Religious plurality is a vital element of many societies across the globe. Different visions of life and religious commitment not only shape people’s private lives but have an intrinsic public dimension. Societies need to LWF find ways to acknowledge and deal with this diversity in the public space. Religious communities and theologians are challenged to interpret their own traditions in ways that enable the constructive engagement with religious plurality. In this volume, Christian and Muslim scholars from different parts of the world together explore the meaning of public space. In relation to their contexts, they examine how public space can be understood as a shared space and discuss the meaning of secularity in plural societies. Religious Plurality THE CONTRIBUTORS: Clare Amos, Marian Burchardt, Dina El Omari, Lesmore Gibson Ezekiel, Antje Jackelén, Martin Junge, Mouhanad and the Public Space Khorchide, Felipe Gustavo Koch Buttelli, Oddbjørn Leirvik, Adnane Mokrani, Mitri Raheb, Abdulaziz Sachedina, Simone Sinn, Mark Swanson Joint Christian-Muslim Theological Reflections Religious Plurality and the Public Space LWF Studies 2015/1 LWF ISBN 978-3-374-03930-2 EUR 12,00 [D] Religious Plurality and the Public Space Joint Christian–Muslim Theological Reflections LWF Studies 2015/1 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Lutheran World Federation Religious Plurality and the Public Space Joint Christian–Muslim Theological Reflections Edited by Simone Sinn, Mouhanad Khorchide, Dina El Omari LWF Studies 2015/1 Bibliographic information published by the German National Library The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;detailed bibliographic data are available on the internet at http://dnd.dnd.de © 2015 The Lutheran World Federation Printed in Germany This work, including all of its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use beyond the strict limits of copyright law without the permission of the publishing house is strictly prohibited and punishable by law. This book was printed on FSC-certified paper Cover: Piazza della Signoria, Florence; photo by Samuli Lintula (Creative Commons) Editorial assistance: Department for Theology and Public Witness Typesetting and inside layout: LWF Communications/Department for Theology and Public Witness Design: LWF Communications/EVA Printing and Binding: Druckhaus Köthen GmbH & Co. KG Published by Evangelische Verlangsanstalt GmbH, Leipzig, Germany, under the auspices of The Lutheran World Federation 150, rte de Ferney, PO Box 2100 CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland ISBN: 978-3-374-03930-2 www.eva-leipzig.de Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................7 Theological Perspectives State and Religion in Islam—Islam’s Contribution to the Political Culture of Democracy ......................................................................................11 Mouhanad Khorchide Dialogical Conversation to Search for Principles of Interfaith Relations: The Future of Pluralistic World Order.............................................................................................................. 27 Abdulaziz Sachedina The Secular State as a Religious Necessity. An Islamic Perspective .................................41 Adnane Mokrani Consumer or Citizen: Religious Communities in the Public Space ....................................51 Antje Jackelén Owning Citizenship—The Church in the Public Space ........................................................63 Martin Junge Public Space, Agency and Dialogue in Plural Societies .......................................................71 Simone Sinn Scriptural Insights No Abiding City? Biblical Perspectives and the Public Square .........................................85 Clare Amos Historical Contextualization of the Qur’an as a Key for Today’s Interpretations of the Qur’an ........................................................................................................................................... 95 Dina El Omari Historical Insights Spaces for Conversation: Occasions and Conditions for Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Pre-Modern Times ....................................................................................................................105 Mark Swanson 5 Religious Plurality and the Public Space Contextual Insights Creating Public Space: Observations from the Palestinian Context ............................... 119 Mitri Raheb Citizenship and Public Theology: A Lutheran Approach from Brazil .............................133 Felipe Gustavo Koch Buttelli Religion in the Public Space: A Nigerian Perspective .......................................................145 Lesmore Gibson Ezekiel Secularity Revisited Should Public Space Be Secular? ...........................................................................................155 Marian Burchardt Interreligious Relations, Secularity and the “Immanent Frame” .....................................167 Oddbjørn Leirvik List of Contributors ..................................................................................................................183 6 Introduction In many societies around the globe religious plurality is an integral part of public space. How do religious communities understand and interpret this plurality? How do they engage with other communities and stakeholders in the public? As new dynamics in the field of religion and society have emerged there is a renewed academic interest in these matters. Secular- ization theory has been critically reviewed while, at the same time, the quest for secular space remains crucial. The vibrant plurality of religious commitments is apparent and religious communities and theologians are challenged to interpret their own traditions in ways that enable the con- structive engagement with religious plurality. Worryingly, this endeavor is threatened by fundamentalist perspectives, religious fundamentalisms as well as nationalistic and ethnic identity politics that question the very existence of a shared public space in plural societies. In plural societies the notion of public space is key when negotiating questions pertaining to justice and peace. It is here that people not only come to discuss their distinct interests, but also to present their manifold worldviews. They engage in meaningful conversations about the various visions of the good life, dignity and the well-being of all in society. These visions are shaped by the different religious and non-religious value com- mitments and influenced by diverse social, economic and cultural back- grounds, family constellations, professional expertise and life experiences. In January 2014, the Lutheran World Federation, in cooperation with the Centre for Islamic Theology in Münster (Germany), organized an international consultation under the theme “Creating Public Space: The Role of Faith in the Public Sphere.” Christian and Muslim theologians as well as social scientists looked at the role of faith commitments in society, examined the distinctions and relations between religious communities and the state, and analyzed anthropological and theological assumptions guiding the understanding of public space. Most of the essays included in this publication were first presented at the 2014 consultation. The theological perspectives in the first chapter provide in-depth rationales for why and how Islam and Christianity can contribute to building a shared public space. Three Muslim scholars re- flect on Islam’s contribution to the political culture of democracy. They challenge exclusivist agendas and, arguing for dialogue, they defend an understanding of the state as a secular entity that not only is compat- ible with Islam but, for theological reasons, also necessary. Furthermore, 7 Religious Plurality and the Public Space three Lutheran theologians discuss the role of the church in the public space, insisting on the active and committed engagement in society. They question hegemonic claims of religious communities in the public sphere, affirm the importance of mutual interaction, underline the significance of critical and self-critical theological reflection guiding engagement in the public and highlight the concept of citizenship. These systematic outlines are deepened through essays in the follow- ing chapters that look at more specific dimensions of religious life in the public sphere. As the Bible and the Qur’an are normative reference points for Christianity and Islam respectively, the interpretation of these scrip- tures strongly influences how these communities engage in public space and how they deal with politics and power. Two contributions discuss the interpretative principles that guide the reading of the scriptures. Chapter three examines the key question of whether and where we find actual space for conversations between different religious communities. A historical contribution tracks the occasions and conditions for Christian– Muslim dialogue in pre-modern times while reflections on contemporary complex realities come from three different places: Palestine, Brazil and Nigeria. Issues of domination are addressed as well as the complex en- tanglement of religion and politics. Furthermore, the vital role of creative minorities for plural societies is highlighted. The final chapter revisits the understanding of secularity, with a contribution from the perspective