃nic verse, 鈥楽ay: We believe in God and that which is revealed unto us, and that which was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was given unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have submitted,鈥 Dr Shah-Kazemi argued that the Qur鈥檃n鈥檚 vision was one that accepted other monotheistic worldviews and encouraged dialogues amongst these religious traditions.
The lecture expands upon the themes of the paper, 鈥楾he Metaphysics of Interfaith Dialogue: A Qur鈥檃nic Perspective鈥, available on the IIS website.
In addition to the lecture tour, Dr Shah-Kazemi also participated in the Symposium, 鈥業slamic Fundamentalism and the Betrayal of Tradition鈥 hosted by the American University of Cairo鈥檚 Department of Political Science, the Abdulhadi H. Taher Chair of Comparative Religion, and the University鈥檚 Adham Center for Television Journalism.
Dr Shah-Kazemi鈥檚 paper, 鈥楻ecollecting the Spirit of Jihad鈥 argued for reclaiming the 鈥榯raditional spirit of Islam, and of the meaning, role and significance of聽jihad聽within it.鈥 Speaking about how individuals interpreted the events of September 11, 2001, he remarked, 鈥楾here is an unhealthy and dangerous convergence of perception between, on the one hand, those鈥攁lbeit a tiny minority鈥攊n the Muslim world who see the attacks as part of a necessary anti-western jihad; and on the other, those in the West鈥攗nfortunately, not such a tiny minority鈥攚ho likewise see the attacks as the logical expression of an inherently militant religious tradition, one that is irrevocably opposed to the 鈥淲est鈥. The paper demonstrated the extent to which the terrorist acts and attitudes of today鈥檚 self-styled warriors of Islam deviate from the tradition of principled warfare in Islam, this tradition being vividly exemplified by such figures as聽Imam聽鈥楢li, Saladin and the Emir 鈥楢bd al-Qadir al-Jaza鈥檌ri.
Proceedings of the Symposium ‘Islaimc Fundamentalism and the Betrayal of Tradition’ and additional essays are being published by World Wisdom Books later this year.
