Panel: RELIGION AND NEW CROSS-CULTURAL REALITY: TRANSFORMATIONS AND CHALLENGES



21.12 - ISLAMIC MODERATION: PROMOTING TOLERANCE AND COEXISTENCE IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD

AUTHORS:
Gholami R. (Associate Professor at Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies ~ Tehran ~ Iran, Islamic Republic of)
Text:
he modern world is structurally globalized yet culturally fragmented. This can lead to cultural enrichment and diversity in interactions, but also intensify cultural disputes and conflicts. Due to globalized structures, these conflicts spread rapidly and become widespread. This dual situation results in radical diversity and pluralism, encompassing individuals, families, and societies. We are moving towards a society where everyone is both a majority and a minority, with each unit becoming a pluralistic and diverse world. In this context, religion, a key element of culture, plays a significant and varied role. In this fragmented world, religions, including Islam, can be major factors in disputes and conflicts, as seen in European societies today. Therefore, developing tolerance, particularly religious tolerance, is crucial to reduce conflict and support peaceful coexistence. The required understanding of tolerance is the "horizontal" approach, as opposed to the "vertical" approach. Horizontal tolerance is about recognizing others as equal and respecting differences, while vertical tolerance is the majority permitting minority existence. This article examines strategies for dealing with this diverse world, focusing on Islam, and presents an understanding of Islamic religiosity to foster religious tolerance. Religious tolerance in Islam, based on tradition and the Quran, is expressed in the concept of "moderation." The defining aspect of Islamic life is moderation. The Quran, in verse 143 of Surah Al-Baqarah, introduces the Islamic community (Ummah) as the "middle nation." This balance is established through rationality, with many verses and hadiths considering reason as essential for worship, salvation, and avoiding fanaticism, which leads to disputes and conflicts based on religious ideologies.