Dialog Muslim-Kristian

Dialog
Muslim-Kristian
memaparkan
pengalaman sejarah yang panjang dan
hubungan yang disifatkan begitu rapat
dan berpengaruh dalam mencorak masa
depan keamanan sejagat.
Dialog
Muslim-Kristian
lebih
memfokuskan
pendekatan
religious
truth
claim,
iaitu
menegakkan
kebenaran yang cenderung mengheret
kepada
perdebatan
kerana
mempertahankan
kemutlakan
kebenaran.

 Cabaran dialog Muslim-Kristian yang begitu jelas

ialah menangani isu-isu teologi dengan cara
yang lebih terbuka dan menerima perbezaan
pada perkara yang tidak dapat disepakati
bersama.
Namun
begitu,
kebarangkalian
untuk
mengadakan dialog Muslim-Kristian lebih mudah
jika dibandingkan dialog antara agama yang lain.
Ahmad Sunawari Long (2003) menjelaskan:
Sekalipun, asas-asas ajaran pokok dalam agama
Kristian
dan
Islam
menjarakkan
berlakunya
persefahaman, namun kedua-dua agama ini berasal
dari akar umbi yang sama, iaitu berasal dari keturunan
Nabi Ibrahim (Abrahamic Religion) dan mempunyai
nature yang hampir serupa, iaitu bertunjangkan Tuhan
yang satu (Monotheistic Religion).

 Dalam konteks non-Abrahamic religion

seperti
Hindu,
Buddha,
Sikh
yg
mengamalkan doktrin politeisme atau
kepercayaan Konfusionisme dan Taoisme
yang berteraskan budaya dan dan falsafah,
jelas sekali bertentangan dengan doktrin
monoteisme dalam Abrahamic Religion.
Aspek ini menyebabkan kemungkinan
untuk
merealisasikan
dialog
antara
Abrahamic dan Non-Abrahamic Religion
lebih sukar jika dibandingkan dialog atau
trialog
yg
melibatkan
Muslim-Kristian
ataupun Muslim-Kristian-Yahudi.

 Sayyed Hossein Nasr (1998) - intipati dialog

Muslim-Kristian ialah seseorang itu hendaklah
melihat diri pihak lain seperti mana dirinya
sekarang dan bukannya seperti apa yg
dikehendaki kerana kedua-dua penganut Islam
dan Kristian masing-masing mempunyai misi
dan kewajipan yg hendak dicapai.
Irfan A.H. Fattah (1999) - dialog Muslim-Kristian
mengkehendaki Muslim menyesuaikan diri
mengikut norma Islam dengan memahami dan
menerima rakan Kristian sebagaimana keadaan
mereka dan tidak bersifat subjektif dan normatif
dengan mempersoalkan kenapa mereka tidak
menjadi seperti yg Muslim kehendaki.

Hubungan Muslim-Kristian

Goddard (2008) - berasaskan sumber sejarah dan tradisi ajaran agama Islam dan
Kristian. Berdasarkan model ini, hubungan Muslim-Kristian digambarkan bersifat
konfrantasi dan antagonis dan sejarah menunjukkan contoh yg begitu jelas iaitu,
Perang Salib penghujung abad ke-11(5H).

Hubungan Muslim-Kristian turut memaparkn hbgn toleransi dan kerjasama.

Misalnya, Rasulullah s.a.w bersikap toleransi thdp masy Kristian.

I. 615M nabi mengarahkan 83 sahabat berhijrah ke Abyssinia (Axum).

II. 628M berlaku di Madinah apabila Nabi memulakan hbgn diplomatik dgn
kerajaan Parsi dan beberapa pemerintah Kristian spt Byzantine, Abyssinia dan
Mesir.
III. 630M Nabi membuat perjanjian dgn pelbau kumpulan Kristan dan meminta
mrk membayar jizyah. Kaum Kristian Arab Nestorian (Selatan Arab) dan kaum
Lakhmid (utara Sjung Arab); Nestorian Parsi dan Iraq, Jacobites Syria dan Copts
(Koptik) Mesir.
IV. Surat dihantar kpd Raja Heraclius dan pemerintah Empayar Sassanian.

dicontohi para sahabat antaranya Khalifah Umar bin al-Khattab ketika menawan
Baitulmaqdis.

