It is also worth pointing out that Ricaut himself used the phrase “On dit”, which is Latin for “It is alleged”. Nevertheless, Bayle ([36], p. 38; [37]) is convinced that Father Scaliger discovered the Covenant in a monastery somewhere in the Middle East. Morrow, in support of Bayle, is persuaded that Scaliger brought it to France, where it was eventually deposited in the library of the French King ([17], p. 142; [38], p. 100). Father Scaliger, like Arpee (who studied the Covenants with the Christians of Persia), was not proficient in classical languages or well-versed in Islamic studies, meaning it is highly unlikely that he forged the document. Ultimately, many scholars over the centuries have argued for the authenticity of all of these Covenants. According to Morrow, individuals and groups who oppose the Covenants—and Islam in general—use “the hermeneutics of suspicion” to widen the gap between Muslims and Christians and to fulfill their own self-fulfilling prophecies about Prophet Muhammad [39].
Nevertheless, Muhammad’s Covenants offer leaders of Muslim nations a blueprint for advancing pluralism, a concept that is frequently overlooked in discussions about “Islamic values”. The notion of “nation” itself remains a topic of perennial debate; adding the “Muslim” before “nation” complicates the matter even further. According to Saunders, the word ummah, or Muslim nation, is most closely linked to the term “people”, and is thought to be a cognate of the Hebrew am and ummetha ([40], p. 306). Reflecting such usage, “ummah has been historically translated as ‘nation’, and is often used in Arabic to denote the Western concept of ‘nation’, e.g., al-Umam al-Muttahida (the United Nations)” ([40], p. 306). When Prophet Muhammad rose to prominence in the seventh century, the ummah was “marked by a pervasive new moral tone”, but eventually morphed into “a state of mind, a form of social consciousness, or an imagined community which united the faithful in order to lead a virtuous life” ([41], p. 50). Furthering the discussion of the ummah, Tibi suggests that it is wrong to conceptualize the ummah as coterminous with Islam’s “righteous believers” because “Islam has always been characterized by complexity and diversity” ([42], pp. 128–29). The ummah can also be used as a political term that signifies a united and diverse nation based on a “universalist creed” ([43], pp. 236–38). This creed is rooted in egalitarianism and equality; it allows non-Muslim religious and cultural groups into the “community of believers”.
1. Exploring Religious Pluralism in Islam
Scholars of pluralism, such as Eck, suggest that four elements must be in-place if a community—or in this context, a nation—aims to consider itself “pluralistic”. First, “pluralism is not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity” [44]. Eck implies that pluralism is not a given in socially diverse societies, and that reaching a state of pluralism requires genuine social interactions and the building of authentic relationships. Second, Eck states “pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking of understanding across lines of differences” [44]. While religious tolerance, broadly speaking, encourages a level of respect for religious traditions, it does little to counter ignorance and stereotypes of religious communities. Tolerance, Eck argues, reproduces old patterns of division and violence; as a result, it “is too thin a foundation for a world of religious difference and proximity” [44]. Tolerance also does not require Muslims and Christians to know anything about each other. In essence, Eck calls on individuals and groups to move beyond the “indifference” of tolerance and towards the “celebration of difference” as found in in the pluralist tradition. Pluralism can be further distinguished from tolerance in another other way. While pluralism treats religious diversity as something to be celebrated in order to produce positive social changes, tolerance can be said to encourage social isolation and impenetrable social group boundaries. The third feature of pluralism, as put forth by Eck, is that pluralism “is not relativism, but the encounter of commitments” [44]. In this regard, pluralism can be seen as open and supportive of various religious values and institutions. Finally, Eck’s last feature of pluralism stresses the importance of inter-religious dialogue, which she summarizes as “encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism” [44]. She adds: “Dialogue means both speaking and listening, and that process reveals both common understandings and real differences” [44]. Eck’s fourth feature of pluralism follows Kamali in that pluralism “does not simply aim at tolerance of the other but
