“Difference” in the Qur’an

Abstract

This article seeks to explain and analyze the concept of cultural ikhtilaf (difference)
in the Qur’an. Islam introduces a model for human communication
among cultures at the individual and group levels that is based on human
values that guarantee a person’s dignity and human rights. The principle of
difference in Islam means accepting the “other,” namely, the different person,
by establishing relations based on acquaintance, dialogue, sharing, and
reciprocity. Difference became an important conceptual tool in the framework
of traditional Muslim societies’willingness to accept diversity and has
remained an important part of Muslim discourse.1
The different person is not a mere independent isolated unit living within
his/her own world and whose main concern is to protect himself/herself
and his/her identity from loss and forgetfulness. Rather, he/she is characterized
by his/her communicative and productive nature and entity, which are
delineated by mutual dependence on the “other” while maintaining the independence
of the “other.” The “other” also has an independent and confident
character that qualifies him/her to establish a communicative and reciprocal
relationship that seeks to achieve public advantage.
The “different” person can prove his/her truth, since “difference” is used
in a saying based on evidence,2 and the established truth based on this evidence
grants its holdermoral and logical confidence, therebymaking him/her
more open to the “other.” In addition, evidence indicates the power of argumentative
logic and high epistemological level of those who differentiate.
The concept of difference, while based on rationality and logic, also carries
a moral dimension as a complementary unity.As a result, therefore, difference
turns out to be a fundamental element in establishing a civilized creative
society ...