Mohd. Roslan Mohd. Nor (2010) menjelaskan:

Jaminan Keamanan Umar (al-Uhda alUmariyyah/Umar Assurance of Safety) telah
menyediakan peraturan asas utk membantu
pembangunan dan pembentukan semula
komuniti baru di Aelia yg menekankan polisi
Muslim yg praktikal thdp pengiktirafan kpd
pihak lain dgn menentukn hak-hak penduduk
Aelia dan tanggungjawab Muslim thdp mrk.
Ia memberi jaminan keamanan kpd setiap
penduduk Aelia, tanpa pengecualian dan
diskriminasi, termasuk menjamin penuh
keselamatan rumah ibadat, tidak ada paksaan
dalam beragama, dan tidak juga dianiaya.

 Contoh lain - pada zaman perkembangan

Islam di Andalus satu usaha penterjemahan
dijalankan
di
Cordoba
ketika
zaman
pemerintahan Sultan Abd al-Rahman III.
Fauzinaim (2005) menjelaskan fakta ini
menunjukkan masyarakat Islam dahulu amat
memahami keperluan utk duduk bersama
dan bekerjasama dengan pihak lain dari
kalangan non-Muslim.

 Peranan penubuhan Secretariat for Non-Christians

(SNC) pada tahun 1964 yg diilhamkan oleh Pope
Paul VI signifikan dalam menjelaskan dialog
Muslim-Kristian.
Pertubuhan ini bertujuan mempromosi jalinan
dialog (dialogical relations) melalui penglibatan
bersama Muslim dalam aktiviti keIslaman spt.
sambutan Ramadan dan Id al-fitr serta aktiviti
pertukaran lawatan, mesyuarat dan seminar.
Di bawah kepimpinan Pope Karol Wyotyla yg
membawa gelaran John Paul II, beliau menekankan
tema dialog yg berasaskan ikatan spiritual bagi
memupuk kerjasama Muslim-Kristian.

 Dalam
manifesto
kepaderian
Redemptor
hominis yg dilancarkn pd tahun 1979, John Paul
II menyeru agar kedua-dua umat beragama ini
bersikap sedia memberi dan menerima bagi
memperkukuh jalinan dialog sedia ada.
Pada dasarnya, jalinan dialog ini bukan utk
menyatukan kepercayaan atau membandingkan
ajaran kedua-dua agama.
Sebaliknya, btjn. mencari nilai persamaan bagi
membina keharmonian hidup bersama dan
memenuhi perintah Tuhan agar dapat menjalin
hubungan baik sesama manusia.

 Dialog Muslim-Kristian signifikan dalam arena

hubungan
antarabangsa
dan
berlatar
belakangkan senario semasa yg melanda dunia
masakini, pd 13 Oktober 2007 seramai 138 wakil
pemimpin Sunni dan Syiah dgn wakil Kristian
menandatangan dokumen yang diikenali sbg A
Common Word Between Us and You.
Inisiatif ini dimulakan oleh Royal aal al-Bait
Institute for Islamic Thought yang berpusat di
Amman, Jordan bagi menggalakkan kajian
mendalam ttg dialog antara agama dan
membiaya beberapa simposium dialog yg
melibatkan penyertaan wakil Muslim dan
Kristian.

 Dokumen The Common Word (CW) direka khas

bagi menegaskan sekalipun perbezaan wujud,
asas persefahaman agama dan kerjasama
antara Muslim-Kristian begitu diperlukan dalam
kehidupan bersama.
Dialog Muslim-Kristian relevan dalam konteks
Malaysia.
Populasi
penduduk
Malaysia
berdasarkan banci tahun 2000 menunjukkan
penganut Kristian menduduki tempat ketiga
tertinggi dengan catatan 9.1 peratus selepas
Buddhis 19.2 peratus dan Muslim 60.4 peratus
daripada keseluruhan penduduk Malaysia yg
berjumlah 23.27 juta org.

