Islam and Pluralism

Is religious pluralism possible in Islam? This question is theoretically andhistorically easy to answer affirmatively. But in perception seen as reality,it is anything but simple to answer at all. Contemporary attitudes towardand portrayals of Muslims confuse the debate even further. Attempts to providelegitimate answers in a nuanced manner are usually considered apologeticsand thus dismissed. Yet the case must be made that the Islamicworldview on religion and humanity assumes religious pluralism.Anybody periodically engaged in interfaith dialogue or public lectureson Islam must have heard this question by now. While most are genuinelyinterested in knowing the true answer, some have already made their mindsup about Islam’s inability to tolerate other religions. Perhaps one of theeffective answers came through Bill Moyers’ 1990 interview with SeyyedHossein Nasr.1 That Nasr answered affirmatively with authority and eloquencecannot be denied; however, that few Americans heard his answer isconfirmed by the persistence of this question twenty years later. Significantly,that even fewer would have believed him is proven by the troublesomerhetoric of the current rising Islamophobia.Moyers’s questions included the following: “By the nature of its theology,its own principle of unity, … can Islam coexist with [a] non-Muslim[world]?”; “Do Muslims envision a world dominated by Islam?”; “One doesnot see pluralism and tolerance?”; “Can you [Muslims] tolerate [an] infidel?”2Nasr responded by affirming coexistence, pluralism, and tolerance and rejectingany notion of Muslim world domination. This editorial analyzes “Islamand pluralism.” But to understand the Muslims’ response, one must acceptsome basic facts: Muslim extremists, who have always existed, do not trulyand legitimately represent Islam by their actions or pronouncement ...