Photo: CNS
By Paul Dobbyn
THE word “Islam” means peace and the “barbarity of extremists” has nothing to do with real Islam or God, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge has said.
“Historically Mohammed brought peace to the warring tribes of Arabia by summoning them to worship of the one God,” he said.
The distinguished scripture scholar also said geography was a major key to understanding the difference between the Christian and Islamic faiths.
“Unlike Christianity which came to birth in the fertile Galilee region and flourished in the cities of the Mediterranean basin, Islam is essentially a desert religion,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
“In the desert, you have to focus on the essentials of life if you want to survive; and one of the strengths of Islam is its simplicity.”
Archbishop Coleridge, who studied in Rome and recieved a doctorate in Sacred Scripture, drew some similarities between the religions.
“Islam’s relationship with the West has certainly been more complex and creative than is sometimes thought,” he said.
“Like Christianity, Islam has known fragmentation through time and has also been linked to violence, sweeping out of the desert with fire and sword.
“But it has also known times of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence.”
One key difference, however, is that Islam has not known a Reformation and Enlightenment in the way Christianity has.
“This, in some measure, explains the different way in which it addresses its sacred text, the Koran, and the difficulty it has had in engaging modernity which, in its Western forms, Islam tends to see more as a threat than an opportunity,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
The Archbishop recently spoke out with other church leaders on the threat of Islamic radicals.
He said people should think about what social psychosis was driving some young Muslims to give their lives fighting “on the altar of the demonic” for the Islamic State.
“The situation needs prayer, action and deep reflection,’’ he said. “The extremists’ barbarism seems apocalyptic.
“It has nothing to do with real Islam or God and is blasphemy of a kind.”
Archbishop Coleridge said “at this point of history, world peace depends in large part not upon wars successfully waged but upon genuine and fruitful dialogue between Christianity and Islam, the two largest religious communities on the planet”.
“Such dialogue is not an option; it’s a solemn duty for both communities,” he said.
