Introduction The papers collected in this volume were delivered at the fifth Mennonite-Shiite dialogue, which took place in Winnipeg, Canada, at the Canadian Mennonite University, in May, 2012. The dialogue series began as a result of an initiative begun by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), after having provided relief assistance following the earthquake in Rudbar, Gilan, Iran, in 1990. Building on the cooperation between the Iranian Red Crescent and the MCC, eventually a statement of understanding was signed by Ayatullah Misbah and Ron Mathies, in 1997, on the basis of which cooperation was begun between the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom and the MCC that included a student exchange program and other efforts to promote greater mutual understanding, one of the outcomes of which has been a series of theological conferences that have had alternating venues in Canada and Iran since 2002. Most of the papers delivered at these dialogues have been published subsequent to the conferences. 1 Thus, this volume is witness to a much broader and continuing discussion between (mostly) North American Mennonites and Iranian Shiah, and this continuing exchange of ideas is a manifestation of the friendships that have grown ever deeper as we have come to better understand one another. In addition to serving as a historical record, the collection and publication of these essays serve several purposes: they show how Mennonite and Shiite scholars seek to make themselves understood to those of other traditions, that is, without assuming any expertise in the histories and theologies of those addressed. Because the essays are addressed to an audience that includes others, that is, those outside ones own tradition, each of the essays may be seen as an introduction to the topic discussed from a Mennonite or Shiite perspective. Because the essays are addressed to a mixed audience that includes scholars from the authors own tradition, the scholars seek to explain elements of their traditions in ways that will be at least tolerable for their colleagues. So, these are not the usual sorts of academic articles to be found in scholarly journals. The journal literature seeks to carry a specific academic tradition forward in accordance with the developing standards internal to that tradition, often by defending a controversial view within the tradition. Our essays are reflections on what the authors believe, and what they believe to be fairly well attested within their communitiesthis is not by any means to say that the views are those held by all scholars of the community. Each thinker offers a unique approach to the issues, one with which others in their community might take issue; but the point of the essays is not to promote new theories. The point is to promote mutual understanding. The essays thus reflect the authors ideas of how best to convey what they hold to be not only their personal
1 The Challenge of Modernity: Shiah Muslim - Mennonite Christian Dialogue, Conrad Grebel Review, Fall, 2003: https://uwaterloo.ca/grebel/sites/ca.grebel/files/uploads/files/CGR-Fall-2003.pdf; Revelation and Authority: Shiah Muslim - Mennonite Christian Dialogue II, Conrad Grebel Review, Winter, 2006: https://uwaterloo.ca/grebel/sites/ca.grebel/files/uploads/files/CGR-Winter-2006.pdf; On Spirituality Essays from the third Shii Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue, M. Darrol Bryant, Susan Kennel Harrison, and A. James Reimer, eds. (Kitchener: Pandora Press, 2010); Peace and Justice: Essays from the Fourth Shii Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue, Harry J. Huebner and Hajj Muhammad Legenhausen, eds. (Winnipeg: CMU Press, 2011). For a review of these dialogues, see A. James Reimer, Preface: Ten Years of Shiah Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue, in Peace and Justice, cited above, 15-20. 2
beliefs, but the beliefs of their communities, to an audience that is not expected to share these beliefs. Surprises abound as discussions reveal astonishing similarities across denominational lines and differences in basic concepts where similarities were assumed. The authors do not attempt to prove that their views are correct or that those of their dialogue partners are wrong. Indeed, what is most lacking in this collection is the give and take of the questions and answers after the delivery of each paper and the informal discussions that took place in Winnipeg. So, the essays may also be read as an invitation to explore the issues in dialogue with Mennonites and Shiah, to observe the similarities and differences displayed in the thinking of Mennonites and Shiah, both in contrast to one another and within each group. Mennonites and Shiah both have a history of dissent within their broader Christian and Muslim societies. Both Mennonites and Shiah claim that the original principles of Christianity and Islam, respectively, were violated by the religious institutions that came to dominate the majority. Both formed communities of dissent whose members have been subject to the violence of those whom they criticized. Both have a legacy of martyrdom. When the Mennonites were first introduced to the Shii religious scholars in Qom, and The Martyrs Mirror was described for them, there was an immediate sympathetic reaction. The topic of discussion for the dialogue sessions reflected in these pages was theological anthropology. The topic was suggested by the late A. James Reimer at close of the previous session on peace and justice in