The Ethics of Disagreement

Doctrinal controversy among the adherents of different Islamic denominations has sometimes become bitter. The denial of this fact is impossible; and any attempt to overlook it is doomed to failure. However, if there is a constructive dialogue rather than dispute among the Islamic sects, the Muslim world will soon begin to flourish; and the existence of different opinions is, in fact, a necessary condition of a dynamic community. Generally speaking, morality is disregarded in the interreligious controversy; and this is the major problem. In other words, the Islamic moralities are sacrificed for the defense of only one aspect of religion, that is, the dogma. The common immoralities involved in the interreligious ontroversy have been gradually established; and the danger lies in the fact that we sometimes forget that the spread of the religion of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as the exemplar of morality, is possible only through the observance of the moral principles. The present essay is mainly concerned to give a picture of the current reality in this regard; it is also an attempt to provide a framework for the consideration of the doctrinal controversies. Thus, ten general moral principles are given; they are, in fact,the development of the golden rule which is appealed to in the interreligious controversies and the ethics of disagreement.