Scholarly Contributions

SPIRITUALITY AND GLOBAL POLITICS

Professor Abdul Aziz Said helped break new ground in many directions within global politics scholarship, bringing a focus on values, multiculturalism, religion and ethnicity, and an overall humanist and universalist approach within spaces that continue to rely on Western-centric thinking and a power politics framework. Perhaps the area in which Said pushed the envelope the most, however, is in linking spirituality with global politics. Considering the academic and policy spaces to which he was connected, doing so was no easy task. Yet despite any resistance he encountered, Said believed strongly that we cannot shy away from spirituality. Deeply influenced by his strong roots in the Sufi (Islamic mystical) tradition, he asserted that the contemporary world demands of us a new pattern of beliefs and practices rooted in spiritual values that connect humans with each other, the earth, and the Divine. By bringing spirituality into the conversation of global politics, Said was in many ways ahead of his time, but his wisdom is carried forward through the hundreds of students and other seekers who sought both his scholarly and his spiritual guidance for their peace work.

In a 2005 chapter titled “The Whole World Needs the Whole Word,” Said reflects,

Much of my life’s work has been constructed in imagining a cooperative future. I have, through my studies in international relations, Islam, spirituality and Sufism, education, and sustainable development attempted to fundamentally transcend the violence of nations and create a blueprint for the essential qualities necessary to establish a “nation of nations”: a world order predicated upon global cooperative politics enshrined in a free and hence peaceful polity. This work has ranged from considering the ethical dimensions of international political exchange to questions of development (equitable and sustainable economic development) and education (educating for global citizenship.) Yet, the most critical issue and often the most misunderstood and even avoided aspect of imagining a nation of nations is the spiritual existence of human beings.¹

Indeed, throughout his career Dr. Said urged a shift to a new phase of human development that can realize this vision of a cooperative “nation of nations” global politics. In the postscript to the 4th edition of his book, Concepts of International Politics in Global Perspective, coauthored with Charles O. Lerche, Jr. and Charles O. Lerche III, Said explains that we can think about humanity as being in an adolescent stage of development; just as adolescents may be physically grown but not yet emotionally developed, “we have the physical and technical means to create a global civilization, yet we still tend to see the world in terms of limited group identities derived from the past.”² This has caused us to respond to challenges with dangerous and even “childish” responses. The issues facing the contemporary world instead require a new set of answers “arising from a new pattern of faith and belief,” with “values that must be spiritual in nature.”³

Professor Said affirms that “achieving global consensus as the basis of a just world is possible,” yet for this vision to be achieved, “it cannot favor regions or identity groups but must be universal in its promise of benefits and opportunities.”⁴ Its principles must thus be spiritual, transcending material and cultural gaps. He defines spirituality as “a shift in consciousness that sees the whole of existence contained in the parts.”⁵ Spirituality is holistic, “holding all directions in simultaneous connection,” including horizontally, connecting one person with another and with all things, and vertically, by joining higher and lower levels of consciousness.⁶ He explains that every culture has a system of divine interpretation because “humans substantiate their ontological understanding of themselves and their connection to their environment through larger questions of existence historically facilitated through spiritual reflection.”⁷ Thus, every human being can be seen as having an innate capacity for spiritual connection. Importantly, Said notes that spirituality starts with the self-knowledge of the individual, who can then connect to others and shape communities. As he explains, knowing of one’s own authentic individuality “is also the precondition for recognition of the authentic individuality of other beings … This results in experiences of connectedness, profound understanding of linkages between means and ends, and spontaneous loyalty to causes that uplift the human spirit and enhance the integrity of created things”⁸ (see also Personal Transformation and International Politics). Politics are thus “inherently spiritual because our public life reflects our social values.”⁹ Said felt strongly that an “inner commitment to a vision of humankind’s place in the universe that gives priority to ethical thought and values over mere physical existence is a fundamental prerequisite for survival and, ultimately, prosperity on the planet.”¹⁰

Said wrote extensively on religion and conflict resolution, yet he was careful to distinguish between religion and spirituality. While religion generally refers to an institutional framework, specific theology, and a community of like-minded believers, spirituality “transcends the normal parameters of organized religion, suggesting a broader scope of human involvement that emanates from the inner essence of one’s being.”¹¹ He acknowledges that while most religious and ethical systems promote reciprocity and goodwill, “their institutions and outlooks are too frequently identified with just those aspects of the past that contribute to current division and conflict.”¹² Thus, religious traditions must be “reborn if they are to respond to contemporary spiritual needs.”¹³ Ultimately, spiritual values are nonpartisan and speak to the universal human need for transcendence, unity, and justice. He explains, “by spirituality, the point of reference is not the traditional sense of a set of religious principles or doctrines. Rather, the emphasis is placed upon the act of imagining oneself in relation to a larger whole.”¹⁴

Said’s scholarship on spirituality in global politics is heavily influenced by his interest and practice of Sufism (tasawwuf). Among the Sufi masters who influenced his scholarship are Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) and Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240), both of whom spoke of one’s inherent connection to divine love, which is universal, pluralistic, and transformative. On Ibn ‘Arabi, Said says he sees the world as constantly in the making, a “dynamic becoming” in which “by maturing in knowledge of self and God, the individual becomes a self-realized and active participant in God’s plan for humanity.”¹⁵ Religions typically fall into two parts, an exoteric or public version and an esoteric or spiritual version. Said explains that Sufism represents the esoteric, spiritual dimension of Islam. Yet despite its Islamic roots, he asserts that “Sufi mysticism has no more claims on Islam than physics does on Greece … Sufism is not a religion or specific doctrine; it simply underscores the purification of one’s inner self as the path to peace. It further affirms that the individual spiritual path is connected to our responsibilities in society” (see also Conflict Resolution and Spirituality).¹⁶

At the core of Sufism, Dr. Said explains, is a message of unity, peace, and reconciliation. The Sufi understanding of peace is rooted in tawhid, which underscores “the unity of God, the unity of the many streams of revelation, the unity of humanity, and ultimately the unity of existence.”¹⁷ The emphasis on unity does not deny the existence of differences. Rather, “multiplicity is due to a single reality being filtered through different points of view rather than the intrinsic nature of things … Sufis search out and discover the characteristics of unity in all things and situations.”¹⁸ Thus, at the heart of Sufi spirituality “is a respect for cultural pluralism that is inextricably linked to a recognition of the fundamental solidarity and connectedness of all human beings.”¹⁹

In a 2001 chapter with Dr. Nathan Funk titled “Peace in the Sufi Tradition: An Ecology of the Spirit,” Said explains that the spiritual precepts of unity, harmony, and justice not only apply to relations with other human beings, but also with non-human creations and the earth. Derived from tawhid, this ecological sensibility acknowledges that humans are “ultimately at one with the rest of creation through surrender to the presence of the Divine.”²⁰ Still, humans are “endowed with special privileges and responsibilities which reflect their actual capacities … The Earth and its resources are placed in the care of human beings as custodians for their preservation, development, and enhancement.”²¹ The spiritual principle of unity is thus a necessary and transformative alternative to power political approaches to contemporary wars and environmental crises. Said asserts that these modern challenges “demand responses inspired by love and identification, not fear”²² (see also Faith and Religion in International Politics).

As he concluded the 4th edition of his textbook on international politics, Said affirmed that “a humane, ecologically viable, new global system” is attainable, but it requires engagement of both the head and the heart. In the end, prioritizing “ethical thought and values over mere physical existence is a fundamental prerequisite for survival and, ultimately, prosperity on the planet.”²³

Notes