Message to Muslims for the end of Ramadhan ‘Id al-fitr 1422
AH/2001 AD by Cardinal Francis Arinze, president, Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, 00120 Citta del Vaticano, pcid-office@interelg.va
Dear Muslim Friends,
1. I am writing to you again this year
on the occasion of the end of Ramadan to assure you that I share
the joy you must feel at having completed the fast and come to the celebration
of ‘Id al-Fitr. I address this message to you as a sign of esteem
and friendship on the part of the Catholic Church. Many Muslims write to
us in reply to this annual message to express their gratitude, but also
to share their point of view on the reflections it proposes. We are sure
that the positive reactions are not limited to those sent to us, but could
also be found in many local situations where Muslims and Christians live
and work together.
In addressing you at this moment,
the end of the period in which you have been fulfilling a specific religious
duty in order to come closer to the Most High, I cannot forget, in the
first place, the dramatic events which our world is experiencing, events
which affect in a particular way the hearts of believers belonging to the
monotheistic religions. The faithful adorers of the One God are called
to be in the world the artisans of a civilization founded on the perennial
values of peace and justice, of unity and love, of dialogue and freedom,
of co-operation and fraternity, between persons and among peoples. May
expressions of solidarity and fraternity among believers and all people
of good lead the society along new paths in full respect for human values
and in the promotion of these values.
2. This year it is a precisely upon
this theme of human values and their promotion in an era marked by great
technological progress that I wish to reflect with you. We are living in
an era of technology which touches all spheres of activity: transport,
communications, information, medicine, genetics, etc. Technological advances
are constantly transforming the face of the earth and even allowing human
beings to reach out to conquer space. However the most exciting and at
the same time controversial field of technology is genetics which touches
human nature directly, as human beings try to pierce its mysteries with
the aid of technology, with the risk that human life itself and the respect
due to it are endangered.
3. Another area is that of information
technology which, through the Internet, makes possible widespread and rapid
communication. We can only praise the Creator for human genius which has
invented these means of information, learning and communication. Here also,
however, much depends on the use which human beings make of these means.
4. The Bible speaks of the human person
as one who experiences temptation and sin. The human heart is inclined
to pride, to hardness, to duplicity (cf Proverbs 21:4); Job 41:16; Psalm
11:3). Human relations cannot help being affected by this situation. The
Qur’anic meditation on human nature also reminds us that human beings
are always tempted to put themselves in the centre, forgetting the One
who created them. The human person is prone to injustice, to unbelief (cf
Qur’an 14:34). Yet true well-being lies in submission to the will
of God.
Faced with the lights and shadows
of our world, including the challenges of technology, the Second Vatican
Council affirmed: ‘In the light of the foregoing factors there appears
the dichotomy of a world that is at once powerful and weak, capable of
doing what is noble and what is base, disposed to freedom and slavery,
progress and decline, brotherhood and hatred. Man is growing conscious
that the forces he has unleashed are in his own hands, and that it is up
to him to control them or to be enslaved by them’ (Gaudium et spes n. 9
4).
5. What can we do, Christians and
Muslims, together with the believers belonging to other religions and other
people of good will to ensure that we make good use of these new means
at our disposal?
Can we not work together to protect
the most important human values which are threatened by a world in continual
transformation? In the first place comes the right to life, to be protected
from conception right up to natural death. For life comes from God and
it is to Him that it must return, when He wills. Life is a most precious
gift from God, the precondition for all other divine gifts. Next comes
the dignity of the human person and the rights which flow from it; these
we must promote for all. Social justice, peace and freedom are also major
values that are necessary for a life worthy of human beings, a life which
gives glory to God who created it.
6. How can we protect and promote
these values together in this technological era? First of all through dialogue,
which is an exchange characterized by openness and friendship. Such dialogue,
which would be concerned essentially with the ethical dimensions of new
discoveries, could lead naturally to collaboration in the fields already
mentioned. This dialogue and collaboration are to be pursued at all levels,
local, regional, natural and worldwide. All are called to make a contribution,
according to their particular responsibilities and capacities. The common
action to which we are invited concerns the whole of humanity, considered
as one large family, having God as its origin and end. Consequently, constant
reference to God and a continual search to discern His will are of capital
importance in our efforts to promote human values.
With the expression of my best wishes
for peace and prosperity.
Courtesy: The Hamdard Islamicus, Vol XXIV, No. 4
|