Falsafa’s foundations of the modernistic theology of dialogue

Abstract

Philosophical theology, which developed within the framework of the Falsafa school, is a vivid example of a constructive dialogue between classical Islam and other religions and cultures. The universalist ideas put forward by al-Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and other thinkers of this school inspired the reformers of the 19th–20th centuries (especially Jamaladdin al-Afghani, Muhammad Abdo and their followers) to develop theological principles that serve as the foundation for the modernizing, inclusive-pluralistic concept of interfaith and intercivilizational dialogue. In addition to the basic ideas of Falsafa’s philosophy of religion, the article highlights the main aspects of the activities of the founders of Islamic modernism to reveal the teachings of the Quran about the unity of the revealed religions, about religious and confessional diversity as God’s predestination, and about the inconsistency of exclusivist claims. Founded on Koranic evidence, the principle of freedom of religion, including the right to change one's faith, is put forward. The militantistic interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah (especially the “ayat on the sword” and “ayat on jizya”) is criticized. As the “golden rule” of the dialogue, the modernists affirm the principle: “Cooperate on those things on which we agree; and forgive one another concerning things on which we differ”.