Photo: Prince Karim
Aga Khan IV in Berlin
Deutsche Welle
12 September
Interview conducted by Günter Knabe
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the
hereditary imam of Shiite Ismaili Muslims, argues that today's Middle Eastern
terrorists are fueled by political motivations and not religion.
Your majesty, the world is shocked by terrorist attacks that are carried
out by people who claim to be fighting for Islam. You, as a prominent Muslim
leader, have claimed that Islam is a religion of peace. Does that mean that
Islam has two faces?
Prince Karim Aga Khan IV: No, I don't think so. For one thing, you
have to think about the fact that this is just represents a very, very small
minority of the world's Muslim population. Also, these people are primarily
driven by political and not religious motives. It would be wrong to consider
them representative of Islam. The Western world has to take a close look to see
which forces are in play in order to differentiate between belief and things
that have nothing to do with belief. We as Muslims could also ask the same
things: like what's happening in Northern Ireland. If I as a Muslim came to you
and were to say: What's happening in Northern Ireland reflects Catholic and
Protestant beliefs, then you would say: you're uneducated.
In many western countries, including Germany, more and more people have
the opinion that Islam and democracy are irreconcilable. If that's true, then a
mutual understanding and effective cooperation between Muslims and the Western
world would be practically impossible.
That's true, but I don't see a conflict between Islam and democracy. There's
absolutely no conflict if you look at the original form of the Muslim
community.
Tolerance and pluralism are at the top of your agenda for improving
conditions for all humans. Is that because your own followers, the minority
Ismaili Muslims, are discriminated against? At times, other Muslims have even
gone so far as to describe you as a heretic.
In every religion there are differences of opinion about the interpretation
of the religion. But I don't think the Ismailis are still discriminated against
today. To the contrary, we're building bridges to the representatives of other
directions of Islam. Because the idea of pluralism is tightly anchored in
Islam. Of course there are many different interpretations. But the differences
in interpretation is not a problem in Islam. I would even go so far as to say
that Islam is a very broad religion. There's a very famous line by Allah in the
Quran: "I have created you from one soul." With that line, he meant
all of humanity.
Since the end of 2001, the West has been seeking a dialogue with the
Muslim world. But more and more people are frustrated because no real answer is
coming from the Muslim side. They're waiting for the voices of moderate Muslims
who will vocally and clearly speak out against terrorism in the name of Islam.
Why aren't we hearing these voices?
I think you can hear these voices more often now. We have to consider that
there are forces inside the Islamic world that do not promote freedom of
opinion -- especially in regards to religion.
Is there hope that we can someday stop terrorism?
Firstly, I'd say this: Let's remedy the causes of terrorism. Generally
that's political frustration and not a question of religion. The situation in
the Middle East was not created by Islamic beliefs. The situation in Kashmir
was not created by Islamic belief. The situation in Afghanistan was not created
by Islamic beliefs. So we have to identify the core of the problem, and that is
political in nature. And when we know the real causes of what drives people to
desperation, then we can get a grasp on it.
Interview conducted by Günter Knabe
