I am glad that the Arch Bishop of Canterbury  the Rt Rev. Justin Welby was prepared to engage with Islam and people of other faiths. He is willing to ask their leaders honest, awkward and sometimes embarrassing questions! He recently said:

Islamism is everything to do with Islam, and Muslim leaders must take responsibility

When I was based in the UK and a member of the general Synod of the Church of England I piloted a private members bill on sharing our faith in Jesus Christ joyfully and sensitively with people of other faiths or of no faith. I suggested to do any thing else would be tantamount to institutional discrimination,  We would be depriving people of other faiths the opportunity to consider the truth claims of Jesus.

I was born and educated in India and learnt to confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior  in a religiously plural society. I learnt how to engage with my brothers and sisters with other faiths with deep respect, humility and a generous hospitality.  Here are my musings about sensitive dialogue with people of other faiths or of no faith with a humble confidence in the quest for truth.

CARING ENOUGH TO CONFRONT:

True dialogue is not about patting each other on the back and saying “yes! yes!” but engaging with others and trying to understand difference with integrity and empathy. In order to understand and appreciate differences we must have genuine curiosity and respect for the other. Protect yourself from making judgements before you understand differences. Remember differences is not to be viewed qualitatively as being superior or inferior or even as good or bad. Just learn to appreciate differences and respect it for what it is. There are reasons for differences in terms of geography, climate, culture , religious beliefs, political power and economic prosperity or the lack of it.

THE ART OF ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS:

To ask good questions is an art form. Curiosity is the precursor for learning. Focus on the issues, never attack the person or intrude into someones personal space. Ask the What? Where? And When? questions. This is to know the actual facts, only then do you ask the Why questions to enable better comprehension. Then comes interpretation.

Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation it requires patience, sensitive linguistic skills in order to be able to nuance and refine our levels of understanding. True understanding offers us the ability to be empathic ie. the ability to get into some one else shoes or skin. With Comprehension comes humility and the joy of discovery. What is does not often relate to what something appears to be.

A COHESIVE VISION FOR THE COMMON GOOD AND A COMMON SET OF VALUES :

It is important to explore common ground with people from other faiths only then will we be able to know and understand what is acceptable and reasonable in a given culture or historical period of time. It also helps with self awareness and helps us to see the plank in our own eyes rather than focus on the speck in some one else eyes.

ISLAMOPHOBIA DOES NOT HELP:

Islam as a religion gets a lot of bad press and there is no doubt that many of us are guilty of Islamophobia, or prejudice. When you study the Quran you realize that there is a tremendous sense of logic and rationality that is in evidence. Islamic history has a great tradition of debate. What many people do not realize is that during the dark ages in Europe manny of the great European classics , philosophy and ancient learnings were completely lost. The only reason we have access to them today is because Islamic scholars had translated them into Arabic and so they were preserved for us. The world owes. Great debt to Islam for preserving these great works.

In this brief piece I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Islamic theology to the monotheistic view of God. The divine reality is wholly transcendent and almost unknowable. This assumed that the directions of God required total compliance. Therefore any sense of Non compliance was deemed to be Haram and one who lives in this state of unbelief is a kafir or an unbeliever.

NECESSARY ATTITUDES THAT NEED TO BE CULTIVATED IN ANY INTERFAITH CONVERSATION;

When we engage with peoples religious beliefs we need to take off our shoes in order to convey that we are entering into someones sacred space. It is Holy ground! Therefore respect, courtesy and patience are required to understand some ones sacred beliefs, In this process of building bridges there is a proper place to inquire and confront each other about values, vision and acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and pronouncements made in the name of a particular deity or faith.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS FOR CIVIC PEACE:

This bring me to the truth that there is a great responsibility given to the majority in any faith community and to its leaders to explain the nature of the truth that is believed and to call out and correct deviant behavior. This requires the courage and integrity to stand up to inflammatory words and actions said or done by any radical or extreme lunatic fringe, which necessarily implies a such fringe groups are necessarily a minuscule minority.

The Leadership in a faith community must speak up, rebuke and if necessary refute any errant or irresponsible behavior by a vocal fringe element or of a minority that has gone rogue they exist in all our faith communities. The trouble sadly is that the silent majority are scared and fearful of retribution by the radical fringe. They do not want to be inconvenienced by the truth. Therefore unless the vast majority who tend to be moderate, sensible and responsible people speak up, the radical extreme fringe can easily hijack the community and hold them to ransom. There is no point then saying that this action or words do not represent the mainstream position and blame the hot heads as if to wash are hand off any responsibility. This is the denial of truth and an abdication of responsibility and accountability.

The silence is deafening! Sensible and wise opinions are conspicuous by their absence. We must all be willing to express our views without fear and confront ignorance, prejudice and hatred in all communities but particularly our own.

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS FOR THEY ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD:

Let us try to work for peace and build bridges of friendship with those who are different from us. Building Bridges with those who differ from us necessitates engaging with  people of faith through love, respect and  sensitive understanding. This requires integrity, courage, knowledge, wisdom and humble leadership. May God enable us to be such people of faith that we work for peace, stability and mutual respect and understanding for the common good.