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ROMA - Last October 19, the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London
celebrated its 25th anniversary - like the pontificate of Karol Wojtyla -
and for the occasion, the imam of all the Shia Ismaili Muslims in the
world, Prince Karim Aga Khan (see photo) gave a speech on the
interpretation of the Koran that sounds revolutionary in comparison to the
thinking dominant in the Muslim world.
It is revolutionary, but
perfectly orthodox. The Ismaili are part of Shiite Islam, the strain
according to which - in opposition to Sunni Islam - the interpretation and
historical application of the Koran is a never-ending work, always open to
new solutions. The Khomeini revolution came from Shiite Islam, but it can
also give rise to humanistic and liberal interpretations of the same
Muslim faith. It is not an accident that, in the history of Islamic
thought, the most original authors and those most open to other faiths and
cultures have been, for the most part, Shiites and Ismaili.
Nor
should it be overlooked that Iraq - the Muslim country now undergoing the
trial of a dramatic passage from tyranny to democracy - has a majority
Shiite population, and the one best equipped culturally to meet this
challenge.
And so, in the speech with which he began the London
seminar on the theme "Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur'an and its Creative
Expressions" on October 19, Aga Khan began:
"Rich in parable and
allegory, metaphor and symbol, the Qur'an-e-Sharif has been an
inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide
spectrum of interpretations. This freedom of interpretation is a
generosity which the Qur'an confers upon all believers."
He
continued:
"As a result, the Holy Book continues to guide and
illuminate the thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to different
communities of interpretation and spiritual affiliation, in diverse
cultural environments. The Noble Qur'an extends its principle of pluralism
also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction
and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in
the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them
together."
And:
"The power of its message is reflected in
its gracious disposition to differences of interpretation; its respect for
other faiths and societies; its affirmation of the primacy of the
intellect; its insistence that knowledge is worthy when it is used to
serve Allah's creation; and, above all, its emphasis on our common
humanity."
Aga Khan has insisted greatly upon the primacy of
knowledge - which is consistent with the Gnostic character of Ismaili
thought. He cited the 11th-century Persian poet and philosopher Nasir
Khusraw, for whom the true jihad, the real holy war, is fought with the
light of knowledge against the darkness of ignorance and
intolerance.
And Aga Khan said he was certain that "the light of
revelation granted to the Holy Prophet Muhammad" will be victorious. "Its
message is still potent in the Muslim world today, although it is
sometimes clouded over, distorted and deformed by political interests and
by struggles for power over the minds and hearts of people. There are
attempts at transforming what are meant to be fluid, progressive,
open-ended, intellectually informed and spiritually inspired traditions of
thought, into hardened, monolithic, absolutist and obscurantist
positions."
In a later speech, also on October 19, Aga Khan
addressed the students of the Institute of Ismaili Studies.
He
painted for them a contrasted picture of the ummah, the worldwide Muslim
community:
"There are the ultra-rich and the ultra-poor, the Shia
and the Sunni, the Arab and the non-Arab, the theocracies and the secular
states, the search for normatisation versus the valuing of pluralism,
those who search for and are keen to adopt modern, participatory forms of
government versus those who wish to re-impose supposedly ancient forms of
governance. What should have been brotherhood has become rivalry,
generosity has been replaced by greed and ambition, the right to think is
held to be the enemy of real faith, and anything we might hope to do to
expand the frontiers of human knowledge through research is doomed to
failure for, in most of the Muslim world, there are neither the structures
nor the resources to develop meaningful intellectual
leadership."
"Yet," he continued, "there are many across the length
and breadth of the Muslim world today, who care for their history and
heritage, who are keenly sensitive to the radically altered conditions of
the modern world. They are convinced that the idea that there is some
inherent, permanent division between their heritage and the world of today
is a profoundly mistaken idea; and that the choice it suggests between an
Islamic identity on one hand and on the other hand, full participation in
the global order of today is a false choice indeed."
As proof of
this integration of Islamic identity and modernity, Aga Khan cited some of
his avant-garde initiatives in the field of education: Aga Khan
University, based in Karachi; the brand-new University of Central Asia,
with campuses in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kirgisistan; and the
international network of primary and secondary schools in Africa and Asia,
all of high quality and with a particular emphasis on humanistic subjects,
attended by students from every social level and from various ethnic and
religious backgrounds.
