From Here To Eternity

Last month, L'Osservatore Romano -- known informally to the world-at-large as the Pope's newspaper -- published a feature write-up by one Khaled Fouad Allam, an Italian citizen by way of Algeria. His article, entitled "The religions and the fate of the world", sounded routine enough. However, run-of-the-mill it most certainly was not! For it was the first piece written by a Muslim to appear on the front page of the Vatican's unofficial digest. Whilst Allam's holistic aspirations may be highly suggestive of his underlying idealism, what he had to say in his column was pertinent; his message forward-looking; and his tone undeniably poetic. One can only hope that this quietly momentous event was a step in the right direction, both for L'Osservatore, and humanity in general. 

The news story, which explores the issue of the contemporary divide between Christianity and Islam, may inspire many a reader to wonder which is the greater hindrance to peaceably progressive communication: radical religious fanaticism, or a fundamentalist mentality that stubbornly refuses to accept the idea that it might, on occasion, better elucidate itself by stepping out of its own light, and into that of another? For this habitual reader of the Holy See's newspaper, the issues raised by Allam brought to mind the image of Dante encountering the poet Bertram dal Bornio (the infamous "lantern man"), in Hell -- illuminating himself with his own decapitated head. Yet, it also managed to take that disheartening image and counter it with one of eventual optimism.

In the article, Allam argues that we are living in an era of global crisis, a bedlam that he believes is the result of a "divorce between history and eternity." Granted, one cannot help but note that this rather cataclysmic worldview has been common throughout the history of mankind; but, there you have it. He goes on to say that, due to this crisis, the dialogue between Christianity and Islam should be approached from a more philosophical -- as opposed to a purely religious -- point of reference. An important observation, particularly when one considers the all too likely probability that interreligious communication between the two will continue to fail until such time as their differing cultural philosophies are properly addressed in their own right. Benedict XVI seems to support this notion, as well. He, too, has publicly expressed the urgency of initiating intercultural dialogue as a means of sustainable discourse between the different faiths. The success of this type of secular communication, according to Allam, would nevertheless require that Islam liberate itself from the strictures of tyranny and radicalism, whilst Christianity (and all of the West) must address the problem of its increasingly confused Janus face...which appears to be suffering from a dreadful case of tunnel vision on both its left- and right-hand sides. It would seem that we've quite the Herculean task before us!

However, Allam infers that it is not an impossible undertaking, as times of international crisis present humanity with the unique opportunity to approach a collective dialogue from a more universal perspective; that to do so "is in a certain way connected to 'salvation,' even in its profane version, which must illuminate the darkness of our time."

Whilst such a redemptive notion is evocative of many sentiments familiar to both Christians and Muslims alike, it is the lingering message of philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas that springs to mind as this particular commentator meditates upon Allam's words. In Humanisme de l'autre homme, Lévinas suggested that our humanity is found in the recognition that the suffering and mortality of others are the obligations and morality of the self. Wouldn't it be something if Christianity and Islam could come to terms with one another in this way; if, in this time of conflict and uncertainty, they could at last truly accept and embrace their similarities? Surely, if they could somehow find a way to see the one in the other, mightn't they ultimately come to appreciate their shared responsibility toward the destiny of mankind as a whole?

Ah, but how easy it is to get swept up in Allam's great (utopian) expectations!

Still, a successful dialogue between Islam and Christendom certainly has the potential to bring spiritual subjectivity vis-à-vis with a syncretizing sort of Cartesian consideration -- reformulated out of necessity from an ethical standpoint -- however unlikely such a situation may seem in the presence of our Western rationalism. If Khaled Fouad Allam can make the front page of L'Osservatore, then I daresay that one can harbor a little hope for the future of humanity.

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Allam's article may be read via the online archive of L'Osservatore Romano (in Italian only), or here (in English) via Sandro Magister's e-zine, Chiesa -- the feature is reprinted in its entirety beneath Magister's brief commentary.