South Asian Journal of Religion and Philosophy (SAJRP)

A Vatican Encyclical and the Abu Dhabi Declaration

Tobias Specker SJ — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The encyclical Fratelli Tutti rarely mentions explicitly the encounter between religions. Nevertheless, it is profoundly marked by the effort of mutual understanding between religions and provides important new impulses for interreligious dialogue. This article examines the dialogical structure of the encyclical and analyses central themes that the encyclical shares in common with the Abu Dhabi Declaration. These are, in particular, a theology of alterity, a decentralized ecclesiology and an anthropology of social connectivity. Finally, the extent to which these papal initiatives resonate in the Islamic context is examined.

The Search for Justice and Peace - A Christian Perspective on the Theology of Abdullah Saeed

Katja Voges — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Abdullah Saeed, a Muslim theologian who teaches in Australia, seeks to ground universal human rights in the Islamic tradition. He does this by rethinking the traditional Islamic understanding of revelation and by addressing questions about the nature and interpretation of the Qurʾan. His contextual approach to Qurʾan interpretation can offer resources for peace building because it encourages Muslims to affirm the dignity of every human being without distinction of any kind through a process of inter-religious dialogue. His practical orientation leads to a search that is on-going and encourages Muslims and Christians to collaborate in the search for peace by remaining committed to a process of dialogue.

The Civilizational Approach to the Study of Islam

Auranzaib Noor Ali — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The paper explores the study of Islam as a civilization and considers the lived experiences of Muslims from a sociological perspective. The history of Islam is intertwined with world history and consists of many genuine encounters and exchanges between Muslims and non-Muslims. The civilizational approach to the study of Islam indicates that Muslims and Muslim societies were ready to learn from other religious groups. This article will examine the situation in Baghdad and Cordoba during the 10th-century and show how different socio-economic, political, and religious systems were enriched by means of exchanges between diverse religious groups. Instead of becoming involved in debates about doctrine, which can be divisive, the study of Islam from a civilizational perspective can promote understanding and encourage cooperation among different religions.

Beyond Binary Distinctions: Reappraising the Intricate Nature of Apocrypha in the Sūtra Of Perfect Enlightenment

Henry Shiu — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Factoring in historical records and philological intricacies, this study reconsiders the historical and cultural complexity underlying the development of the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment (SPE), a text previously categorized as a Chinese apocryphal scripture. With a broadened scope that transcends the conventional theories, the study explores the shared teachings and terminologies in the SPE and the Śūraṅgama, addressing their complex origins. The article proposes that the origins of such texts could involve multiple authors and a fusion of influences from Indian and Chinese thought, reflecting the spiritual and cultural contexts of their time. A pivotal focus is the detailed analysis of a unique four-stage meditation practice in the SPE, presenting compelling parallels with Indian Mahāyāna texts and suggesting a profound Indian lineage within this purportedly apocryphal Chinese scripture.

Despite its profound influence on the development of Huayen and Chan meditative practices, the Yuanjuejin (Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment, hereafter “SPE” ) has been regarded by many scholars as a Chinese apocryphal text since the late 19^th century, when Mochizuki Shinkō first proposed that the sūtra was forged in China with an identifiable doctrinal inclination found in another Chinese apocryphal Buddhist text, the Dasheng qixin lun (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna, hereafter “Awakening of Faith”).[1] This direction of locating spurious and pseudo-Buddhist texts was soon picked up in Chinese academia, when Liang Qichao and Hu Shih began to look further into the clues to prove that the SPE, the Awakening of Faith, and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra (Lengyan jing) were all Chinese composition in the guise of Indian Buddhist texts. Regarding the SPE, Hu Shih speculates that the text was likely composed by Zongmi (748-841) who single-handedly popularized the text.^[2] Lü Cheng, another very well-respected Buddhist scholar in China at the beginning of the 20th century, further proposed that the SPE was fabricated on the basis of other Chinese apocryphal texts, using the Awakening of Faith as the basis and further enriched by the contents of the Śūraṅgama Sutra.^[3] In the West, James Benn also pointed out that “[o]ne might regard the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment, which has only one fascicle, as opposed to the Śūraṃgama’s ten, as a précis of the essential points of the Śūraṃgama.”^[4]

[1] Mochizuki Shinkō. Bukkyō kyōten seiritsu shiron (On the History of the Establishment of Buddhist Canon). Kyoto: Horankan, 1946: pp. 509–12.

^[2] Hu Shih, Hu Shih yanjiang ji (A Collection of Lectures by Hu Shih). Taipei: Hushi jinian guan, 1970.

^[3] Lü Cheng, Zhongguo foxue yuanliu luejiang (Brief Lectures on the Origin and Development of Chinese Buddhism), Taipei: Liren shuju, 1985.

^[4] James Benn, “Another Look at the Pseudo-Śūraṃgama sūtra,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 68, No. 1 (June., 2008), p. 63.

Muslim Identity in India and Pakistan

Muhammad Iqbal Shah — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Allama Iqbal (d. 1938) lamented the backwardness of his own contemporary Muslim society. Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (d. 1898) had also seen the need for Muslims of his time to become aware of their culture and identity as Muslims. Both Iqbal and Ahmad Khan were aware of the positive as well as the negative influence of the British and the Hindu cultures on their own Muslim cultural identity. They realised that Muslims needed to become aware of their cultural legacy so as to recover an awareness of their own Muslim cultural values. Furthermore, both of these Muslim leaders saw education as the key to maintaining and transmitting the values of Islam to subsequent generations. Without education, the next generation would lose this sacred legacy. This article presents the basic elements of Allama Iqbal’s philosophy of education. The author explains the notion of khudi, which was Iqbal’s term for one’s own self-identity. Iqbal’s philosophy of education gives Muslims a framework by which to transmit their culture and identity to subsequent generations.