A Review and evaluation of the conciliar discourse on islam: fifty years later

Nakon četrnaest stoljeća uglavnom prožetih obostranim polemikama i sukobima između kršćana i muslimana, Katolička crkva je na Drugome vatikanskom koncilu učinila jedan epohalan zaokret u svojem odnosu prema pripadnicima islamske religije. Naime, prvi put u svojoj povijesti učiteljstvo Crkve se, na Koncilu, službeno i pozitivno izjasnilo o islamu. To je učinilo u dva navrata: u Dogmatskoj konstituciji o Crkvi Lumen gentium (br. 16) i, opširnije, u Deklaraciji o odnosu Crkve prema nekršćanskim religijama Nostra aetate (br. 3). U ozračju obilježavanja završetka pedesete obljetnice Drugoga vatikanskog koncila, članak želi upravo podsjetiti i vrednovati odlučujući obrat koncilskog govora o islamu. U tu svrhu, autor najprije kontekstualizira koncilske tekstove o islamu, donosi i tumači njihov sadržaj te kritički vrednuje njihove domete i granice. Najveća pozornost posvećena je deklaraciji Nostra aetate, koja se dandanas smatra kao magna charta kako međureligijskog, tako i kršćansko-muslimanskog dijaloga. U zaključku se ističe kako koncilski poticaji prema islamu ni nakon pola stoljeća nisu izgubili od svoje aktualnosti i važnosti. U jednom uvelike izmijenjenom i globaliziranom svijetu, koji razdire ekonomska kriza, vojni sukobi i širenje različitih oblika fundamentalizama, kršćani i muslimani pozvani su bolje upoznati jedni druge, zajedno svjedočiti svoju vjeru u jedinoga Boga te surađivati za opće dobro društava i sredina u kojima žive.After fourteen centuries of mostly mutual polemics and conflicts between Christians and Muslims, the Catholic Church has made a monumental turn in its relation to members of religion of Islam at the Second Vatican Council. Namely, for the first time in its history the Church Magisterium has made official positive statements on Islam at the Council. This occurred in two instances: in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium on the Church (no. 16) and, more extendedly, in the Declaration Nostra aetate on the relation of the Church towards non-Christian religions (no. 3). In the atmosphere of marking the ending of the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, the article wishes to remind and evaluate this monumental turn in the conciliar discourse on Islam. For that purpose the author contextualises conciliar texts on Islam, presents and interprets their contents, and critically evaluates their reach and boundaries. The author focuses mostly on the declaration Nostra aetate that is still considered to be magna charta of interreligious and, therefore, also Christian-Muslim dialogue. In the conclusion the author points out that conciliar incentive towards Islam has not lost its relevancy and importance even today, fifty years after the Council. In this largely different and globalised world, torn apart by the economic crisis, military conflicts, and the spread of various forms of fundamentalism, Christians and Muslims are called to get to know each other more, to jointly testify their faith in one God, and to cooperate for the common good of society and areas in which they live