Qom. Prof. Reimer seemed to think that in order to better understand the similarities and differences on the topics that had already been discussed, we would have to review our beliefs about what it means to be human. There was general agreement, and preparations were begun with the aim of exploring our views about being human in Winnipeg. Dissent gives a particular edge to the concept of being human. Anabaptists and the early Shiah appealed to scripture in order to show that the majority communities had gone astray, and that believers were bound by the general covenant between God and man to reform themselves. Of course, the precise nature of the covenant is understood differently in Christianity and Islam; but the structural parallels are striking. The experience of dissent is one in which appeals to conscience are made. The ability of each individual to freely choose between the path of the dissenters or the path of perdition is essential to the dissenting view of being human. The proper free choice which accords with scripture and conscience is the choice indicated by divine guides. The divine guides are understood differently by Christians and Muslims. For Christians, divine guidance comes in the life and teachings of Christ, while for the Shiah, this guidance is dispensed by the prophets (among whom Christ is included) and the twelve Imams. The divine guide not only offers teachings, but exhibits the proper way of living in his own life. As such, those sent by God establish an ideal of human perfection toward which believers are to strive. In traditions of dissent, the ideal of human perfection is held up as a target with the observation that the larger community is widely missing the mark, or is not even aiming in the right direction. The alternative posed by the dissenting community is not only an individual choice guided by scripture, conscience, and divine paradigms; but requires the establishment of communities of believers. Humans are social creatures, and our religious pursuits, successes and failures, take place take place in the various contexts of human cultures. For Mennonites, the social development of faith has focused on 3
the building of communities of believers intentionally committed to the discipline of the church. For the Shiah, the focus has been on the establishment of a virtuous society, including the various aspects of culture and its institutions, from education to government. Both on the individual and social levels, there can be no success through human efforts alone; and believers turn to God for grace and mercy. The question of the relation between individual effort, sin, and grace has been especially prominent in Christian thought, especially since the Reformation, and has no close counterpart in Islamic thought, although Muslims generally affirm the need for good works and faith, which can only be achieved with divine aid. Social dimensions of being human that demand special attention and which have been posed as challenges to religious views include questions of human rights and the changing roles of women in religious societies. Both Mennonites and Shiah struggle with these issues in complex ways. Finally, both our communities struggle with tensions between individual conscience and commitment to the structures that shape religious social life. For Muslims, ideas about how to fulfill the duty to establish a just Islamic society have been especially divisive; but there has also been a tremendous emphasis on the personal spiritual journey, inwardness, and knowledge of ones true self, and questions continue to be raised about how to reconcile these demands. For the Anabaptist tradition, the issue of church discipline has been especially divisive, while the need to respect the demands of the individual conscience has also been recognized. Perhaps a part of what it means to be human in both traditions is to live toward ideals of perfection with cognizance of human flaws and limitations, conflicts and discrepancies, through which we can only find direction by divine aid. For dissenting communities, these challenges to the radical discipleship of Mennonites and to the submission to Allah of Muslims are properly understood in contrast to that against which religious dissent is articulated; and in understanding these challenges we learn what our faith traditions teach about being human. In order to help the reader steer through the essays, a very brief overview of the papers follows. Our collection is divided into six parts. Part I: Sacred Texts begins with the contribution of Mohammad Ali Shomali, Human Nature According to the Qurran, in which there is a review of the good and bad qualities by which man is described in the Quran. Emphasis is given to the choice given to the individual to cultivate good qualities or sink into depravity. Success in choosing the path of self-improvement depends, according to the Quran, on having faith and performing good works. This essay is followed by Gordon Zerbes Human Nature in Biblical Perspective, in which mans nature is shown to be described in the Bible through salvation history: creation, fall, and restoration. While Shomalis paper finds the scriptural description of man to focus on the essential moral choice, Zerbes finds it in the course of development from creation and fall to the restoration of mans relationship with God. A developmental account of human nature is also suggested by Mohammad Fanaei Eshkevari, whose The Concept of Perfect Man in the Holy Quran This paper may be considered a transition to the discussion of perfection. It treats the notion of the perfect man in the Quran and in Islamic mysticism. The development is not from fall to restoration, but from a state of being lost to a gradual approach to human perfection through spiritual discipline. Both the Bible and the Quran emphasize that man is two- sided: there are both inherent human dignity and sinfulness. Christians understand man through the doctrine of salvation in which history is prominent. In Islam there is less concern with historical narrative, and instead the focus is on stories with a moral. While the sinfulness of man is not seen as being quite as radical as it is in Christianity, the divine intervention to guide man is through a divine 4
