ALL
it takes is a stroll in the streets of Qom, 15 kilometres
from Tehran, to grasp the importance of this city to Shia
Muslims. A place of pilgrimage, Qom attracts thousands of
worshippers from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the
mausoleum of Fatimah Ma’sumeh, sister of Ali ar-Reza,
eighth Imam of the Shiites. Day and night, throngs of weary
travellers, among them many sick and infirm, visit the shrine
to give praise to Allah. In the adjoining rooms, strewn with
Persian rugs, turbaned men pray and recite passages from the
Koran in small groups, in accordance with a long-standing
Islamic ritual. For Qom is also an eminent theological research
centre, where more than 30,000 students analyse the key texts
of Islam and Islamic law or Sharia, which literally means
“the path leading to the watering place”.
This Shiite holy city was the venue in November 2006 for
the first symposium of its kind in the Islamic Republic of
Iran, bringing together 300 participants in the vast setting
of Howzeh-ye Elmieh, Iran’s largest religious university.
The conference was organized jointly by the ICRC, the Red
Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran and several
key institutions in Iran, including the Ahl-e Beit World Assembly,
the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Institute for Political
and International Studies, Imam Sadiq University, the International
Centre for Islamic Studies, the Islamic Culture and Communications
Organization, the Islamic Science and Culture Research
Centre, Mofid University, the Qom Hawza and the World Forum
for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought. The participants
consisted mainly of ulema (members of the Muslim clergy) and
scholars comprising ayatollahs and representatives of Koranic
centres and schools. “This is not just one meeting,
this is a process involving various religious research centres
reflecting different trends in Qom, in Tehran and in Mashhad,”
explains Mohammed Reza Dast Gheib, ICRC consultant based in
Qom.
During the two-day proceedings, punctuated by pauses for
prayers, discussions centred on the relationship between Islam
and international humanitarian law. Around this highly topical
theme, participants exchanged views on the protection of victims
of armed conflict through the prism of intrinsic Islamic values
and the provisions of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) on the
one hand, and of the Law of Geneva on the other.
“Exploring and extracting material of a humanitarian
dimension from sources pertaining to Islam is a colossal task
we have to continue,” stresses Ayatollah Amid Zanjani,
director of Tehran University. From this perspective, what
does the Koran, primary source of Islamic law, have to say
about the protection of prisoners of war, the wounded and
civilians? What norms and legal principles apply in the face
of a concept such as terrorism? And what are the main points
of convergence between Islamic law and international humanitarian
law? These questions have given rise to varied responses,
steeped in Islam’s rich heritage and customs dating
back to the seventh century; at 150 years old, contemporary
secular humanitarian law is a relative newcomer, especially
if you disregard its Judaeo-Christian roots.
Finding common ground
As a counterpoint to the historical references, the debates
also turned to current events in Iraq and Afghanistan —
two Muslim countries bordering Iran characterized by the presence
of Western states and non-Muslims fighting against Muslim
groups. The violence against civilians that is a daily feature
of both these conflicts attests to the magnitude of the gulf
that exists between legal humanitarian norms and their application.
This sad fact aside, the conference participants, speaking
under a banner printed with excerpts from both the Koran and
the Geneva Conventions (see photo p. 22), came to the conclusion
that Islamic law and humanitarian law share a common base
and have more similarities than differences. In sum, the two
doctrines agree on the sanctity of life, the preservation
of human dignity and compassion towards enemy captives.
“We want to discuss religious, ethical and legal matters
in a language that has to be understandable to all cultures,”
says Sheik Sanad from Bahrain. His words are echoed by Olivier
Vodoz, head of the ICRC delegation to the conference and for
whom the Qom meeting “contributes to making the ICRC’s
neutral and independent action more accessible”. For
his part, Shirvani Mohammed, a former prisoner disabled during
the Iran–Iraq war and whose attendance was sponsored
by the Iranian Red Crescent, expressed his hope that “this
dialogue will inspire real progress in the implementation
of the Geneva Conventions”.
Clearly, the Qom meeting constitutes an important milestone
for the ICRC and for experts in Islamic jurisprudence, and
as such received extensive coverage in the Iranian media.
“It is a dynamic start, but there is still a long way
to go,” says Andreas Wigger, ICRC deputy director of
operations, who was instrumental in setting this dialogue
in motion in the Muslim world two years ago (see box). At
a time when relations between the Muslim world and the West
are strained, this dialogue is both crucial and an indication
that it is possible to listen to one another in a spirit of
mutual respect, without resorting to the oversimplification
and distorted clichés that only lead to further misunderstanding
and conflict. |
©ICRC
The importance of dialogue
In the two years leading up to the Qom conference,
the ICRC organized similar events in Islamabad, Aden,
Fez, Dar es Salaam and Kabul as part of its ongoing
dialogue with scholars and experts in Islamic jurisprudence
aimed at broadening and deepening mutual understanding.
On each occasion, the participants publicly reaffirmed
their common positions based on Islamic tradition and
international humanitarian law. The initiative has forged
a sense of shared purpose that can only help to improve
the protection of human dignity in armed conflict. |
Opening session at the religious university
of Howzeh-ye Elmieh, Qom.
©ICRC
Olivier Vodoz, ICRC vice-president.
©ICRC
Ayatollah Amid Zanjani, president of Tehran
University.
©ICRC
Dr Khatami, president of the Iranian Red Crescent
Society.
©ICRC
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