Vatican: Muslim and Christians nurturing the new Arab world
(Vatican Radio) The need to nurture a “culture of democracy” in the Middle East is
of great importance, the Vatican’s newly appointed secretary of the Pontifical Council
for Inter-religious Dialogue, Fr. Miguel Ayuso, told participants at a 2 day International
interfaith conference in Istanbul, on Saturday. However the Spanish Comboni
missionary added: “Each country convulsed by the 'Arab Awakening' will have to develop
its own model of political governance, resisting any such model imposed from outside”. Hence
the call for Muslims and Christians, as believers, to enlighten those who bear the
heavy responsibility of leading societies to discern the degree of humanity of their
decisions. Below the full text of Fr. Ayuso’s intervention:
“The Arab Awakening and Peace in the Middle East: Muslim
and Christian Perspectives” International Conference Istanbul, September
7-8, 2012
Address of Rev. Father Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot Secretary Pontifical
Council for Interreligious Dialogue Vatican City Excellencies, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
I wish to thank Professor Kenan Gürsoy, Ambassador of the Republic
of Turkey to the Holy See for the invitation to this International Conference on “The
Arab Awakening and Peace in the Middle East: Muslim and Christian Perspectives”. Thank
you also for the kind remarks and warm welcome and for the work done to make this
encounter possible in such an important historical city for Christians and Muslims
alike. My gratitude goes as well to the Marmara University Institute for Middle East
Studies and the Center for Islamic Research for their invaluable help in organizing
and supporting this event. I have been asked, as the invitation noted, to “add
the voice of the Holy See to those that support peaceful and orderly transition in
the region as well as the legitimate aspirations of the people of the Middle East
and in particular North Africa for freedom, dignity and democracy”. It seems best
to begin with the words of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI as a useful synthesis of
the Holy See's view of all that has taken place in the Arab world in 2011 and its
continuing effects. In his address to the Diplomatic Corps this January 2012 Pope
Benedict spoke about the source of the unrest which has spread across North Africa
as coming from a sense of uncertainty about the future felt by the young, due to poverty
and unemployment, prompting them to launch the call for reforms and “a more active
share in political and social life”. Despite an initial optimism, the Holy Father
noted the resulting violence and the fear that this unrest has become a means for
maintaining or seizing power, rather than the recognition of the “inalienable dignity
of each human person and of his or her fundamental rights.”He called on the international
community to help build “stable and reconciled societies” ending discrimination, especially
religious discrimination. Pope Benedict has often suggested that the promotion
of human rights is the most effective strategy for obtaining the common good that
is the basis of social harmony. Democracy presumes its foundation on a respect for
human rights. In the growing efforts to enable democracy to take hold in the fabric
of society in the Arab world, the hope is that it will lead to greater consideration
of these basic rights. As this city itself testifies, an important element of the
fabric of society is religion and its values. Indeed, as Pope Benedict has stated
in many different situations, religious freedom is an intrinsic human right and it
would be "inconceivable, then, that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves
- their faith - in order to be active citizens." Christians in the Arab world, alongside
their fellow Muslim citizens, are ready to play their part as citizens who together
strive to build societies that respect the human rights of all citizens, acknowledging
that "a vision of life firmly anchored in the religious dimension can help to achieve
this, since recognition of the transcendent value of every man and woman favours conversion
of heart, which then leads to a commitment to resist violence, terrorism and war,
and to promote justice and peace.'' As we all know, the first fruits of the Arab
Awakening have been victories of Islamist political parties in Morocco, Tunisia and
Egypt. While it is clear that this has been the exercise of democracy through the
holding of electoral contests, there now needs to be a follow-up to further develop
and nurture a 'culture of democracy' that includes developing a clear rule of law,
where all are equal before the law, as well as developing needed state institutions
which are at the service of all citizens. The holding of democratic elections has
been an important first step in establishing the legitimacy of those who now must
speak on behalf of the people. Let us not forget the danger, however, that democracy
potentially could be used to legitimize extremist and fundamentalist ideologies. Such
ideologies with their beliefs and practices represent a fundamental threat not only
to religious minorities in the region, such as Christians, but also to Muslims who
would identify themselves as 'moderate'. They too are fearful of religious extremism
and the imposition of Shariah as the exclusive source of law. Nurturing
a 'culture of democracy' will take time, effort, patience and education. There needs
to be a real effort on the part of civic and religious leaders to educate towards
the respect for basic freedoms, such as freedom of religion, freedom of expression,
etc., as the guarantee of fundamental human freedoms, particularly for religious minorities.
The new leaders of the Arab world need to respond to the real and concrete problems
of unemployment and economic disadvantage of the masses, which goes hand-in-hand with
efforts to develop a 'culture of democracy'. If the new Arab leadership, self-described
as 'moderate Islamists', fails to address such economic issues, it will only strengthen
the position of the more fundamentalist Islamists. As we have seen, the Islamist
parties that have come to power in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, have for the most part
adopted the language of pragmatism and moderation which appears as a positive first
step, although, in some quarters, a certain skepticism exists. Many of the key actors
that have come to prominence in the “Arab Awakening” have previously had the experience
of living in the milieu of western democracies. Unfortunately, their appreciation
for western democracy has been often dampened by what they would regard as the excesses
of western society such as immorality, the rejection of religious values, consumerism
and so forth, not to mention the perceived attempts of western democracies to impose
aggressive, secularist ideologies which are contrary to Islamic and Arab culture.