model and guide. In Islam, we are not reconciled with God through anything but our own faith and good works by divine aid and mercy. Nothing plays a role comparable to that of Christ in Christianity; although both Christians and Muslims see man as sinful and in need of divine aid. Fanaeis introduction of the theme of the perfect man serves as a good introduction to Part II: Perfection, which begins with Jo-Ann Brants The Way of Perfectiona Christian Perspective, according to which there are three main roads available toward human perfection: (1) perfection through the imitation of divine generosity; (2) perfection through the endurance of suffering; and (3) perfection through sanctification or holy living as children of God. The concept of perfection in the New Testament is about neither the perfectibility of individual gifts, the cultivation of good qualities, nor the individual achievement of a moral perfection. Instead, it is the way by which we, as Gods creatures, can participate in Gods perfection at Gods invitation within the context of an imperfect world by following Christ. Despite the differences between Muslim and Christian perspectives on moral improvement, Aboulhassan Haghanis The Way of Perfectiona Muslim Perspective displays a remarkable correspondence to many of the points in Brants paper. Muslims are called to perfection, although the perfection of God is unattainable. Nevertheless, one can strive toward perfection through obedience to Him and in hope for His mercy; and one can, for example, approach divine kindness by exhibiting kindness to others. Human nobility and greatness is especially manifest in traditions related to Imam Husayn who was able to display these features through his suffering and martyrdom. Part III: Culture, opens with Harry J. Huebners profoundly theological essay, Sin and Grace. The concepts of sin and grace have a contested history in the Christian theological tradition, while Islamic theology has not been divided over the nature of the corresponding concepts of sin (isiyan) and grace (lutf). Heubner guides us through some of the tangles over these topics in the Christian tradition, and in so doing dispels some common misgivings that Muslims often have about what Bonhoeffer called cheap grace. Muslims will agree with the main points with which Huebner concludes. An account of human sinfulness is needed to understand the human; and divine grace is needed to lead us from sin, and to a life in which we show kindness toward others as we hope in Gods kindness toward us. Sin is a distortion of human nature, but does not destroy human perfectibility. We need divine aid to escape the grasp of sin. The Christian is called to faithfulness after repentance and finds the ability to resist the power of evil in Christ, while for the Shiah the calling is through the Prophet and Imams and the power to resist is sought by direct recourse to God. The Christian finds that we can see our own nature best by looking to Christ; the Muslim looks to the Perfect Man as a way to find inner direction to our true selves. Huebner writes: Grace is rooted in Gods covenant faithfulness toward sinful human beings. That is, God does not deal with us according to our actions but according to Gods mercy and righteousness. For the Muslim, God does deal with us according to our actions as prescribed in our covenant relation to Him. However, there is hope for man in divine mercy if we repent for what has been done contrary to the covenant, and even the unrepentant sinner deserving eternal damnation might be forgiven because of divine mercy that has no limits. Resistance to the seductions of sin is manifest in an exemplary way by the divine guides. The call to true Christianity, is not an appeal to cheap grace, but to work for peace and justice even when this entails personal sacrifice. As God forgives us, we also are enjoined to forgive others and in so doing to restore our communities. Prayer and submission are required as we seek Gods 5
grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation with Him and as we seek to manifest these in our relations with others. These are all points on which Muslims and Christians can find common cause. In Ali Mesbahs Religion, Culture, and Social Well-Being from the Muslim Perspective we find an outline based on the teachings of the Quran of the kind of society that Muslims are called upon to build. First, people in the ideal society are to comply with divine commands in order to achieve felicity. Second, people seek to live in a responsible manner, aware of their abilities and of how God wants us to use them. Third, people are to recognize their responsibility to the environment as divine stewards. Fourth, they are to help one another and all other human beings. Fifth, they are to establish social relations based on justice and benevolence through such social institutions as as the family, economy, state, law, and education. Cultural variety is one of the major themes of David Shenks Culture and Faith in a Mennonite-Christian Perspective. This paper is filled with fascinating vignettes of Christian missionary work and reflections on the diversity of cultural expressions that Mennonite churches can manifest in different parts of the world that serve as evidence against the claim that the Mennonite churches reject all elements of culture outside those associated with the original movement. Although mission activity has often been a source of tensions between Muslim and Christian communities, who have tended to see one another as rivals, there may yet be hope for some cooperation on the mission front, as well. The discussion of religion and culture naturally leads to discussion of the political and social aspects of culture, among the most prominent of which are taken up in Part IV: Human Rights and Part V: Gender. In his Islam and Human Rights, Aboulfazl Sajedi devines a human right as a privilege one has in virtue of being human. Focus is on justice and equality as human rights in Islam. Islam emphasizes brotherhood and equality, and supports justice and the removal of any kind of oppression and unfair discrimination. One result of the right to equality and justice is to accept the equal value of man and woman and to reject any discrimination between them in this regard. A more critical view of the concept of human rights is found in Peter Dulas Theological Assessment of Human Rights Langauge. In this paper, Dula dissents from the absolutism about human rights that characterizes much contemporary liberal political writing. He engages Wolterstorffs defense of human rights, and finds it less than fully convincing. The primary concern of the Bible is the claims that others have upon one. The language of human rights can help to bring this to attention, but it can also obscure it. In the end, the language of human rights is supported as a minimalist framework, while emphasis is placed on the more demanding account of the good based on the teachings of Jesus (a). In Abbas Ali Shamelis The Engendered Islamic Culture of Development, the study of women is proposed as a subfield of anthropology; and in accordance with the general project for Islamic social sciences, an Islamic study of woman based on Islamic sources, as well as the study of culture and values is recommended. The author argues that womens activism in social and political affairs is consonant with Islamic teachings, despite the differences in responsibilities recognized by Islam. In Created as Male and Female, Derek Suderman considers the story of the fall in Genesis and its implications for gender relations. It is argued that the word Adam is used in two senses: first as a general term for the human being that includes both males and females; and second, as a proper name for the first male human. Ambiguities in the text of Genesis yield a responsibility for the Christian to interpret the text in accordance with Christian principles, so that the text should not be misused to justify male domination. 6
Our collection ends with a return to the self in Part VI: The Self. Mohammad Motahari Farimani, in his The Role of Turning to the Self: Introspection in the Quranic Discourse, demonstrates that through the Quran and certain questions that it raises, God directs us to look within, or turn to the self. This is no simple matter of immediate introspection, however, for the real self is to be distinguished from a false or imaginary self. Service to God is found to be identical to service to the true or real self. In the final article, Conscience: The role of Individual and Community Jeremy Bergen points out various tensions between the ideal of being true to ones conscience and commitment to community, both of which have been prominent in Anabaptist and Mennonite history; and these tensions are further complicated by the modern notion of moral autonomy as action governed by conscience. Bergen supplements his paper with a report of some of the discussion at the conference with Muslims about these issues, and finds places where Mennonite and Shii positions seem to support one another, especially in the distinction between real and imaginary selves presented by Farimani. None of the conference participants argues for the superiority of their own positions where they conflict with those of other traditions. Instead, all seek to elucidate their own positions in a way that can be understood by others. None seeks to impose their presumptions about the other, but demonstrate a willingness to recognize both points where we differ and points on which we seem to converge. One reason for the convergence is the heritage of dissent. Although the papers and conference are aimed at promoting understanding between Mennonites and Shiah on the topic of being human, understanding comes in degrees from superficial to profound. Depth of understand occurs when the views of those whom we seek to understand resonate with our own views, even when there are contradictory positions that must not be overlooked. The cognitive and emotional legacies of our histories of dissent may help us to understand how Mennonites and Shiah are able to resonate with one another despite their differences; but the friendships that continue among us can only be fully appreciated as the grace of God, or lutf Allah, for which we give thanks.