Seyyed Hossein Nasr may not be a household name in the United States but he has rightly been described as “one of the world’s leading Islamic thinkers.” Currently Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, he brings to spiritual is-sues wide knowledge and profound insight. I had the privilege of hearing him lecture recently and came away with much to think about.
A native of Iran, this distinguished scholar came to the United States for advanced study at M.I.T. and Harvard receiving his doctorate from the latter. Before taking his present position, he was professor at the University of Tehran and founder of the Iranian Academy of Philosophy.
Warm and personal, Professor Nasr is a pleasure to talk with and his common touch belies the stereotype of the highly accomplished but distant academic. I valued the chance to listen to him and to ask him a question about the effect of secularization on Is-lam.
Taking as his theme the crossing of the frontiers that divide the religions of the world, the Muslim scholar calls such crossing “a journey in spiritual space more exciting than space travel.”
The relationship between human beings and nature looms large in every religion at its best. However, Professor Nasr feels that something has gone awry in the modern world, upsetting the healthy balance between us people and the world around us. One large reason for this imbalance is the havoc that secularism has worked on religion, especially Christianity.
For most modern Christians, the world has lost its sacred character leading us to abuse the beautiful creation that God has given us. The effort to understand the other religions of the world can help us to restore that sacredness of nature.
Dr. Nasr believes that “there is no possibility of peace among nations without peace among religions,” a fact that secularism denies. He regrets that UNESCO, the United Nations Economic, Scientific, and Cultural Organization based in Geneva, does not have religion as a defining category.
To appreciate a religion, ;you cannot study merely its history, as some scholars do. To focus exclusively on history would be to ignore the qualities – changeless truth and transcendence – that make a religion what it is. Rather, you must enter into its truth and appreciate its vision of God.
This scholar holds that every religion is complete in itself. “Religion must en-compass all that we are,” he says, “or it is not religion.” Also, every religion is true and those unfamiliar with traditions other than their own must often struggle if they wish to understand the way another religion works for its adherents.
In every religious tradition there are many people who stand opposed to crossing over the frontiers of religion. They fear that this spiritual travel will destroy their own faith. Professor Nasr, however, believes that in the modern world we have no choice, Either we try to understand the faith of others or our world falls into chaos and armed struggle.
But to cross over and understand, we must deny false absolutes. Only God is ab-solute. If you make anything else absolute, you make it impossible to cross over.
“You should not ask religions other than your own: ‘What is your concept of God?’” The question is too abstract and does not suggest the rich spiritual life and practice of each tradition.
Every religion offers salvation and, to do so, uses various rites. It is the inner meaning of these rites that can bring religions together.
In summary, Professor Nasr lists five positive consequences of crossing over:
- Seeing our own religion in the light of another one brings us to know ourselves better.
- We can remember things that have been largely forgotten in our own tradition, for example, the mystical tradition in Christianity.
- We can be motivated to reexamine secularism, the philosophy that denies the reality of religion. In studying Islam, for example, Christians can recognize more clearly the negative impact of secularism on their own tradition.
- We can develop a spiritual and theological understanding of the other faces of God that our own tradition may not have shown us.
- We can find common ground in the determination to protect the world of nature.
Richard Griffin