Perspective - Perspettiva: Religion - What have we in common? -- Reliġjon

Religion - What have we in common?

I didn't want to write again on a religion-related subject, however this week I saw too many photos of beheadings and burnt bodies in the name of religion to remain aloof.

It's a sad time for me, seeing people of one religious belief pitted against another of a different belief, regardless of the reason. In the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians fight each other, the former to be able to live in peace in their country, and the latter to have a country. Large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq are occupied by the so-called Islamic State (ex-ISIS/ISIL), with resulting reports of atrocities, threats and forced conversions against anyone not of a Sunni Muslim persuasion, mainly Christians and others, even against Shiite Muslims¹. Further to the Far East, in Myanmar, Buddhists attack the minority Rohingya Muslims. And so on and so forth.

Christians may feel that this violence has nothing to do with them. It may probably be convenient to forget the Christians' own share of the bloody past.

In 1095, in response to a request by the Byzantine emperor of Constantinople, Pope Urban II of the Roman Catholic Church declared a Holy War (Crusade), with the aim of restoring access of Christians to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, which had been taken by the Seljuk Muslim Empire, as had happened centuries earlier to a large part of the Mediterranean after the death of Mohammed.

Jerusalem and the Holy land were regained and re-lost over a 200 year period. A defensive fight that started against Muslims ended with the killing of Jews and even the temporary conquest of Constantinople itself from the Orthodox Byzantine Empire. Massacres and cruelties occurred as well. Figures of a million or more souls lost are mentioned. Is there a familiar ring to this story? Crusade? Holy War? Christian Jihad?

As we know, the Maltese arrived late into the picture in the Crusade story, with the arrival in 1530 of the Knights of St John, who had spent more than a hundred years in the islands of Cyprus and Rhodes. We know them as the knights hospitallers, providing a hospital to poor and sick pilgrims of the Holy Land. We also recognise them as the ones who defended the Maltese against Turkish attacks in the Great Siege.

Nevertheless, the Order of St John was also a military order and had its share of blood. The Order had a naval fleet, which was used to attack Muslim fleets². What about the story of the Siege, where the Turks after capturing Fort St Elmo, cut off the heads of the knights captured and floated them across the sea tied to a cross? As a response, Grandmaster Jean de Valette cut off the heads of Turkish prisoners and used them as cannon balls fired at the Turkish camp³, presumably to demonstrate the moral superiority of the Christian faith compared to the Muslim one. This occurred in Malta!

What do we have in common with Jews?

Jews and Christians have the same God, and recognise many of the same prophets. They have a weekly day of rest and praise to God, though Christians changed the day of the week. Both have a Messiah, who Christians have found and Jews are still waiting for.

The apostles⁴ and other disciples⁵ of Jesus as well as other people who met him⁶ called him Rabbi, a Jewish teacher. He taught in Jewish synagogues⁷, quoted and interpreted Jewish scripture⁸.

In short, Jewish scripture in its canonical (authoritive) form consists of 24 books. In the Christian bible, the same books are divided into 39 books. The Jewish scripture is accepted by Protestant churches as the whole of the Old Testament. The Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches add another 7 books in their canonical Old Testament. The Anglican churches mark these 7 books as deutero-canonical.

And with Muslims?

Muslims have the same God of Jews and Christians. Even the name we Maltese give him (Alla) is derived from the Arabic (Allah).

There is the belief that the Koran⁹ was revealed to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel¹⁰.

The Koran says that Jesus (Isa) was given the Gospel from God, though it is believed that the Jewish and Christian scriptures have been altered. Oral tradition (Hadit) of Mohammed's teaching refers to Jesus as a prophet and Messiah (al-Masih) to the Jews, and that he is to return to earth with a Mahdi (another redeemer) at the end of days to fight evil¹¹.

The Koran also says that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary (Mariam)¹². There is a whole chapter on Mary¹³, who is said to be mentioned in the Koran more than in the New Testament.

Muslims refer to Christians, as well as Jews, as People of the Book, those who worship the God known to Abraham. They consider Ismael, the first son of Abraham from Hagar, Sara's maid and his second wife, as the father of Arabs. They also consider Isaac, Sara's son, as the father of Jews. The Koran also contains the story of the son's sacrifice¹⁴, however although he isn't named, Islam believes that the son was Ismael not Isaac.

Jerusalem

Finally, one can consider the city of Jerusalem, which amongst others is holy for Jews as the locality of the Western Wall (what's left of the second temple), for Muslims for the Al-Aqsa Mosque which is the third holiest place in Islam, and for Christians for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, considered to be the location of Calvary and the tomb of Jesus. These locations are all to be found within a single square kilometre.

Comment

To my Jewish and Muslim brothers, I ask with all sincerity: where are the principle of peace and goodness of the religions we profess to believe? I think it would be useful to take a step back, and look for what unites us rather than what divides us. Let us ask forgiveness for past sins, and move forward together in our diversity. Call me romantic, deluded, disingenuous - probably true, however the voice of a pacific majority has to be stronger than the extremist minority.

