That which binds is more powerful than that which divides us
“It is odd, in many ways, that misunderstandings between Islam and the West should
persist. For that which binds our two worlds together is so much more powerful
than that which divides us. Muslims, Christians - and Jews - are all
'peoples of the Book' 1. Islam and Christianity share a common monotheistic vision: a
belief in one divine God, in the transience of our earthly life, in our
accountability for our actions, and in the assurance of life to come. We share
many key values in common: respect for knowledge, for justice, compassion
towards the poor and underprivileged, the importance of family life, respect
for parents. 'Honour thy father and thy mother'
is a Quranic precept too. Our
history has been closely bound up together.
"There, however, is one root of the problem. For much
of that history has been one of conflict; 14 centuries too often marked by
mutual hostility. That has given rise to an enduring tradition of fear and
distrust, because our two worlds have so often seen that past in contradictory
ways. To Western schoolchildren, the 200 years of the Crusades are
traditionally seen as a series of heroic, chivalrous exploits in which the
kings, knights, princes - and children - of Europe tried to wrest Jerusalem
from the wicked Muslim infidel. To Muslims, the Crusades were an episode of great
cruelty and terrible plunder, of Western infidel soldiers of fortune and
horrific atrocities, perhaps exemplified best by the massacres committed by the
Crusaders when, in 1099, they took back Jerusalem, the third holiest city in
Islam. For us in the West, 1492 speaks of human endeavour and new horizons, of
Columbus and the discovery of the Americas. To Muslims, 1492 is a year of
tragedy - the year Granada fell to Ferdinand and Isabella,
signifying the end of eight centuries of Muslim civilization in Europe."
Prince Charles, Islam and the West
A Visit to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
The Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, October 27, 1993
© Copyright St James's Palace and the Press Association Ltd 1998.
1 "People of the Book" - ahlul kitab - is a Qur'anic term. Qur'an addresses the Jews
and the Christians as "people of the book", meaning they received revelations from God.