Pluralism in Islam

Jamal al Din 'Atiyah, academic advisor to the IIIT-Cairo office, recentlypresided over the office's monthly public lecture entitled "Pluralism in Islam."Among the speakers were Jamal al Din 'A\iyah, Mul)ammad 'lmarah,Mul)ammad al GhazzaH, Mul)ammad Kamal Imam, Sa'id ·Ashur, andMubammad Salim al 'Awa.In his presentation, 'Atiyah emphasized that the concept of pluralism isnot limited to politics, as it is actually the source, if we compare it to thetrue unity or oneness which is an attribute of Allah alone. This being thecase, everything else is subject to pluralism.'Atiyah, expounding upon the Qur'anic verses which mention pluralismin creation, said that they were many and that they illustrate the Creator'sgreatness as well as His creation's uniqueness. The signs of plurality in natureturn humanity's attention to the purpose for which plurality was created: themanifestation and uniqueness of the One Creator in the variety and differenceof creation. There is also the concept that a pluralistic creation seeks to getthe sexes as well as various peoples and tribes to know each other so thatthey can produce a civilization and progress. Requiring such interaction leadto cooperation, and this difference in abilities-as in the case of the sexesleadsto completion. If we imagine lhat there is only one type of person,people will not get to know each other, and each one of u will be a copyof the others.'Atiyah explained that the concept of pluralism was clear to people atthe international level both before and after Islam. He said that no singlenation has ever ruled over or controlled the entire world. In short, pluralismleads to balance and competition among nations, thus preserving the orderof creation. As for pluralism within the ummah, he said that the ummahis united and that this has been stated in many texts. The ummah establishedits unity in the early years of Islam with the founding of the Islamic statein Madinah.As for political pluralism or political groupings within the Islamic ummah,'Atiyah said that the ummah must encourage those political activities whichwill allow the development of several parties. These parties may be dividedinto two types: those which work inside and those which work outside theframework of general Islamic concepts. This idea is not universally acceptedhowever, for some say that only the first type of party should be allowed ...