THE ROLE OF ISLAM IN THE DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

Mohammad Reza Hashemi & M. R. Javaheri

Dr. Hashemi is the Director of the International Relations
Office, and Lecturer of Linguistics and Transalatology, at Ferdowsi
University of Mashhad in Iran. He holds a PhD in Contrastive Linguistics
from UMIST, in Manchester. Among his publications is "Application of
linguistic Findings to Translation".

The paper begins with the discussion of the status and
significance of Islam in establishing a world civilization during the Dark Ages
of Europe, a discussion that is almost unanimously agreed upon by impartial
Western scholars and researchers. It is then argued that since Dialogue of
Civilizations should be based on sound bases, it is of paramount significance to
clarify the bases first. In this connection, three major intertwined
characteristics of Islam, i.e. perfectness, timelessness,,and
universality, are drawn upon as bases of the dialogue. Moreover, the
manners and means of the dialogue in Islam are elaborated on through references
made to Qur'anic verses and to traditions from the Prophet and the Imams. Then,
it is suggested that the means and manners employed in the dialogue of
civilizations, as they are appealing to mankind, for they are rooted in the
nature of mankind.