Lebanese Shiite leader launches interfaith dialogue

Haytham Mouzahem

Translated by Tyler Huffman – 11/11/13

God taught us how to converse with all people. There are no sanctities when it  comes to dialogue. God Almighty himself spoke to the devil. Are there people  like the devil? Also, the Quran is a book of dialogue with polytheists about the  unity of God, and with infidels about the existence of God and the prophecy of  Muhammad.” This is how the late Lebanese Shiite cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah responded when asked about  the increased talk of interfaith dialogue in the 1990s.

The occasion to talk about the late Fadlallah today, and about his call for  dialogue with the “Other” — especially with other Christian and Islamic sects — is an initiative launched by his son, the scholar Sayyed Ali  Fadlallah. The latter established the “Religions and Cultures Forum for  Development and Dialogue,” in which 50 different personalities  participated, including Muslim and  Christian clerics and intellectuals from Lebanon and other countries of  the Arab and Islamic world.

This forum was announced by Fadlallah during a ceremony held in Beirut on  Tuesday, Oct. 30, attended by MPs, politicians, party leaders, intellectuals and  media figures. The most prominent attendees included the head of the Loyalty to  the Resistance (Hezbollah) Bloc, MP Mohammad Raad; the head of the Islamic  Group in Lebanon’s political bureau, Azzam Ayoubi; a representative of  former Lebanese President and Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel; and  delegations from the Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party.

A number of religious leaders were also in attendance, including the Rev.  Fadi Daou, a representative of Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara al-Rai; Rev. Sulaiman  Wehbe, a representative of the patriarch of Antakya, Alexandria and Jerusalem  for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church Gregory III Laham; a representative for  the papal ambassador to Lebanon; Archbishop Daniel Sukkar, a representative for  Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I  Iwas; and a number of Sunni, Shiite and Druze religious scholars from Lebanon  and the Arab and Islamic world. The  most notable among the latter were the General Secretary of the Supreme Islamic  Legislative Council Sheikh Khaldoun Oraymit, and Sheikh Sami Abou al-Mona, who  represented the spiritual leader for the Druze sect Sheikh Naim Hassan.

Sayyed Ali Fadlallah, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor,  said, “The idea of an interfaith and inter-sect dialogue was proposed at this  stage — when there is an increased need for national, regional and international  dialogue — and will be based on humanity, life, values, rights and duty.” He  explained, “The initiative stems from the foundation laid by the late Mohammed  Hussein Fadlallah, as well as from the latter’s experience with dialogue and the  credibility that he gained. These are things which dialogue can be built upon.”  He added, “What distinguishes this forum is that it did not come out of nowhere.  It was inspired by Sayyed Fadlallah’s approach. The latter was believed in  dialogue and was very serious about it, working to ensure these discussions were  actually carried out. He would speak to those who differed from him, even in the  most complicated situations.”

When asked about the objectives of this initiative, Fadlallah said, “The  goal of the forum is to open doors, reach common ground and mitigate the  negatives. Dialogue helps to cool sectarian tension.” He said that the forum  would try “to create an atmosphere of cooperation and joint work on dialogue  topics, at the Arab-Islamic and international levels. This is in order to bridge  the gap between various religions and sects, to organize joint projects between  them, to strengthen the ties between our people and to renounce sectarian  and political strife.”

Regarding what distinguishes this initiative from earlier ones,  Fadlallah said, “We have made prior efforts, and this forum is not an  alternative to other dialogue forums, nor is it a repeat of them. What  distinguishes this forum is that it will be implemented on the ground, in  universities and cultural forums, and will not be limited to intellectual,  religious or political elites.”

He noted that the forum would include four committees, each with its own  task: Islamic Relations (Sunni-Shiite), Christian-Islamic Relations,  Freedom and Human Rights and Scientific. There will also be an  advisory body to guide public policy for the forum.

Fadlallah stressed the importance of science and education in dealing with  intellectual and religious deviance, especially the increased level of religious  extremism, sectarian violence, strife and conflicts of all sorts. He said,  “All bets now were on the Scientific Committee, which would conduct analysis and  research about these problems, as well as spread awareness and knowledge in  order to bridge the existing chasm between people on both the religious and  cultural levels.” He said, “The root of the problem lay in people turning their  backs on values and humanitarian ideals, and that present-day religious  discourse needed to be predicated on the universal constants of values and human  rights.”

