Transcript Slides: Universality of Liberation Theology

Universality of Liberation
Theology: One is Equal to All
and All are Equal to One
Dr. Saied Reza Ameli
Presented in IHRC’s conference
on:
Towards a New Liberation
Theology:
Reflections on Palestine
12th June 2005
Why Liberation Theology?
 Religion can not be neutral even if
it is secular?!



Religion exists to save people
from any deprivation and life
disturbance.
Religion has to solve individual as
well as social problems
It should by dynamic, otherwise it
will die
 Science can not be neutral even if
it is secular – science is alive if it
reduces the pain
Theology and Isolation
 Theology gradually became a topic of debate
amongst clerics, abstract from ordinary life
because of two isolations:


Isolation of theology from public life
Isolation of people from social products of
religion.
 These two isolations turned religion into a
historical context which turned out to be
‘museum types of ideas’.
End of All Past Production
 While in the age of globalization, the
trend for ‘endness’ became ‘archetype’
for presentation of all ‘new ideas’, it
seems society needs to return to the
human origin to purify all impurities
have been dominated the life.
 One such return is a return to the
involvement of religion in politics.
Liberation theology was considered as
a turning point for repoliticization of
religion and an action for
desecularization of politics (Levine,
1990:229).
Concept of Liberation Theology
 Liberation
theology is an
attempt for
liberating
people of the
world from
poverty and
oppression.
Sociology of Liberation
 On the other hand the sociology of Liberation is also
a consciousness raising concept among the
oppressed society.
 It is perhaps more than merely consciousness
raising, which has moved the sociology of liberation
to an activist type of work rather than an academic
discipline of thought.
 That activity is not on behalf of the oppressed, but it
is achieved by learning to see the world from their
perspective and joining with them.
 Liberation sociology means joining the Palestinian
homeless and the Palestinians who have lost their
children, fathers and mothers, so as to understand
what homelessness in your own home means.
Liberation Theology and Latin
America
 In the academic and activist literature Liberation
Theology introduced as a Christian Leftist Movement
which emerged in Latin American.
 Since emergence of liberation theology, it has
become a unique and permanent political movement
throughout Latin America; from Mexico to Chile, from
Nicaragua to Brazil, this movement has been
politically effective in merging together traditional,
religious values with a commitment to social activism
on behalf of the “poor and Oppressed” (Pottenger,
1989).
Not only in Latin America
 For Jim Tuck[1] (2005) Liberation theology didn't
begin with the Berrigan brothers or Bishop Ruiz, but it
goes back to l5th and l6th centuries. A remarkable
man Las Casas devoted the greater part of his 92
years on earth to ameliorating the non-Caucasian
people who lived in the vast Spanish empire.
 In reality liberation theology emerged by divine
prophet such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus and
Finally Mohammad.
 The were all fathers to the poor and they came to
support the oppressed.
Why Liberation Theology Emerged?
 For Harvey Cox (2005) Liberation theology
was largely a response to the three
coexistent social, religious and philosophical
change in Latin America.
 First, worsening social and economic
conditions for the majority of people in Latin
America in the 1950s created a desire and
expectations for change.
Why Liberation Theology Emerged?
 Secondly, the structural causes of poverty were
addressed in Latin American dependency theory, and
class-based inequities were identified in Marxist
critiques of capitalist systems. By the late 1950s a
revolutionary climate was apparent in the region,
exemplified by the Cuban Revolution of 1959.
 The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was the
third Major reason. Pope John XXIII opened the
council by expressing the hope that the Catholic
Church “might become once again…the church of the
poor.”
Two Important Nostalgias:
 Liberation theology is a response
towards two important local and global
nostalgias;
The first and the most important one is
nostalgia for justice.
 The second one is nostalgia of
metaphysical values.

How would Liberation Theology work
Universally and be Effective for
Palestine
 liberation theology
requires three
major elements to
work as a
Universal Solution:
 Return to God
 Selflessness
 Centrality of
Justice
1. Return to God
 We are all far from God whether we are Muslims,




Christians or Jews;
If we are not fair to God, we can not be fair to
ourselves and we cannot be fair to others.
To liberate Palestinians, one needs to see them as
creatures of the same God and one needs to see
them as members of their own community.
This requires Liberating other followers of faith and
force ‘the International Community’ to liberate God
from any attachment to ‘Chosen Community’.
The only Chosen People are the oppressed and the
poor and everyone are responsible to them.
Return to God and righteous act
 This will effect our practices on the earth
about ourselves and others: “So whoever
expects to encounter his Lord, let him act
righteously, and not associate anyone with
the worship of his Lord (Surat Al-Kahf,
Verses, 110).”
Universality of God’s Perception
 God has fragmented to many Gods; Muslims, Jews
and Christians and other religions divided God
metaphorically to variety of ‘God community’ which
means my God is different to your God.
 This does indeed effect consciously and
unconsciously our relationship with creatures of God.
 It effects our sympathy and commitment to the pain of
people.
 Whether or not they are members of our ‘Community
of God’?
Divinity and Mankind
 According to all divine messages there is no
differences between people except by their level of
closeness to God:
 O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and
female, and made you nations and tribes that you
may identify with one another. Indeed the noblest of
you in the sight of Allah is the most God weary
amongst you. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-aware
(Surat Al-Hujarat, versus 13)[1].
 [1] ‫یا ایهاالناس انا خلقناکم من ذکر و انثی و جعلناکم شعوبا و قبائل‬
(13 ‫ آیه‬،‫ ان هللا علیم خبیر )الحجرات‬،‫ ان اکرمکم عندهللا اتقیکم‬،‫لتعارفوا‬
2. Selflessness and caring



