الإسلام والغرب: نحو عالم أفضل

Islam and the West… for a better world @

they exchange their viewpoints, they improve their reciprocal knowledge, and their mutual respect increases. Mutual respect is a necessary step towards collaboration on the dramatic challenges of the 21 st century: resource sharing, justice enforcement, development, global health policies, solutions to global warming. The dialogue between science and cultures is a way to give content to the dialogue of cultures. Together, we have to struggle against the forces of uniformity and fragmentation that poison the global world, and find a model of unity, instead of uniformity, and diversity, instead of fragmentation. I do believe that the world is waiting for voices coming from our community in this endeavor, because we Muslims are keeping the testimony of the unity in the diversity of humankind, and the diversity in the unity, as a result of God’s Will and Mercy. What does it mean to be human? Let me finish by another myth: the story of God's creation of Adam, as it can be found in the Koran (for example in chapter 2, verses 30-34, and chapter 7,verses 11-18). God says to the Angels: "I am placing on the earth one that shall rule as my Deputy." The Angels reply: "Will you put there one that will do evil and shed blood, when we have for so long sung your praises and sanctified Your name?" God says: "I know what you know not." God ordains that the Angels prostrate themselves before Adam. All of them obey, except Iblis, who becomes "the Adversary." Iblis is limited by the idea he has about God. He is so full of pride with himself that He is sure that God is making a mistake by giving such a responsibility to Adam. Iblis asks God for the possibility to show that Adam is not able to fulfill his duty. Because God trusts the human, He gives this possibility to Iblis. The fundamental issue we have to address is clear: Do we trust the human as much as God trusts the human?

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