17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page i Justice and Rights 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page ii 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page iii Justice and Rights CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM PERSPECTIVES A record of the fifth “Building Bridges” seminar held in Washington, D.C., March 27–30, 2006 MICHAEL IPGRAVE, EDITOR Georgetown University Press / Washington, DC 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page iv Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C. www.press.georgetown.edu © 2009 by Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information stor- age and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Justice and rights : Christian and Muslim perspectives : a record of the fifth “Building bridges” seminar held in Washington, D.C., March 27–30, 2006 / Michael Ipgrave, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-58901-489-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Christianity and justice—Congresses. 2. Islam and justice.—Congresses. 3. Human rights—Religious aspects—Christianity—Congresses. 4. Human rights—Religious aspects—Islam—Congresses. I. Ipgrave, Michael. BR115.J8J86 2009 261.2'7—dc22 2008051750 This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. 15141312111009 98765432 First printing Printed in the United States of America Text in Vincent Cornell’s essay, A Treatise of al-Ghaz≥lπ, is reprinted with permission from On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam by Sherman A. Jackson, pp. 104–10, 2002. ©Oxford University Press. 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page v Contents Participants vii Introduction Christian and Muslim Perspectives Michael Ipgrave ix PART ISCRIPTURAL FOUNDATIONS 1 Chapter 1 The Ruler and the Ruled in Islam: A Brief Analysis of the Sources Mohammad Hashim Kamali 3 Chapter 2 Biblical Perspectives on Divine Justice and Political Authority Ellen F. Davis 15 Chapter 3 Scriptural Texts 3.1 Two Psalms Ellen F. Davis 21 3.2 Twelve Verses from the Qur’≥n Mustansir Mir 27 3.3 Two New Testament Texts Michael Ipgrave 32 3.4 Seven a…≥dπth Timothy J. Winter 39 Notes 44 PART II EVOLVING TRADITIONS 49 Chapter 4 Religious Orthodoxy and Religious Rights in Medieval Islam: A Reality Check on the Road to Religious Toleration Vincent J. Cornell 51 v 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page vi vi Contents Chapter 5 Une Foi, Une Loi, Un Roi: Political Authority and Religious Freedom in the West, from Constantine to Jefferson John Langan 63 Chapter 6 Traditional Texts 6.1 A Letter of St. Augustine Rowan Williams 73 6.2 A Response of ibn Lubb Vincent J. Cornell 78 6.3 A Treatise of al-Ghaz≥lπ Vincent J. Cornell 86 6.4 A Treatise of Martin Luther Miroslav Volf 92 Notes 101 PART III THE MODERN WORLD 107 Chapter 7 Human Rights and the Freedom of Religion Malcolm Evans 109 Chapter 8 Modern Texts 8.1 The Barmen Declaration Miroslav Volf 117 8.2 Writings of Imam Khomeini Seyed Amir Akrami 123 8.3 The Second Vatican Council on Religious Freedom Carolyn Evans 129 8.4 Two Islamic Declarations on Human Rights Fikret Karcic 146 Notes 163 Index 175 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page vii Participants Khaled Akasheh Ahmad Dallal Head Officer for Islam, Pontifical Associate Professor of Arabic and Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Islamic Studies and Chair of the Arabic Vatican City and Islamic Studies Department, Georgetown University Seyed Amir Akrami Lecturer, University of Tehran Ellen F. Davis Professor of Bible and Practical Yousif Al-Khoei Theology, Duke Divinity School Director, Imam Al-Khoei Foundation Lejla Demiri Bishop Angaelos Research Fellow in Divinity, Trinity General Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Hall, University of Cambridge Church, United Kingdom Carolyn Evans John Azumah Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Lecturer of Islamic Studies, Director of University of Melbourne the Centre for Islamic Studies and Muslim–Christian Relations, Malcolm Evans London School of Theology Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, School of Law, Osman Bakar University of Bristol Professor of Islamic Thought and Civilization, International Institute of Hugh Goddard Islamic Thought and Civilization, Professor of Christian–Muslim Malaysia Relations, University of Nottingham Vincent J. Cornell Yvonne Haddad Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Professor of the History of Islam and Middle East and Islamic Studies, Christian–Muslim Relations, Emory University Georgetown University vii 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page viii viii Participants Michael Ipgrave Recep Senturk Archdeacon of Southwark, Associate Professor of Sociology, Church of England Fatih University, Turkey Mohammad Hashim Kamali Ataullah Siddiqui Chairman and CEO, International Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, The Islamic Foundation, and Malaysia Director