This has created a kind of collateral damage to the civil groups in Arab countries
that have championed the values of western secular democracies; they are easily dismissed
as 'godless', or un-Islamic, and even non-Arabic. The affiliation of such groups with
Western organizations opens them up to being called instruments of western imperialism.
The political upheavals in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula have not yet
found their natural political equilibrium. Indeed, it may be sometime before such
balance can found, underlining the need for the international community to direct
its every effort to ensure that the period of political transition now underway does
not degenerate or provoke a further instability within the society itself or its political
structure. Since the political turbulence of 2011, with its protest movements and
political activists, there has been a search as to which political models to follow
among various ones being presented. Ultimately, each country convulsed by the 'Arab
Awakening' will have to develop its own model of political governance, resisting any
such model imposed from outside. In North Africa we see two basic models taking
shape: first of all the incremental development of a constitutional monarchy in Morocco
in which political power is shared rather than devolved and secondly the emergence
of parliamentary governance in Tunisia where the new interim President has ceded much
of his executive powers to a Prime Minister who commands a parliamentary majority.
Such a development, while at base more democratic, risks descending into a negative
form of “majoritarianism”. It remains to be seen what Egypt will choose as its form
of government. It may move from a presidential style government to a parliamentary
government. Al-Azhar University issued several documents in response to the “Arab
Awakening” which are an important initiative, although it is still unclear as to the
impact these documents will have in shaping political life in Egypt. The document
on Fundamental Freedoms offers a reflection on the fundamental relationship between
Islam and the State at a time of delicate political transformation in Egypt. The documents
support the establishment of a democratic and constitutional form of government elected
by universal suffrage that guarantees and respects individual freedoms. This is in
harmony with traditional Islamic teaching, which, as indicated in the Al-Azhar document,
has never sanctioned or practiced theocratic rule. Instead, traditional Islamic jurisprudence
and systems of governance have been based on respect of Sharia law as one of
the principal sources of legislation. Citizenship, rather than religion, is underlined
as the sole criterion for participation in the responsibilities of society. The Al-Azhar
document also affirms the principles of dialogue, tolerance and respect (no one should
be accused of being an atheist) and rejects the instrumentalisation of religion as
a tool to create discord among the various components of the nation. The document
affirms four basic freedoms as the foundation of a democratic and constitutional system
of government:
Freedom
of Belief;
Freedom
of Opinion and Expression;
Freedom
of Scientific Research;
Freedom
of Literary and Artistic Creativity.
In supporting these four basic
freedoms the Al-Azhar document rejects the fundamentalist approach. As we
meet together today, the tragedy of the situation in Syria is not far from our minds
and hearts. From the very beginning of the crisis in Syria, the Holy See, and many
times the Holy Father himself, has condemned the violence and terrible loss of human
life. The Holy Father, affirming the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people,
has repeatedly called upon all those in authority or in positions of responsibility,
to end the violence and rather to enter the path of dialogue as the true means to
address such concerns. The position of the Holy See regarding Syria has been:
1) to call for an immediate end to violence from whatever part; 2) to dialogue towards
reconciliation as the necessary path to respond to the legitimate aspirations of the
Syrian people; 3) to preserve the unity of the Syrian people regardless of ethnicity
and religious affiliation; 4) to ask Syria, as a member of the family of nations,
to be also cognizant of the legitimate concerns of the international community; and
finally, 5) the Holy See appeals to the international community to dedicate itself
to a process of peace in Syria and the entire region for the benefit and well-being
of all humanity. Christians in Syria seek to live in peace and harmony with their
fellow Syrians. They are naturally fearful that the growing violence, destruction
and displacement, the continuing loss of life, endangers not just Christians but all
Syrians, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. The spectre of what has happened
to Christians in Iraq hangs heavily over the Christian communities in Syria. Christians
do not want to be marginalized in Syria nor do they wish to seek partisan advantage.
Rather they want to be in the service of the common good, to be points of reference,
or bridges with, and between, all communities. It would be regrettable if the choice
of Christians to avoid partisan politics should be interpreted as cowardice instead
of courage. The choice to be open to all communities, to transcend partisanship, requires
perhaps a greater courage. Christians have as their mission to be builders of peace,
harmony and unity, among all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious affiliation,
as the way of living in the difficulty of the struggle of their nation. As believers,
Muslims and Christians have to enlighten those who bear the heavy responsibility of
leading societies to discern the degree of humanity of their decisions. If we recognize
the singularity of the human person, his or her vocation, we are all compelled, leaders
and ordinary people, to ask if politics, economy, laws are at the service of the human
person, created by God who wants humanity to be a family. We have to indicate, not
only in words but by deeds, that a society can only be built and thrive by recognizing
the legitimate rights of its people, each person’s human dignity, freedom to worship
and finally to contribute his or her gifts to the society in which each lives, regardless
of race, religion or ethnic base. This is true of established societies as well as
those in profound transition as we see in the countries of the so called “Arab Awakening”.
I believe this addresses the question of our conference: to find the true path to
“peaceful and orderly transition … for freedom, dignity and democracy.”