Dawn of an inter-faith era
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - 24-03-2013
Pope Francis brings a sense of optimism to Muslims
A FORTNIGHT ago, this column expressed hopes that the new pope will bring greater global understanding among people of different faiths and beliefs as the 266th pontiff.
There are reasons to be optimistic about the appointment of Pope Francis, the former Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
The choice of the name "Francis" after Saint Francis of Assisi augurs well for the future since he was founder of the Franciscan order of brown-robed friars and was well regarded as a champion of the poor, austerity and peace.
The Pope described him as "the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man". The order commanded followers to live in poverty and care for the sick.
This fits in well with the Pope's aspiration for the church to serve the poor. As someone who has a long pastoral experience in dealing with the underprivileged in his home country, the Pope has great insight into the plight of the majority of the world population, not just the Catholics.
From the first moment of his appointment, the Pope broke away from traditions associated with the papacy.
On the night he was elected, he shunned the papal limousine and travelled on the last shuttle with the other cardinals. He went to the Church-run hotel where he had stayed before the conclave and insisted on paying the bill.
This is hardly surprising. As an Argentinian cardinal, he had refused to stay at his Buenos Aires palace and the use of his limousine.
He even declined to wear some of the regalia of the office of the pontiff.
Other sources recorded that for 15 years, Bergoglio rode the bus several times annually and, dressed in normal priest's robes, walked through a dangerous neighbourhood to celebrate mass at the tiny makeshift church of the Virgin of Caacupé. He seems to be more at home with simplicity and takes a more austere manner, over the usual pomp, grandeur and opulence that often colour the Vatican and many religions today.
The Pope's choice of the name, Francis, which is not listed among that of the Catholic pontificates, is yet another strong indication that he can make a difference by emulating St Francis of Assisi during the days of the Crusades.
In The Sultan And The Saint by Paul Moses (2009), St Francis' encounter during the end of the Fifth Crusade with the Egyptian Sultan Malik al-Kamil Nasir ad-Din Muhammad, a nephew of Saladin, in the 13th century was deemed exemplary.
The two spent time talking about faith, war and peace. This took place long before the period when an obscure Byzantine emperor said Islam was a violent and irrational religion, as quoted by the retired Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
After several days engaging with the sultan in the Muslim territory, St Francis returned safely to the Crusader side.
His proposal that members of his Orders of Friars Minor live peaceably among Muslims was viewed as revolutionary when Christendom was battling the expansion of Islam as a new faith.
More so after he unsuccessfully tried to convert Malik al-Kamil. Though Moses felt that converting the sultan is "not a proper foundation for inter-religious dialogue today", it was the only way for them to have met then. Today, opportunities are abundant.
Pope Francis at the helm brings a sense of optimism echoed by many including the Italian Islamic Religious Community which stated: "As Muslims of the West, we take as a particularly hopeful sign the reminder, in the name of the new pontiff, of the great example of sanctity and opening to the East and to Islam that St Francis of Assisi gave." The statement resonates with other counterparts all over the world.
We remain even more hopeful that Pope Francis will be truly inspired to continue building on the work of his namesake, who together with Malik al-Kamil, had started what looks like the first voluntary Islamic-Christian dialogue in history.
- The writer is the vice-chancellor of the Albukhary International University