“What is needed—all across the world—is a new ‘cosmopolitan ethic’—rooted in a strong culture of tolerance. We often determine “who we are”—by determining who we are against... But the human inclination to divisiveness is accompanied, I deeply believe, by a profound human impulse to bridge divisions. And often the more secure we are in our own identities, the more effective we can be in reaching out to others.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam at the Tutzing Evangelical Academy upon receiving the Tolerance Award, 20 May 2006
Our faith encourages us to embrace a common origin of humanity while acknowledging and respecting its diversity. In the previous articles we reviewed the diversity and pluralism within the Jamat and the communities we live in. In this article, we’ll explore what a cosmopolitan ethic means.
Why is diversity important within Islam and how is this articulated within the Qu’ran?
Surah 49, Ayat 13 in the Qur’an says, “We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes so that you may know one another.” The implication of this is that knowing the other is a fulfilment of the Divine will and therefore of being Muslim and indeed of being human. To know one another means going beyond superficial judgements about the other and getting comfortable with each other on a deeper level, understanding not just what make us similar but, as the verse notes, the God-given differences that make us unique, that both define us as well as connect us.
What is a cosmopolitan ethic?
The Cosmopolitan Ethic is an ethic of respect that values human diversity. It rejects division as a necessary outcome of diversity, seeking instead to identify the qualities and experiences that unite rather than divide us as people, while still acknowledging and respecting our differences. It also helps us to forge a shared stake in the public good.
At the LaFontaine Baldwin Lecture in Toronto, Ontario in 2010, Mawlana Hazar Imam said: “what we must seek and share is what I have called ‘a cosmopolitan ethic,’ a readiness to accept the complexity of human society. It is an ethic which balances rights and duties. It is an ethic for all peoples.”
How does Mawlana Hazar Imam believe we can live within a cosmopolitan ethic?
In 2015, Mawlana Hazar Imam described how we can live within a cosmopolitan ethic. In the Jodidi Lecture at Harvard University, he said:
“Perhaps it is a natural condition of an insecure human race to seek security in a sense of superiority. But in a world where cultures increasingly interpenetrate one another, a more confident and a more generous outlook is needed.
What this means, perhaps above all else, is a readiness to participate in a true dialogue with diversity, not only in our personal relationships, but in institutional and international relationships also. But that takes work, and it takes patience. Above all, it implies a readiness to listen. What is needed, as the former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson has said, and I quote, is a readiness 'to listen to your neighbour, even when you may not particularly like him.' Is that message clear? You listen to people you don’t like!”
To Learn More About a Cosmopolitan Ethic visit:
1. The 2007 Ismaili Centre Lecture Series with addresses by Rageh Omar and Jan Aarte Scholte
https://the.ismaili/ismailicentres/culture-diversity/london/cosmopolitan-ethic”-explored
2. Speech by Mawlana Hazar Imam at Harvard University – “The Cosmopolitan Ethic in a Fragmented World,”
http://www.islamicstudies.harvard.edu/agakhan-transcript/
4. http://www.akdn.org/speech/his-highness-aga-khan/upon-receiving-toleranc...
5. http://www.akdn.org/speech/his-highness-aga-khan/10th-annual-lafontaine-...
