수피주의에 나타난 종교적 다원주의 사상 연구

Abstract

This article aims to study the idea of religious pluralism in the Islamic Mysticism or Sufism. Since the 20th century the Muslim society has experienced the most frequent inter-denominational and inter-ethnic conflicts in the world. In this context, it is expected that the rediscovery of the pluralistic values in the Islamic tradition itself will help modern Muslims to develop new means necessary to coexist with other religious worshipers including Christians, Jews and Buddhists in the global society of the 21st century. According to John Hick, religious pluralism means a mutual acceptance of the world religions as different but equally valid relationships to the ultimate reality. He also points out that it is an error to say that religious pluralism is a product of post-Enlightenment western liberalism. He stresses that mystic thinkers of all the great religious traditions such as Meister Eckhart, Maimonides, Ibn ‘Arabī and Rūmī preached the basic pluralist ideas. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a modern Muslim philosopher, also points out that it is in the perspective of Sufism that the most profound encounter of Islam with other traditions has been made. Ibn ‘Arabī(1165-1240) and Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī(1207-1273) are considered as early Sufi thinkers who have established the concept of Waḥdat al-adyān(the transcendental unity of religions), which is very similar to John Hick’s concept of religious pluralism. Ibn ‘Arabī’s idea of religious pluralism originated from the concept of Waḥdat al-wujūd(The unity of Being), which explains that God creates the universe to manifest the fullness of His own nature. According to him, God’s self-manifestation(tajallī) takes diverse and different forms in accordance with the creature’s capacity. Ibn ‘Arabī thought that religious pluralism is a natural consequence of the diverse appearances of God’s tajallī. Rūmī, who has been influenced by Ibn ‘Arabī, also thought that all the religions are essentially one, even though they look different in forms. That’s why he considered it necessary to go beyond dogmatic barriers of a particular religion to reach the Reality. Religious pluralism doctrine of Sufism contributed a lot in the propagation of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. Many Sufi orders(tarīqa) in India were generally tolerant to the non-Muslims. Especially the Qadiriyya order was famous for its pluralistic views towards Hinduism. For example, Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī(1366~1424) described the Hindus as adherents to the religions of Abraham and said that their scriptures contain the universal message of God. The religious pluralism of the Qadiriyya has influenced the tolerant religious policy of the Mughal Empire. For example, Dara Shikih(1615-1659), a prince of the Mughal Empire as well as a famous devotee of Ibn ‘Arabī, thought that the prophets had been sent by God to India to spread the Divine Revelation. He was responsible for the translation of many Hindu works, including Bhagavad Gītā, Yoga Vasistha, Upanishads, into Persian in the mid-17th century.