Will there come a time when the secular world looks at us all who believe in a single God, and sees people living in harmony, pity and love, whatever our religion, without being scandalised? Isn't a genuine conversion, based on a good example, better than one based on force? As the saying goes: actions speak louder than words!

1http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/islamic-state-claims-shia-mosque-destruction-20147414533266331.html, retrieved 12/8/2014

2Encounters with Malta, Petra Bianchi & Peter Serracino Inglott editors, Encounters Books, 2000, p43

3Historical Dictionary of Malta, Warren G. Berg, Scarecrow Press Inc., p60

4Mark 9:5

5John 1:38

6Mark 10:51.

7Matthew 14:54

8Luke 4:16-21

9http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/

10Encyclopaedia Britannica, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Qur'an. Available at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/487666/Quran, retrieved 12/8/2014

11The New Encyclopaedia of Islam, Cyril Glassé, Stacey International, 2001, pp239-240

12Quran 19:20-22

13Quran 19

14Quran 37:100-106

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Reliġjon - X'għandna komuni?

Ma xtaqtx nerġa nikteb fuq suġġett reliġjuż, imma din il-ġimgħa rajt wisq ritratti ta' rjus maqtugħa u iġsma maħruqin f'isem ir-reliġjon biex nibqa' indifferenti.

Huwa żmien ta' dieqa għalija, meta nara poplu predominantement ta' reliġjon wieħed jeħodha kontra poplu predominantement ta' ieħor, għal kwalunkwe raġuni. Fil-Lvant Nofsani, l-Iżraeljani u l-Palestinjani jiġġieldu kontra xulxin, tal-ewwel biex jgħixu bil-kwiet f'pajjiżhom, u tal-aħħar biex ikollhom pajjiż. Meded kbar ta' art tas-Sirja u l-Iraq okkupati mill-hekk imsejjaħ Stat Islamiku (ex-ISIS/ISIL), u ħlief stejjer ta' ħruxijiet, theddid u konverżjonijiet sfurzati kontra dawk mhux Musulmani Sunni ma tismax, l-iktar kontra l-Insara u oħrajn, u anke kontra Musulmani Xiti¹. Iktar lejn il-Lvant Imbiegħed, f'Myanmar, il-Buddisti jeħduha kontra l-minoranza Musulmana tar-Roħingja. U sejrin.

Min huwa Nisrani jista' jħoss li din il-vjolenza kollha m'għandhiex x'taqsam miegħu. Probabbli huwa konvenjenti li jintesa s-sehem imdemmi tal-passat tal-Insara.

Fl-1095, bi tweġiba għal talba mill-imperatur Biżantin ta' Kostantinopli, il-Papa Urban II tal-Knisja Kattolika Rumana iddikjara Gwerra Qaddisa (Kruċjata), bl-għan li l-Insara jerġa jkollhom aċċess għal Ġerusalemm u l-Art Imqaddsa, li kienu meħudin mill-Imperu Musulman ta' Seljuk, bħal ma kienet meħudha parti kbira tal-Mediterran sekli qabel wara l-mewt ta' Muħammed.

Ġerusalemm u l-Art Imqaddsa ntrebħu u ntilfu fuq medda ta' 200 sena. Ġlieda difensiva li bdiet kontra l-Musulmani spiċċat fi qtil ukoll tal-Lhud u fil-konkwista temporanja ta' Kostantinopli mill-Ortodossi tal-Imperu Biżantin. Massakri u ħruxijiet saru wkoll. Jissemmew figuri ta' miljun ruħ maqtula w iktar. Storja familjari? Kruċjata? Gwerra Qaddisa? Ġiħad nisrani?

Bħal ma nafu, aħna l-Maltin ġejna nvoluti tard fl-istorja tal-Kruċjati bil-wasla fl-1530 tal-Kavallieri ta' San Ġwann, li kienu għamlu 'l fuq minn mitt sena fil-gżejjer ta' Ċipru u Rhodi. Aħna nafuhom bħala l-kavallieri li pprovdew sptar għall-pellegrini tal-Art Imqaddsa li kienu foqra u morda. Nafuhom ukoll bħala dawk li ddefendew lill-Maltin mill-attakki tat-Torok fl-Assedju l-Kbir.

Madankollu, l-Ordni ta' San Ġwann kien ukoll ordni militari u kellu sehem imdemmi wkoll. L-Ordni kellu flotta navali, u kien jużaha biex jattakka l-flotot Misilmin². U xi ngħidu għall-Assedju, fejn it-Torok wara li rebħu lil Sant Iermu, qatgħu rjus il-kavallieri li kienu qabdu u telquhom marbutin fuq slaleb f'wiċċ l-ilma. Bħala tweġiba, il-Granmastru Jean de Valette qata' l-irjus tal-priġunieri Torok u sparahom bħala balal bil-kanuni lejn il-kamp tat-Torok³, preżumibbilment biex juri s-superjorità morali tal-fidi Nisranija fuq dik Musulmana. Dan f'Malta sar!

X'għandna komuni mal-Lhud?