Selflessness, minimization of personal desires and
dogmatic attachments to nationality, ethnicity and
even religion are major requirements for caring for
oppressed and poor people.
This needs avoiding all things which can be
considered as ‘selfishness’.
‘Self’ here is not only a person, but it can cover all
‘collective centralities’ such as Eurocentrism,
Americocentrism and Zionism, which cause
demolishing and destruction of ‘others’ for the price
of supporting the ‘self’.
Selflessness
 Selflessness is a divine and mystical soul of all divine
religions which brings God’s spirit to all aspects of
life. Consequently, such ambition motivates one’s
‘caring’ tendencies, and even the sacrificing of life for
‘others’, rather than dominating, marginalizing,
torturing and executing ‘others’.
 Here is where the Palestinian problem becomes a
global issue for all human beings who care about
‘others’, here is the position at which ‘all become
equal to one and one becomes equal to all’; here is
the position at which one can observe unity within
diversity and diversity within unity.
3. Centrality of Justice
 Decentralization of ethnicity and
centralization of Justice for all human beings
is another major element of the ‘Universality
of Liberation Theology’. Here is the position
which advocates sociological approach to
the liberation of the Palestinian people.
The Chosen Society is the Oppressed
Society
 Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: Shall I let
you know about the kings of the Heaven?
Every powerless deprived[1].

[1] ‫ اال اخبرکم عن ملوک‬:‫قال رسول هللا صلی هللا علیه و اله‬
.(5943 ،‫اهل الجنه؟ کل ضعیف مستضعف )کنزالعمال‬
Future of the World
 In Islam the future is in the hands of those
whom kept the powerless deprived. It is
articulated that: And We desired to show
favour to those who were deprived in the
land, and to make them Imams, and to make
them the inheritors[1].

[1] ‫و نرید ان نمن علی الذین استضعفوا فی االرض و نجعلهم‬
.(5 ،‫ائمه و نجعلهم الوارثین )سوره القصص‬
Injustice and Corruption of the World
 Imam Ali said: Injustice is the mother of all sins[1].
 Imam Ali said: Injustice is destructive force[2]
 Imam Ali said: Oppressing the poor is worst
injustice[3].

[1] (804 ،‫ الظلم االم الرذائل )غررالحکم‬:‫قال علی علیه السالم‬
 [2] (6 ،‫ الجور ممحاه )غررالحکم‬:‫قال علی علیه السالم‬
 [3] ،‫ ظلم الضعیف افحش الظلم )نهج البالغه‬:‫قال علی علیه السالم‬
(31 ‫الکتاب‬
UN Statistic
 Palestinian
18%
82%
Palestinian
Rest of the World
refugees
(about 5
million)
represent
approximately
18% of the
total number
of refugees in
the world.
Number of Palestinian Refuges
4255126
2005
3737494
2000
2466516
1990
1863162
1980
1445022
1970
1136487
1960
870158
1953
0
500000 1000000 1500000 2000000 2500000 3000000 3500000 4000000 4500000
Food Insecurity in Palestine
 Food security in the occupied Palestinian
territory. Levels of food insecurity in the occupied
Palestinian territory (OPT) are high.
 Over a million Palestinians are food-insecure, and
another 975,000 are at risk of becoming so.
 This food insecurity is caused primarily by Israel’s
closure policy and movement restrictions, which have
resulted in massive increases in unemployment and
underemployment (up to 30% in the West Bank and
40% in the Gaza Strip). (Source: Humanitarian
Practice Network)
Worldwide Military Expenditure
Rest of
the World
32%
China
4% Japan
France Germany
4%
5%
3%
US
45%
UK
5%
Russia
2%
Conclusion Word
 According to
Universal Liberation
Theology, the issue
of Palestine can not
come to any
positive conclusion
unless world society
can globally move
to change ‘the
oppressive trend of
the world’.
Caring about Others
 This trend will not come
to any end unless world
society can end
selfishness by returning
to the God and have
great ambition to stand
for justice not only
because of justice but
because this is the
order of God
 God determinate
Justice in Returning to
God and only God.
Alarm and Hope
 Don’t forget that “injustice is
turning around, today it might
be far from Us, but tomorrow
it will be on Our doorstep”,
 Today Palestine, Tomorrow
your home.
 I am optimistic to the world,
because I can see the
dissident culture is
expanding. Dissident to all
‘injustice’; to all ‘immoral’
behavior. Let’s wish for a
day which there is no
oppression, there is no
poverty, and there is nothing
but peace, trust and
sympathy.