TODAY marks the opening of the Inter-Faith Dialogue conference, called for byCustodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and being held under his patronage. I believe the conference to be a good opportunity that we should use well to present Islam to the world as a religion of dialogue, peace, wisdom and good advice, and not one of murder, bloodshed violence and imposing one's convictions on others. I know that some of our extremist brethren may have reservations on “civilized” inclinations such as these, which the Kingdom is leading. But I also know that if we go along with extremist thought, which only sees the rest of the world with the eyes of hatred, animosity and enmity, we will only end up being isolated on a number of levels, out of which we can only come with such great loss that the extremists can never see with their tunnel vision. Whether we like it or not, we are part of this world. Not caring about the rest of the world we live in means that we will take ourselves out of its context and into the unknown. The Makkan period of the history of the Islamic Call has a lot to offer to our benefit in the matter of inter-faith dialogue. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was practically conducting some sort of this dialogue, not to mention that he dealt with that period's environment and conditions with a strategic outlook based on realism on the one hand, and on the fact that it's the end result that matters on the other. And the only, and most important, end result in his eyes at that time was the spread of Islam. I believe that we live in an age in which we need to have the means and resources that were available in the Makkan era of the Prophet's Call. Muslims today are weak if measured against the strength of others. Islam today is in a similar situation to the one it was in during the Makkan period, which makes following the dimensions Fiqh of the Islamic Call in that period the best option to tackle our situation today, not to mention the requirements of objectivity stipulated by today's circumstances. For instance, in the Makkan period, most verses of the Qur'an called for observing forgiveness, patience, peace and refraining from confrontation. Ibn Katheer explains some of these verses by saying Muslims were ordered not to answer the infidels back in the same tone and with harsh words, but to draw them towards peace and forgive them in word and deed. However, one might be tempted to say that these verses were repudiated by verses that called for taking up the sword, as some scholars might say. But the fact that they remain in the Holy Qur'an to this day means, I believe, that they have relevance for any time, as long as there are circumstances that call for their revival and usage. The rule of the abrogative and abrogated verses says that abrogation is only the result of an impossibility in bringing reasons together, which means the issue is purely speculative. Says Sheikh Bin Baz: “One should look at Muslims and what state of capability are in. If Muslims are weak, then the Makkan verses should be used in leading the way, which promote the Call, and provide guidance and clarity as well as retrain from fighting when weak.” The most important thing is that we realize that talking to others, befriending them, and bringing our points of view as close to theirs as possible is the most important thing we - not they - need. When we insist on refusing to have a dialogue with them as the extremists call for, then the only thing we can hope for is isolation and living outside the logic of development, whose cards they - not we - have, and without which we cannot survive. – Al-Jazirah __