Il-Lhud u l-Insara għandhom l-istess Alla, u jirrikonoxxu ħafna mill-istess profeti. Għandhom ġurnata fil-ġimgħa ta' mistrieħ u ġieħ lil Alla, għalkemm l-Insara bidlu l-ġurnata. It-tnejn għandhom Messija, għalkemm il-Lhud għadhom jistennewh u l-Insara sabuh.

L-appostli⁴ u dixxipli oħra⁵ ta' Ġesù kif ukoll nies oħra li ltaqgħu miegħu⁶ kienu jsejħulu bħala rabbi, għalliem Lhudi. Kien jgħallem fis-sinagogi tal-Lhud⁷, jikkwota u jinterpreta l-iskrittura⁸ tal-Lhud.

Fil-qosor ħafna, l-Iskrittura tal-Lhud fil-forma kanonika (awtoritativa) tagħha tikkonsisti f'24 ktieb. Fil-bibbja Nisranija l-istess kotba huma maqsuma f'39 ktieb. L-iskrittura Lhudija hija aċċettata mill-knejjes Protestanti bħala t-Testment l-Antik sħiħ. Il-Knisja Kattolika, dik Ortodossa u dik Anglikana jżidu 7 kotba oħra fit-Testment l-Antik kanoniku tagħhom. L-Anglikani jimmarkaw dawn is-7 kotba bħala dewtero-kanoniċi.

U mal-Musulmani?

Il-Musulmani għandhom l-istess Alla tal-Lhud u l-Insara. Mhux hekk biss, imma anke l-isem li ntuħ aħna l-Maltin (Alla) ġej mill-Għarbi (Allaħ).

Hemm it-twemmin li l-Koran⁹ ġie żvelat lil Muħammed mill-anġlu Gabriel¹⁰.

Il-Koran jgħid li Ġesù (Isa) ingħata l-evanġelju minn Alla, għalkemm jemmnu li l-Iskrittura tal-Lhud u tal-Insara hija mibdula. It-tradizzjoni orali (Ħadit) tat-tagħlim ta' Muħammed tirreferi għal Ġesù bħala profeta u Messija (al-Masiħ) mibgħut lill-Lhud, u li għandu jerġa jiġi fid-dinja flimkien ma' Mahdi (redentur ieħor) fl-aħħar tad-dinja biex jiġġieled il-ħażen¹¹.

Il-Koran jgħid ukoll li Ġesù twieled minn Marija (Mariam) verġni¹². Hemm kapitlu sħiħ fuq Marija¹³, u jingħad li Marija tissemma fil-Koran iktar milli fit-Testment il-Ġdid.

Il-Misilmin jirreferu għall-Insara, flimkien mal-Lhud, bħala Nies tal-Ktieb, dawk li jaduraw lil Alla magħruf minn Abraham. Iqisu lil Ismael, l-ewwel tifel ta' Abraħam minn Ħagar il-qaddejja ta' Sara u t-tieni mara tiegħu, bħala missier l-Għarab. Iqisu wkoll lil Iżakk, iben Sara, bħala missier il-Lhud. Il-Koran ukoll għandu l-istorja tas-sagrifiċċju tal-iben¹⁴, biss filwaqt li ma jissemmiex ismu, l-Islam jemmen li l-iben kien Ismael u mhux Iżakk.

Ġerusalemm

Fl-aħħarnett, hemm il-belt ta' Ġerusalemm, li fost l-oħrajn hi qaddisa għall-Lhud bħala l-lokalità tal-Ħajt tal-Punent (dak li baqa' mit-tieni tempju Ġudajku), għall-Musulmani minħabba l-Moskeja Al-Aqsa li hi t-tielet l-iktar post qaddis tal-Islam, u għall-Insara minħabba l-Knisja tas-Sepulkru li hija meqjusa bħala l-post tal-Kalvarju u l-qabar ta' Ġesù. Dawn il-postijiet kollha jinsabu f'inqas minn kilometru kwadru.

Kumment

Lil ħuti Lhud u Musulmani, sinċerament nistaqsi: fejn marru l-prinċipji ta' paċi u tjieba tar-reliġjonijiet li ngħidu li nemmnu fihom? Tajjeb li nieħdu pass lura, u nfittxu dak li jgħaqqadna, mhux dak li jifridna. Nitolbu maħfra ta' x'sar ħażin fl-imgħoddi, u nimxu 'l-quddiem flimkien fid-diversità tagħna. Forsi romantiku, illuż, diżinġenwu - aktarx veru, imma l-leħen tal-maġġoranza paċifika jrid ikun iktar qawwi minn dak tal-minoranza estremista.

Għad jasal iż-żmien li d-dinja sekulari tħares lejna lkoll li nemmnu f'Alla wieħed, u tara nies jgħixu f'armonija, mogħdrija u mħabba, tkun liem tkun ir-reliġjon li nħaddnu, u ma tkunx skandalizzata? Konverżjoni ġenwina, ibbażata fuq eżempju tajjeb, mhux aħjar minn waħda sfurzata? Kif jgħid il-Malti: il-kliem iqanqal, imma l-eżempju jkaxkar!