The model of Mary between Islam and Catholicism: The figurativization of normative principles in the intercultural exchange

Jenny Ponzo

doi:10.1515/ijld-2020-2038

Abstract

Abstract In the Catholic tradition, saintly characters work as figurativizations or narrative representations of underlying values and normative principles and therefore represent strategic communication media to disseminate particular models of behavior among the faithful. This paper tests the efficacy of the representation of saintly figures in the case of the interreligious dialogue by focusing on the case study of the construction and communication of the figure of the Virgin Mary in the encounter between Catholics and Muslims. What emerges from an analysis of scholarly and institutional texts, as well as from some reflections on ecumenical practices in Marian shrines, is that the representation of Mary as the figurativization of abstract values and norms mostly concerns a cultivated elite and that the dialogue on the respective representations of Mary is quite limited and concerns especially Mary as the model of the perfect pious and devout person.

Highlights

The translation of a normative system entailing behavioral codes, values and beliefs from one culture into another is a key issue in a globalizing world, and especially in contexts where people with different cultures and religions have to learn to live together
This paper tests this idea in relation to the intercultural dialogue: the efficacy of saintly figures as figurativizations of religious and normative principles has been widely proved inside the framework of Catholic tradition, but can these figures play a key role in the intercultural translation of normative and religious systems? An excellent case study for trying to find an answer to this question is the comparison between the Catholic and the Islamic figure of the Virgin Mary, which both traditions venerate
Can the figure of Mary work as a bridge between Catholicism and Islam? The considerations exposed above show that the reply to this question requires to take into consideration two different ranges of issues

Summary

Introduction

The translation of a normative system entailing behavioral codes, values and beliefs from one culture into another is a key issue in a globalizing world, and especially in contexts where people with different cultures and religions have to learn to live together. In Western culture, it is a widespread idea that heroes and saints embody systems of social, moral or religious values and represent models of behavior.2 They play this function by making abstract notions more comprehensible, by materializing them in a narrative structure and by giving them a more human shape that awakens a response which is intellectual, and emotional.. In the Catholic tradition, saints are proposed as models to millions of faithful, constituting effective and strategic communication media to disseminate a certain worldview (Leone 2010: 1; Ponzo 2020) This paper tests this idea in relation to the intercultural dialogue: the efficacy of saintly figures as figurativizations of religious and normative principles has been widely proved inside the framework of Catholic tradition, but can these figures play a key role in the intercultural translation of normative and religious systems? What I propose is rather a preliminary enquiry, the result of which will be questioning the efficacy of the use of the figure of Mary, which both religions consider a prototype of sanctity, in the framework of the intercultural translation and dissemination of normative principles and values

Mary: What kind of model for Islam?

Mary: What kind of model for the Catholic

The Catholic figurativization of Mary in relation to Muslims

Interreligious practices in Marian shrines

Conclusion