Article by Anwar / Ess – Arabic and North Africa Coordinator – The Scottish Association for Interreligious Dialogue .
“ An adequate anthropology is imperative if we are to move forward collectively. In this respect I have always admired islam for its emphasis on the collective. This must necessarily be based on a healthy anthropology given the extent to which Islam has thrived internationally.”
Peter James Cox – SAID President
In my capacity as Arabic and North Africa Coordinator for SAID it has been an honour and pleasure to have been in ongoing discussion with Almahdi Alsharif of Libya.
Principle among our discussions – The Alashraf gathering in Libya coming together to discuss the direction of Islam, social and political.
Since her liberation from colonial oppression in 1951 Libya has been a hotbed of islamic thought – the present political system in Libya rendering genuine democratic, forward thinking progress more difficult.
The Alashraf gathering in Libya discussed islam as a religion of peace and tolerance, one in which other systems of thought are not only tolerated but accepted as part of a pluralistic society.
In the postmodern global context we must be transparent and admit to ourselves and others that we do not have all the answers.
As such humility must be as our starting point – defined as our position before God – that of absolute nothingness.
We have at least this to share with other traditions that are similarly honest about the human condition.
Only in this way can a collective democratic society of love, justice and peace flourish.
In our conversation Mr Alsharif commented
“Peace be upon us in our faith in which God Created us, and Peace from Islam. Therefore we work hard to market Islam as God Almighty wanted it, free from wrong understanding, nor did not open it without controls. We also discuss our relationship with other religions, non-interference in their beliefs and we work on the good and cooperation that brings together humanity.”