Kalima, the translation project of the Abu Dhabi Authority
for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), published the Arabic translation of a
book addressing the relationship between the Vatican and Muslims.
The
book, entitled "Zwischen Rom und Mekka. Die Päpste und der Islam -
Between Rome and Mecca: the Popes and Islam" was written by
Heinz-Joachim Fischer.
It gives a summary of the relationship between
the author and the Vatican, spanning over twenty years. The writer
enjoyed direct contact with officials of the Holy See.
The
author travelled with the late pope, John Paul II, during his visits to
Muslim countries.
He also accompanied the current pontiff, Benedict VI,
on his trips.
The book offers Arab readers the chance
to learn about the relationship between Christianity and Islam, and it
is told from the unique viewpoint of a journalist who is close to the
Vatican.
The idea of the book was first conceived
following a lecture delivered by Benedict VI at the University of
Regensburg.
The lecture was entitled "Faith, Reason and the University"
and it aroused a wide range of reactions in the Muslim World, prompting
the author to investigate further the historical relationship between
Catholic Christianity and Islam.
The book consists of
four sections and addresses the dimensions of the relationship between
the two sides, past and present.
In the first section, the author makes a
comparison between the Muslim World League and the Vatican.
In the same
section he also writes about the Crusades and the Ottoman siege of
Vienna.
In the second section, the book discusses
contemporary popes and their opinions on Islam.
This section sees the
author cite the positive decision by the Second Vatican Council
(1962-1965) with regards to Islam, and touches on the dialogue that the
former pope enjoyed with Muslims.
The author has
devoted the third section of the book to Benedict VI, giving background
information on the pope's academic achievements and the time he spent
teaching at several German universities.
This section also examines his
views on the relationship between faith and reason, citing the text and
footnotes of his lecture, as well as the responses to his teachings in
Germany.
The book pauses to discuss the message sent
by138 Islamic figures to Benedict VI, under the title of "A Common
Word", stressing its sound logic.
The fourth part of
the book talks about the position that some popes took with regard to
the Crusades.
Many noted that the Crusades placed a heavy strain on the
relationship between Christians and Muslims, and served only as an
obstacle to constructive dialogue between these two religions.
At
the end of the book, the author touches on the views of thinkers and
philosophers from the Age of Enlightenment in the West on Christianity.
He urges Muslim thinkers to adopt a similar view on Islam.
The
book repeatedly addresses the topic of Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Although the author gives some examples of positive and flexible
gestures made by some figures in the Vatican, he concludes his book on a
pessimistic note using a quote from the introduction of Benedict VI to a
book written by the Speaker of the Italian Senate.
He states: "A
dialogue between religions is not possible in the strictest sense."
This
book seeks to offer a review of the Vatican's policy towards Islam in
the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
It calls for a search for
common values, based on mutual respect and non-violence.
The
author of the book earned his doctorate in 1973 in Philosophy of
Religion from the University of Munich.
Since 1978 he has worked as a
correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper in Italy and the
Vatican.
He has close ties to both popes and Vatican officials, and has
previously authored books on the Vatican-Muslim relation, as well as on
the former and current pontiffs.
The book is
translated from German into Arabic by Dr. Sami Abu Yahia and Fuad
Ismail.
It was reviewed and introduced by Dr. Sheikh Al Khalil,
professor of comparative literature at Yarmouk University in Jordan.
SIC: MEO/INT'L