Islam, Religions, and Pluralism in Europe PDF
Preview Islam, Religions, and Pluralism in Europe
Wiener Beiträge zur Islamforschung Ednan Aslan · Ranja Ebrahim Marcia Hermansen Editors Islam, Religions, and Pluralism in Europe Wiener Beiträge zur Islamforschung Herausgegeben von E. Aslan, Wien, Austria Die Buchreihe „Wiener Beiträge zur Islamforschung“ beschäftigt sich mit interdis- ziplinären Studien aus den Fachbereich der Islamischen Theologie und Religions- pädagogik sowie der Religionswissenschaft und Philosophie. Die Forschungs- schwerpunkte des Herausgebers, Professor Ednan Aslan, liegen auf Themen wie Islam in Europa, der Theorie der islamischen Erziehung in Europa sowie Fragen zu Muslime an öffentlichen Schulen und Islamischer Theologie mit europäischer Prägung. Herausgegeben von Ednan Aslan Institut für Islamische Studien Universität Wien Wien, Österreich Ednan Aslan · Ranja Ebrahim Marcia Hermansen (Eds.) Islam, Religions, and Pluralism in Europe Editors Ednan Aslan Marcia Hermansen Institut für Islamische Studien Theology Department Universität Wien Loyola University Chicago Wien, Austria Chicago, USA Ranja Ebrahim Institut für Islamische Religionspädagogik Universität Wien Wien, Austria Wiener Beiträge zur Islamforschung ISBN 978-3-658-12961-3 ISBN 978-3-658-12962-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-12962-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936552 Springer VS © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Lektorat: Katrin Emmerich, Kerstin Hoffmann Printed on acid-free paper This Springer VS imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH Foreword Religious pluralism has become a central challenge of our time. According to the latest statistical data, religious diversity in Europe is on the rise due to growing globalization incuding fl ows of migrants and of information at an unprecedented level. As a result, religion has become a topic of public discussion both in Europe and elsewhere worldwide. Any serious discussion of pluralism today must take re- ligion into account. This process has resulted in a debate regarding to what extent a particular society can tolerate religious diversity and how much religious pluralism each society is willing to allow and accommodate. Thus, religious issues seem to be particularly crucial in discussing the means for fostering social pluralism and the coexistence of diverse communities. It is obvious that religious plurality needs to be taken into consideration in all areas of society today. The issues and challenges that societies face with regard to pluralism go far beyond phenomena related to migration, since pluralism can no longer be understood only as a result of migration. In light of the complexity of the problem and the signifi cant regional differences, and even more so in light of what is at stake with regard to society, its individual citizens, and their religious under- standings, it is not surprising that in the current situation no unilinear, straightfor- ward, and generally consensual solutions exist in Europe. Therefore, it is all the more important in this process to create plausible pat- terns of interpretation and stable forms of order that can allow the diverse tensions which are emerging, on the one hand, between religions and, on the other hand, in the relationship between religion, politics, and culture, to be resolved. VI Foreword This volume is the result of a conference on Religion and Pluralism in Europe, which took place in October 2014 in Montenegro. It attempts to address the chal- lenge of determining how diverse models and strategies can deal with religious pluralism in Europe. The theme of the conference recognizes that the challenges currently facing religions under the new circumstances in Europe were previously virtually unknown in its history. These challenges encompass not only the need to scrutinize theological stances toward other religions, but also for religious and political leadership to redefi ne patterns and forms of religiosity in relation to new social realities. Without restricting the treatment of religious pluralism to a theological task in the process, the Abrahamic religions, which largely shape the religious landscape in Europe, bear a special responsibility for dealing with religious pluralism in relation to their theologies in such a way that they can succeed in living together in peace without giving up the unique religious identities of their respective ad- herents. The central question for religions is therefore: What is the relationship between the plurality of religions and the truth claims of particular religions? The answer to this question can potentially lead religions to recognize the diversity of truth, but might also lead to division and confl ict in the name of God. In this regard, the main task ahead for the religions is to discover a way to highlight their common under- standings and promote social solidarity regardless of any theological debates. The Bible describes God’s message as a light: “And that is the message that we heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and that in Him is no dark- ness” (1 John: 1: 5). Even Jesus is presented as the light of the world: “Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8: 12). Likewise, in the Qur’an, God describes himself as the light which leads people from darkness to liberation and enlightenment, as follows: God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is, as it were, that of a niche containing a lamp; the lamp is [enclosed] in glass, the glass [shining] like a radiant star: [a lamp] lit from a blessed tree – an olive tree that is neither of the east nor of the west – the oil whereof [is so bright that it] would well-nigh give light [of itself] even though fi re had not touched it: light upon light! (Qur’an 24:35). Similar images can be found in almost all religions, i. e., that God wants to lead people out of chaos, oppression, and defi ciency. Out of their awareness of this divine mandate, people further have the task of leading one another from the dark- ness to light. Foreword VII The ways of structuring this process may differ and even repeatedly lead to the emergence of contradictions, dissimilar attributions, and divergent interpretations. Despite this potential for differentiation, it is always possible to fi nd in this godly devotion a peaceful and common path that can lead people to light. The qur’anic response would be to fi nd a potential compromise in spite of possible contradic- tions. Through the diverse contributions of its scholarly authors, this volume attempts to investigate the challenges that religious pluralism presents and to highlight the opportunities that it offers, in order to ultimately underscore the importance of peace among religions as an essential element of world peace. Ednan Aslan Vienna June 2015 Table of contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Islam, Religions, and Pluralism in Europe Marcia K. Hermansen Section 1 Theological and Conceptual Refl ections on Pluralism Plurality as the Will of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 An Islamic Theological Perspective Ednan Aslan Classical and Contemporary Islamic Perspectives on Religious Plurality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Marcia K. Hermansen Islamic Radicalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 A Result of Frozen Theologies? Ranja Ebrahim Roman Catholic Perspectives on Religions and Pluralism in Europe . . . . 73 Andreas Telser X Table of contents Confl icting Conceptions of Religious Pluralism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Liberalism and Multiculturalism in Diverse Liberal Democracies Hanan A. Alexander Section 2 Western Europe – Issues of Plurality in Pedagogy and Society Pluralism of Religions or Pluralism based on Neutrality? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Competing Understandings in Europe Friedrich Schweitzer Teaching and Learning about Religion between Religious Plurality and Secularism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Henning Schluß and Christine Salmen Accommodating to Swiss Religious Pluralism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Interrogating Muslim Integration and Swiss Citizenship Matteo Gianni Muslim as Minorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 New Identity Challenges for Europe Samim Akgönül Muslims and Austro-European Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Minela Salkic Joldo Religious Pluralism, Education, and Citizenship in Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Bradford A. Anderson, Gareth Byrne, and Sandra Cullen Challenges of the Institutionalization of Same Sex Marriage for Religious Pluralism in Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Niels Valdemar Vinding and Emil Bjørn Hilton Saggau
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