But, in conclusion, the imam of the Ismaili
Shiites asked the West to take a step in the same direction:
"As
more and more nations develop increasingly multi-cultural profiles and as
the process of globalisation continues apace, educators are confronted by
the challenge to provide to the mainstream population of their society, an
informed understanding of the culture and history of minorities domiciled
in their midst, as well as other major civilisations beyond their shores.
In particular, the West should fill the lack, in its systems of education,
of a nuanced knowledge or appreciation of the traditions of the Muslim
world." In this connection, Aga Khan said that he was in contact with
American universities to try to get them to develop their courses related
to Islam. He also announced the upcoming opening of a museum of Islamic
art in Toronto.
These words spoken by Aga Khan on October 19 are
unusually clear for the spiritual leader of the Ismaili community, which
always tends toward an understandable reserve in such matters.
The
Ismaili, who number about fifteen million in twentyfive countries, live
for the most part in areas dominated by Sunni Muslims and are frequently
threatened by acts of hostility on the part of fundamentalist
groups.
The area in which they are most numerous is the north of
Pakistan and Afghanistan. They also have a significant presence in
Zanzibar and eastern Africa.
They have always tended to be reserved
in relations with the Catholic Church, as well. The Ismaili imamate has
never taken part in interreligious dialogue, much less at the meetings of
prayer called for in Assisi by Pope John Paul II.
This general
reserve has been balanced during the last few decades with important
public initiatives by the Ismaili imamate in the fields of education,
social development, and the arts. These initiatives are principally aimed
at elevating the quality of life of extremely poor populations in
scattered regions, but they are also intended to establish a fertile
relationship between the great Islamic tradition and the heights of
Western civilization.
It is these actions that make good the words
spoken by Aga Khan on October 19. Some Muslim leaders who join in
interreligious meetings with representatives of the Catholic Church are
masters in producing statements all about dialogue, peace, and pluralism.
But their actions, in their respective countries, do not correspond to
their words.
For the Ismaili, it is different. The words presented
above and their actions are in harmony. Is the Vatican taking
notice?
__________
Useful
links
The center of studies in London where Aga Khan
gave the speech presented above:
> The Institute of Ismaili
Studies
The website of the Ismaili imamate, with all the
information and links to their various activities around the
world:
> Aga Khan Development
Network
The brand-new university being constructed in
Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kirgisistan, intended for the development of
the mountain communities in central Asia:
> University of Central
Asia
On this site, on an initiative that is bringing
Harvard and MIT to the remotest villages of Africa and Asia:
> The Other Islam. A
Peace-Planning Network Is Born (26.10.2002)
On activities
in Afghanistan after the war:
> L'Aga Khan: La mia
Assisi è in Afghanistan (23.1.2002)
On activities on behalf
of the Ismaili community in northern Pakistan, from the November 7, 1993
edition of "L'espresso":
> Aga Khan Network.
Reportage dall'alta valle dell'Hunza (24.10.2001)
A general
report on the Ismaili Muslims and their imamate, published in 1994 by the
magazine "Religion and Society" of the University of Florence:
> Aga Khan Network.
Rapporto sugli ismailiti nel mondo (23.10.2001)
A letter
from the director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, on the
two historical branches of the Ismaili: the Nizarites, whose imam is Aga
Khan, and the Musta'lians, mostly present in Saudi Arabia, where they are
the object of persecution:
> Arabia Infelix per gli
ismailiti. Una lettera da Londra (14.5.2002)
On the
possible democratic evolution of Shiite Islam in Iraq, in an analysis by
Muslim scholar Khaled Fouad Allam:
> Islam and Democracy in
Iraq. The Martyrdom of the Shiite Muslims (1.9.2003)
On
relations between the Vatican and the Muslim world in general, unsettled
between openness and closure:
> The Church and Islam.
"La Civiltà Cattolica" Breaks the Ceasefire (21.10.2003)
> My Friend, Islam: The
"Dialogue At All Costs" of Pope Wojtyla
(8.9.2003)
__________
Go to the home page of >
www.chiesa.espressonline.it/english, to access the latest articles
and links to other resources.
Sandro Magister's e-mail address is
s.magister@espressoedit.it
English
translation by Matthew Sherry: >
traduttore@hotmail.com |