 Kedua-dua agama ini turut berkongsi tema dialog

spt
penyebaran Alkitab, pembinaan rumah
ibadah dan isu penukaran agama.
Sebahagian besar drpd isu tsbt menimbulkn
kontroversi dan krisis perlembagaan sehingga
menuntut kedua-dua pihak berbincang dan
berdialog bersama bagi mencari penyelesaian yg
boleh disepakati bersama.
Dialog Muslim-Kristian dalam konteks Malaysia
berbeza daripada situasi Muslim-Kristian di luar
negara kerana di negara ini mereka berkongsi
banyak persamaan, iaitu sama-sama hidup
dalam konteks yang serupa.

 Kedua-dua
agama
ini
berkongsi
persekitaran dan politik yang sama.
Kedua-duanya adalah warga Malaysia
yang bernaung di bawah satu konteks
negara yang sama. Konteks inilah yang
membentuk persamaan dan semangat
solidariti antara Muslim-Kristian kerana
sama-sama
membina
gerakan
ketamadunan.

Muslim-Christian Relations
Today, Christians and Muslims are the two largest
faith communities in the world. They constitute
about half the population of the world.
Both religions are rooted in the monotheistic
tradition of the Patriarch Abraham and therefore,
Christians and Muslims share a common
heritage.
They worship virtually the same God, the God of
Abraham, though there are contrasts in their
respective understanding of the nature of the
Divine Being, God.

 For more than fourteen centuries, the followers of

these two religious communities have lived together
in periods of tension, hostility and open conflict.
The history of their interaction has been
characterized by mistrust and misunderstanding.
On the other hand, there have been periods where
Christians and Muslims have had a considerable
positive interaction.
The most significant changing point in the interreligious interaction between Christians and Muslims
has been issued in the Nostra Aetate resolution.

of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965),

which created a new atmosphere for a closer
fellowship between the adherents of both
Christianity and Islam.
In order to give a clear picture of the attempts of
the Catholic Church for a better understanding
between Christians and Muslims, we have to go
back to the pre-Vatican II period.
The history of Muslim-Christian interactions were
based on superficial polemics, which were
designed to denote the other, to vilify him, and
to present a libellous, distorted account of
Islams belief-system.

 In Christian history, Islam appears to

have been regarded as Christian heresy
rather than a distinctive religious
tradition.
However, Islam denied this, holding
itself to be a fresh revelation from God
and the final religion.
In the Islamic view, the gulf between
God and man is too great to be bridged
by Jesus or anyone else.

 Islam recognizes Christianity as a

revealed religion and calls Christians
as Ahl al-Kitab People of the Book
and not as a divine being.
There were two major conflicts which
affected the Christians-Muslims
relations, the Crusades amd the
Colonisation.

The Effect of the Crusades on

Christian-Muslim Relations
Islam and Christianity differ about the means
that God has used to reveal Himself.
The field of disagreement involves the character
of Prophethood and the concept of incarnation.
These major doctrinal
religions to stay apart.

themes

make,

both

With the spread of Islam, Christianity became a

minority, and therefore, the polemic against
Islam became more specialised.

 When the Westerners saw the quick rise of

Islam, which controlled almost all of the
Eastern part of the world and was then
directed to the European countries, they
thought of a way to stop it.
Thus, in cooperation with the Catholic
Christians, the Westerners found the Crusades
as an option and started the war against
Muslims and their religion.
The Crusades were seen by Christians as a
Holy War, because they were intended to
recover

land that allegedly belonged to the Christians.

The Crusades started at the end of the 11th century
to recapture the Holy Land (Jerusalem) from the
Muslims.
They started as a result of the call of Pope Urban II
in his sermon held in the council of Clermont (1095
A.C.) to free the Holy Land which was occupied by
the Saracens (the Christian name for the Muslims).
Some eminent historians maintain that the start of
this holy war was not the liberation of Jerusalem as
claimed by Urban II, but the fulfillment of Gregory
VIIs plan for the unification of the Christian Church.

