Religion and Violence: Muslim and Christian Theological and Pedagogical Reflections

266 Pages·2017·2.453 MB·English

by  Ednan Aslan, Marcia Hermansen

Wiener Beiträge zur Islamforschung
Ednan Aslan
Marcia Hermansen Editors
Religion
and Violence
Muslim and Christian Theological
and Pedagogical Reflections
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
Weitere Bände in dieser Reihe http://www.springer.com/series/13592
Ednan Aslan · Marcia Hermansen
(Eds.)
Religion and Violence
Muslim and Christian Theological
and Pedagogical Reflections
Editors
Ednan Aslan Marcia Hermansen
Wien, Austria Chicago, USA
Wiener Beiträge zur Islamforschung
ISBN 978-3-658-18301-1 ISBN 978-3-658-18302-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-18302-8
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Contents
Preface: Islam and Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Ednan Aslan
Religion and Violence: Christian and Muslim Th eological
and Pedagogical Refl ections . Volume Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Marcia Hermansen
Section I: Religion and Violence
Th e Drama Triangle of Religion and Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
R. Ruard Ganzevoort
Violence vs . Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Ferid Muhic
Violence and Religion: A Complex Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Wolfgang Palaver
Th e Integration of Muslims and the Charlie Hebdo Attacks .
Cleavages and Convergences between Religious Denominations in France . . 55
Claude Dargent
Eastern Orthodox Perspectives on Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Emil Bjørn Hilton Saggau
Embracing the Other: Lessons from History and Contemporary
Christian Th ought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Kostake Milkov
V
VI Contents
Section II: Islam and Violence
The Theological Background of Violence in Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Ednan Aslan
Civil Disobedience in Islamic Politico-Legal Theory: A Challenging
Balance between Justice and Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Osman Taştan
Muslim Theologians of Nonviolence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Marcia Hermansen
The Sunna of Fighting: Background, Dimensions, Scope,
and Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Ulvi Karagedik
Women’s Entitlement to Autonomy in Islam and Related Controversies
Surrounding Verse 4:34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Ranja Ebrahim
Responding to the Marrakesh Declaration with a United States Declaration .
A Call to Preserve and Protect Muslim Civil Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Jason Renken
Section III: Religious Education and the Challenge of Violence
Against Religiously Motivated Violence . Religious Education’s
Contribution to Peaceful Relationships between Different Religions –
What Should it Entail and How Can it Be Evaluated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Friedrich Schweitzer
Violence as a Challenge for Religious Education: Psychological,
Theological, and Educational Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Martin Rothgangel
Journeying into a Peaceful Islam: A Worldview Framework Approach . . . . . 243
John Valk and Mualla Selçuk
Author Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Preface: Islam and Violence
Ednan Aslan
In Tetova, Macedonia, numerous renowned colleagues from Europe and beyond
gathered to present their views on the relationship between violence and religion .
Within the focus of the theme for the conference, the current discussions on the
position of violence in the name of Islam are certainly of central importance . In
this regard, the question emerged whether Islam, as a religion, promotes violence
or off ers a strong basis for the legitimation of violence .
Since the media has begun to focus on Islam, a closer analysis of such debates
increasingly reveals that one question has crystallized, namely, how much religiosity
is acceptable in a pluralistic society . Two further polarizing positions have come to
be recognized with regard to this question .
On the one hand, many critics of religion have seen current events as an occa-
sion for profound attacks on religion, emphasizing again and again that religion is
the real root cause of violence and that the less religion there is, the more peaceful
secular societies will be . On the other hand, representatives of religions denounce
such modern secular fundamentalist positions, pointing out the potential for peace
in religions and the fact that a peaceful world would be inconceivable without the
contributions of religions .
It can be inferred from these two positions that religions are under enormous
pressure to highlight their contributions to peace, let alone to demonstrate their
peaceful contributions with concrete examples . Th e particular pressure on Islam
is due to the fact that, even more so than other religions, Islam, for whatever
reason, is predominantly associated with violence and confl icts undertaken in
its name, not least because this violence is, in no uncertain terms, committed in
the name of Islam . Th e situations in Iraq or Syria, but also in other traditionally
Muslim-majority countries, make it very diffi cult to convince the world public by
arguing otherwise, since the images of violence committed in the name of Islam
1
2 Ednan Aslan
stifle all other arguments to such an extent that people cannot or will not listen or
pay any attention to further argumentation .
Even if reducing the causes of violence in the world exclusively to religion is too
simple and naïve a calculation, religions cannot, in spite of everything, be completely
absolved of responsibility, such that all that happens in the name of religion actually
has nothing to do with religion . Such a positioning could at best calm those who
adhere to the religions, but in this way religions completely lose their credibility .
This possibility can no longer be dismissed if religions evade their responsibility
and the causes of the violence are constantly projected only onto factors such as
the economy, politics, corrupt machinations, etc .
For the future of religions in this debate, it is crucial to try to point out the
potential of religions as a resource for world peace . At the same time we must not
lose sight of the potential of religions for violence, in order to actively counteract
internal theological tendencies that could be misused to support violence .
These critical religious intra-communal debates cannot currently be held in
Muslim countries for various reasons . One of the most important prerequisites
for such debates, namely intellectual freedom or the freedom to investigate and
reflect, which is of the greatest relevance, is lacking in those countries from whose
universities important and positive impulses could emerge . The policies of such
states benefit from the current ossified theological structures and thus these states
cannot risk granting liberties in this area, which would ultimately shake their pillars .
Draconian punishments, harsh intimidation, and harassment threaten anyone who
might dare to proliferate such critical thoughts publicly .
In this volume, the authors attempt to speak freely about the potential in religions
both for violence and peace . I am confident that many impulses from this work will
also impact the direction of churches and other religious communities, such that
religions, all together, will try to mobilize the members of their communities to
actively contribute to world peace . In this way, religions will be perceived as part
of the solution for world peace, enabling them to move beyond the stigma of their
damaged reputations .
Without the dedicated efforts of various colleagues the production of this
volume would not have come to pass . I would like to thank my research assistant
Ulvi Karagedik and Shkurte Luma-Osmani from the University of Tetova for their
logistical assistance .
Certainly any publication depends on financial support . The Tetova conference
and this resulting volume were funded by generous contributions from the Foreign
Ministry in Austria and Kultur Vereinigung Austria . It is to these institutions that
I owe the greatest thanks . Furthermore, the tireless efforts of our partner university
in Tetova and its rector Prof . Dr . Vullnet Ameti, as well as those of Prof . Dr . Zeki-
Preface: Islam and Violence 3
rija Sejdini of the Universty of Innsbruck, should not be left unmentioned . I also
wish to express my sincerest gratitude for the friendly cooperation and effective
collaboration of numerous other colleagues .
Ednan Aslan
Vienna September 10, 2016
9