Islam and Enlightenment” “

The Islamic world has a need for an “Enlightenment”; it needs to experience a form of secularism “that still does not exist, unless in those Muslims educated in Western culture”, and attempt an “historical reading of the Koran” that would interpret the Book as “an historical document, written by a human being”, suggests Samir Khalil Samir , an Egyptian Jesuit and one of the greatest experts on Christian-Arab culture. Writing in “Vita e Pensiero” (Life and Thought), the two-monthly review of the Catholic University of Milan (no.5/2005), Samir says this could enable the Islamic world to extricate itself from the cultural and political impasse in which it finds itself. And Europe itself could play a key role in this in the West. The role of Europe. “European Muslims – writes Samir – could recover an important, and even an essential role” in the modernization of Islam, and “could undertake it, but only on one condition: in proportion (that is the keyword) in which they fully accept the civilization of the West, with all that means in terms of norms and principles, and become fully integrated in it without any concession. A form of Islam needs to be created that feels at ease in Western civilization, and that is well integrated in modernity, though without reneging on its faith. An effort to re-interpret the Koran also needs to be made”. Europe is the ideal terrain for conducting such a process, since it is the theatre, now as in the past, of the meeting between different cultures and faiths. “The importance of joining with Muslims in fostering brotherly and friendly relations follows from this”, writes Samir. Such relations “represent both a need and a challenge”; and “the Christians of Europe can play an important role in developing them. A common civilization, founded on human rights, genuine tolerance – which is not the same as indifference or relativism – and the absolute value of peace, sought with every possible means, seems to me possible. That is the challenge we need to face together”. Islam and the West. Samir’s judgement on contemporary Islam is lapidary: “in recent decades the socio-political situation of the Moslem world has deteriorated. The sense of humiliation has grown”. Some causes are internal: “the evident lack of democracy, the enormous economic disparity between rich and poor Islamic countries and between people in the same country”, the frequent “violation of human rights”, and the “subordinate condition of women”. But there are also “external factors, attributable to the Western world. The Islamic movements respond to this external pressure by likening the West to an ungodly and anti-Moslem world” by which they feel attacked and rejected, to the point of speaking of “islamophobia”. “In the first place – continues Samir – a State was founded in 1948 that was considered intrusive in the historical region of Palestine, at the time mainly inhabited by Muslims, but also by Christians. The birth of this State unleashed rancour and frustration. The plight of the Palestinians, fuelled by over half a century of international indifference, cannot justify acts of terrorism, but perhaps it may enable us to understand them. Some Muslims react to their sense of oppression with fundamentalism: “the Koran, interpreted literally, instils the certainty that many believers lack. The sense of injustice, well founded or not, may encourage acts of terrorism, especially if recourse is had to a theory that justifies such acts in the name of God”. How to read the Koran. But can a justification of terrorism really be found in Islamic religion? What is the relation between Islam and violence, outside the stereotypes of the mass media? “In the Moslem tradition – explains Samir – no one has the right to attack unarmed subjects, still less so if the persons in question are the elderly, women and children”. Yet, reading the Koran, we encounter contrasting statements on the theme of violence. “Some serious persons say with good reason: “The Koran emphasizes and affirms tolerance”, and cite the verse of the Koran (2,265): “No obligation in matters of religion”… But others also cite the verse: “Combat on God’s way those who combat you, but don’t overstep the limits… Combat until there be no longer scandal and the religion be that of God” (2, 190-193)… It is only possible to understand these contradictory passages – and no Muslim is willing to admit that they are contradictory – in an historical and cultural perspective”. Only a critical philological reading, now strictly forbidden, could settle the question. Christians could make their contribution to such a cultural renovation.