 In addition, they view the Crusades as a colonial

campaign, a prelude to imperialism.
The Crusades were not waged only against the
Islamic Empire or the Turks, but were directed
finally against Islam, a religion, which was
considered by Christians as a Satanic religion or
a demonic religion of apostasy, and Muhammad
(p.b.u.h) was a false Prophet, a hypocrite and an
agent of the devil, therefore, it had to be
subdued.
In fact during the Crusades or the holy wars
launched against Muslims, the Islamic faith and
the Muslim societies were badly misunderstood
by Christians and Westerners.

 This led to religious hatred among the

followers of both religions.
For Muslims, according to Islamic theological
teachings, it is forbidden to vilify Jesus as he
is a Prophet of God.
The Crusades have had an important impact
on the mutual perceptions of Muslims and
Christians, which has been disproportionate
to their direct political effects.

 The Crusades were undertaken from a complex

combination of motives, both religious and temporal:
i. The rivalries between competing commercial
interests and between the emerging nation-states of
Europe;

ii. The Popes desire to reunite Christendom under

his authority following the East-West schism of 1054;
iii. A response to the initial Muslim conquests and to
the coming of the Seljuqs;
iv. A desire to regain control of the holy places of
Palestine, as well as to secure the passage of
pilgrims to Jerusalem.

 However, Christians saw the Crusades as a

just war (Perang yang adil) against Muslims
who had seized lands, once in the
possession of Christians.
It is also stated that the Crusades were not
wars of aggression because their aim was
the recovery of what had been Christian
territory.

The Effect of Colonisation on the

Muslim-Christian Relations
Another conflict, which involved religon, was the
colonial period where the West European nations
engaged in their colonial venture in Muslims regions.
The Christian missionaries welcomed the colonial
venture to spread the Gospel, to assist local Christian
communities, to establish medical care, schools and
social help for the people irrespective of their faith.
With the emergence of colonisation, the right time
had come to free the world from the danger of Islam.

 The main aim of colonisation was to control

the Muslim world and all its social,
economical and religious dimensions.
The colonial period caused manu problems
for the Muslims. It disunited and separated
them into small nations, even though they
were one nation or one Muslim Ummah.
At this time, Muslims faced the challenge of
the newly evolving epistemology and the
reinterpretation of Islamic theology.

Nostra Aetate Promoting a better

Muslim-Christian Relations
Both the Crusades and the Western
colonisation were directed to the Eastern part
of the world, which was under Muslim
control.
Therefore, the Muslim-Christian conflicts
have been religious in the sense of showing
which one is the true faith one must go with.
In other words, which one is the true faith
that grants man salvation in the world?

 The historical accumulated antipathy of Christians

toward Islam was changed in the Second Vatican
Council, which aimed for a better relationship with
Muslims.
The NA declaration had a deep impact on the
relations between the Church and Muslim world.
The third paragraph of this Declaration is of special
interest because it speaks about the Churchs
concern toward the Muslims and their faith.
NA have opened a new and more positive relation
with Muslims, as well as the adherents of other
world religions.

 From the text of NA, two main characteristics can

be extracted:

i. It highlights the common or related points

between the Christian and Muslim beliefs, noting
at the same time the essential difference: the
Christian profession of the divinity of Jesus.
ii. It opens up the possibility of a friendly
cooperation and mutual respect between the
followers of the two religions to create a peaceful
relations and harmonious modern society.

 At the beginning of the text regarding

Muslims, it is stated that upon the
Muslims, too, the Church looks with
respect (NA, par.3)
When the Church shows a kind of respect
toward Muslims, it means that Muslims are
recognised by the Church fathers as
followers of a Divine religion.
The Church advised the Christians to show
a high regard for Muslims and take them
as entities that should be admired.

 This kind of mutual respect will lead

to the development of friendships
and good relations between
Christians and Muslims.
The next sentence of NA which
indicates respect towards Muslims,
worship God, Who is One, Living,
Subsistent, Merciful and Almighty,
the Creator of the heaven and earth
This text mentions that the Muslims
worship and serve the true God.

 In this sense, both Christians and

Muslims adore, worship or praise the
One God, but the nature of
understanding the being or the
existence of the One God in Islam
differes from that in Christianity.