Einen offenen Brief an die jüdische Welt haben die muslimischen Gelehrten des Zentrums für das Studium jüdisch-muslimischer Beziehungen (Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations). In dem Schreiben heißt es die Zeit gekommen, um Brücken zu bauen, statt Waffen sprechen zu lassen. Präsentiert wurde der Brief von Tariq Ramadan, von dem man sagen kann, dass er einen Islam europäischer Prägung fordert. Er hat durch sein smartes Auftreten durchaus auch Gehör bei den jungen Muslimen mit akademischer Ausbildung (siehe auch den Artikel im Time-Magazine). Jedenfalls war er wohl maßgeblich beteiligt an der Formulierung des Briefs, von dem wir hoffen können, dass er viele Leser erreicht - er ist zwar an Juden adressiert, er spricht damit aber auch durchaus Muslime an:
Many Jews and Muslims today stand apart from each other due to feelings of anger, which in some parts of the world, translate into violence. It is our contention that we are faced today not with a clash of civilizations but with a clash of ill-informed misunderstandings. Deep-seated stereotypes and prejudices have resulted in a distancing of the communities and even a dehumanizing of the Other. We urgently need to address this situation. We must strive towards turning ignorance into knowledge, intolerance into understanding, and pain into courage and sensitivity for the Other. For many centuries our communities co-existed and worked together fruitfully and peacefully such as in the Iberian Peninsula. As Muslims and Jews we share core doctrinal beliefs, the most important of which is strict monotheism. We both share a common patriarch, Ibrahim/Abraham, other Biblical prophets, laws and jurisprudence, many significant values and even dietary restrictions. There is more in common between our religions and peoples than is known to each of us. It is precisely due to the urgent need to address such political problems as well as acknowledge our shared values that the establishment of an inter-religious dialogue between Jews and Muslims in our time is extremely important. Failure to do so will be a missed opportunity. Memories of positive historical encounters will dim and the current problems will lead to an increasing rift and more common misunderstandings between us. This Letter is important for non-Muslims and Muslims because it illustrates that the Muslim world has diversity of opinion and that Muslims are willing to engage in a conversation with Jews, a conversation that is not wholly dominated by the conflict in Israel-Palestine. Although many Muslims and non-Muslims only know of Muslim-Jewish relations through the prism of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there needs to be an awareness of other positive encounters at different stages of our history as well as the pioneering work of inter-religious dialogue being undertaken by contemporary Muslims and Jews outside of the Middle East.von hier
Eine pdf des offenen Briefs kann man sich auf der Website des Zentrums herunterladen (hier).