of the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Leicester, Fikret Karcic United Kingdom Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo Mona Siddiqui Professor of Islamic Studies and John Langan Public Understanding and Director of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Professor the Centre for the Study of Islam, of Catholic Social Thought, University of Glasgow Georgetown University Nicholas Townsend Daniel A. Madigan Director of Studies and Tutor for Jeanette W. and Otto J. Ruesch Family Associate Students, South East Institute Associate Professor of Theology, for Theological Education, Georgetown University University of Kent Maleiha Malik Miroslav Volf Reader in Law, King’s College, Director, Yale Center for Faith and University of London Culture, and Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology, Jane Dammen McAuliffe Yale University Divinity School President, Bryn Mawr College Rowan Williams Mustansir Mir Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor of Islamic Studies, Church of England Youngstown State University Timothy J. Winter Michael Nazir-Ali Sheikh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Bishop of Rochester, Studies, Faculty of Divinity, Church of England University of Cambridge 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page ix Introduction Christian and Muslim Perspectives Michael Ipgrave his volume is a record of the fifth annual Building Bridges seminar of Chris- T tian and Muslim scholars, convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., in March 2006. In keeping with the pattern of earlier seminars, a theme of enduring and contemporary significance was addressed through lectures by scholars of both faiths, through study and re- flection together on key texts, and through group and plenary discussion.1 This volume presents the lectures and the texts with introductions and commentarial notes reflecting discussions at the seminar. The theme chosen for this seminar was “Justice and Rights—Christian and Muslim Perspectives.” As the material presented here demonstrates, this is a topic not only of immense relevance for both faiths in the modern world but also with deep roots in the core texts of both traditions. The very phrasing of the theme may suggest a tension in the way the material is approached. On the one hand, justice is recognized by Christians and Muslims as one of the defining character- istics of God and sought by them as his purpose for a world that is manifestly unjust; in other words, it is laid upon them as a mandate, and traditionally their first response to the vocation of justice has been to think of their obligations, both toward God and toward the other. On the other hand, the language of rights ap- pears to embody and presuppose a principle of human autonomy and assertive- ness that may fit uncomfortably with a traditional religious orientation. The situation is further complicated in that among the human rights generally recog- nized today is the freedom to practice and manifest religion or belief, whether that be Christianity, Islam, another faith, or the explicit absence of religious commit- ment. It is not surprising that “Justice and Rights” is a theme of serious contest and debate between Christian and Christian, Muslim and Muslim, and Christian and Muslim; between people of faith and those of no faith; and between religious ix 17463-Justice&Rights 8/21/09 1:26 PM Page x x Introduction communities and governments. What is remarkable about the material presented here is the extent to which it shows that Muslims and Christians are facing sim- ilar issues, even if the answers they give can differ quite radically. This seminar and volume differ from predecessors in including among the texts studied not only scriptural material but also documents from the Christian and Islamic traditions, in both the premodern and the modern periods. Given the way in which the societies of Christendom and of the Islamic world have de- veloped over the centuries, and given also the way in which both faiths have throughout their history exhibited many different patterns of relationship with political power, it did not seem possible to treat the subject adequately without reference to texts beyond the scriptures. This in turn provides the rationale for the simple structure of this volume, which follows the pattern of the seminar it- self in looking first at the roots of thinking about divine justice in the scriptures, then moving on to survey the evolving traditions of both religions, with a par- ticular focus on the relationship between religious and political authority, and fi- nally reaching the modern context, where issues of rights and freedom come very much to the fore.2 As this introduction indicates, the themes under considera- tion are vast in extent and contested in treatment; the hope is that this small se- lection of resources and collection of reflections can encourage Christians and Muslims to further dialogue on the issues.