The importance of the scientific and educational aspects necessitates that  the forum task its Scientific Committee with studying the points of contention  between sects and religions in a scientific and academic manner away from  prejudicial opinions, and issue quarterly books, electronic magazines and  other publications that extol the values and culture of dialogue. Likewise, the  Scientific Committee must endeavor to establish a scientific academy for  dialogue between religions and cultures, where a specialized scientific cadre  can be trained in various programs used to enhance dialogue.

Fadlallah revealed to Al-Monitor that his late father, the religious  authority Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, had proposed the idea of holding a  dialogue with the Salafists, who exhibited willingness to do so. But his illness  and subsequent death prevented the initiation of such a dialogue.

When asked whether the dialogue would be exclusively religious and  theological or encompass political and social issues, Fadlallah answered,  “Dialogue would not only revolve around religious matters, but would include  political and social topics, because it is impossible to separate between these  matters today. Dialogue would alleviate existing fears and concerns without  delving into political specifics, for fear of transforming the forum into yet  another piece of the political jigsaw puzzle.”

About the forum’s chances of success in solving religious and sectarian  problems, despite that most of them are attributable to political conflicts  and the meddling of regional or major powers, as well as parties and political  groups, Fadlallah said that they were aware that the situation fell beyond  the scope of the forum. He noted that dialogue alone was not the answer,  although it contributed to alleviating tensions and, with time, could help solve  major issues by spreading awareness and the culture of tolerance and  coexistence.

When countered with the fact that attempts to bring Muslim sects closer  together, which started in the 1940s, failed as animosity increased between  Sunnis and Shiites, and the conflict between them transcended disagreements  about faith and doctrine to become a political and military one, Fadlallah  asserted that the problem with previous attempts toward sectarian  rapprochement was that they were initiated through official formal channels and  characterized as being either of Iranian or Saudi origin. In this regard, he  pointed out that his father faced great difficulties because of Shiite  extremists who rejected his call for Muslim unity and rapprochement with the  Sunnis.

About whether he was optimistic about the forum’s chances for success,  Fadlallah said: “We are wagering on the serious intentions of the parties, and  are inspired by Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah’s experience. We know that there are  obstacles to overcome, and cannot assert that we will succeed. But, this  framework gives us larger room to maneuver, due to the respect that everyone has  for my father, be they Christian, Muslim, Lebanese, or Arab.”

Sources from within the forum’s Founding Committee revealed to  Al-Monitor that the initiative was garnering considerable support from  Christian religious authorities. This is because it took their concerns and  fears into account and served to help combat extremism and terrorism, which both  Christians and Muslims suffer from, but which are leading to Christians  emigrating from the Middle East. The same sources added that the  Preparatory Committee had had contacts with the leaderships of Hezbollah and  Amal, which both backed the initiative. Furthermore, the sources noted that  dialogue would not be limited to Muslim-Christian and Muslim-Muslim discussions,  but would also include discussions between religious and secular factions.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai warmly welcomed and supported the forum  initiative because it served to promote dialogue and research into ways to  combat extremism. For everyone is concerned, not just the Christians of the  Middle East. In a speech delivered on his behalf by Father Fadi Daou during the  ceremony, he expressed his view that the importance of the initiative lay in its  ability to better our daily lives and coexistence. Otherwise, the forum would be  relegated to the same fate suffered by other initiatives that were based on  theories and courtesies, without them having any effect on people’s daily lives.  He hoped that the forum would encourage public figures to join this  initiative and strive for dialogue, so that man and society progress and  develop.

Rai’s words got to the heart of the matter; for Muslim-Christian and Sunni-Shiite dialogue attempts  have been occurring for the past 70 years in Lebanon and the Arab and Muslim  worlds, but they have not been able to prevent the rise of religious fanaticism  and the spread of radical extremism. This is because they remained confined to  the elite among the clergy and intellectuals, whose agreements were not  reflected in their followers. In fact, there may have been a dichotomy of  rhetoric used — one that prevailed in conferences, seminars and the media —  which called for tolerance and dialogue, and another religious sectarian one,  used to mobilize and incite each sect’s adherents in parties, mosques and  churches.

The Forum’s Preparatory Committee, chaired by Sheikh Hussein Shehadeh,  visited Cardinal Rai, Patriarch Laham, the head of the Assyrian Church in  Lebanon the Rev. Yatroun Kolania, the Rev. Roueis al-Orashalimi of the Coptic  Church and the Apostolic Nuncio Gabriel Katchea, in addition to Muslim,  political and partisan leaders, who were all invited to participate in the  forum.

Source: