Three religions, but a single message for all mankind

Last week’s call by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia for interfaith dialogue involving scholars and intellectuals representing Islam, Christianity and Judaism is a significant move and quite timely, given the degree of religious misunderstanding that there is in the world today. Religion has always been a central driver of social and political change, particularly in the Middle East, and any effort to open up interfaith exchanges could be extremely helpful in defusing the potentially serious consequences of conflicts between the different communities.
However, for the proposed dialogue to bear fruit, its agenda should not be defined by political considerations, but rather by the basic moral values of justice, mercy, love, brotherhood, dignity, freedom, accountability, and equality. Religious diversity, the conference should demonstrate, is something to be celebrated and sustained. In addition, Muslims will need to speak with one voice if they want to make any impact on future talks with the other faiths.
King Abdullah’s call for dialogue among the world’s three great monotheist religions is not the first initiative of its kind, of course, as similar forums have been organised in the past by regional and international academic and religious institutions. Hassan bin Talal, the former Crown Prince of Jordan, in the 1980s led impressive efforts to bring together representatives of Islam and Christianity to talk about their common moral values that could be used to advance human welfare and prosperity.
In the Gulf region, the most recent interfaith conference was convened in Qatar with notable participation from scholars and clerics representing the three religions “of the Book”. But this newest initiative from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to bring the three together in Spain in mid July has a special significance, primarily because it has come from Saudi Arabia, long mistakenly viewed as a symbol of religious fanaticism and cultural conservatism.
In the post-September 11 era, Saudi Arabia has come under criticism from the West for allegedly promoting a religious and educational system that promotes a culture of hate. In a way, the move also signifies the expanding role of Saudi Arabia from a symbol of the Islamic Umma (community) to a force of interfaith reconciliation for the common good of humanity. By taking such an initiative, Saudi Arabia wants to project the true face of Islam as a source of tolerance and accommodation that might be utilised to promote world peace and coexistence. It is also drawing on an established tradition of dialogue deriving from the Quran, the Sunna (traditions of the Prophet) and a series of experiences throughout Arab-Islamic history. This fact was emphasised in May during an intra-Islamic conference, hosted by Saudi Arabia in Mecca.
In fact, the conference’s final statement mentioned the history of dialogue with the Christian community in Medina at the time of the Prophet, which is known as the “Compact of Medina”. The Holy Quran urges Muslims to talk to People of the Book (Verse 64 of Al Umran Chapter): “O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah. That we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.”
Interfaith dialogue should establish the common moral ground shared by the three religions which we in the Muslim world believe comes direct from Allah Almighty. It is not the business of any interfaith forum to get bogged down in theological differences as this would be a recipe for failure.If the three religions have a divine message for humanity, then this message derives from cherished moral ideals that need to be explored and shared to find new ways of dealing with the global challenges currently facing humanity. These challenges include promoting cultural diversity, fostering peaceful resolution of conflicts, enhancing environmental protection, reducing economic hardships, expanding access to resources, and safeguarding human rights.
The mere fact that the call for interfaith dialogue has been broadly welcomed by representatives of the three religions in itself suggests a promising outcome for the forum. But exploring common ground is not enough; the talks need also to inspire the world’s political and business leaders to bring about real, positive changes for the benefit of individuals and communities around the globe. If that were to happen, existing efforts to promote justice and generate respect and recognition for oppressed people’s rights and to address global conflicts through peaceful means would be given a significant boost. For Muslims, there is an additional benefit to these talks; the forum gives us a precious window of opportunity to demonstrate to the world that Islam is a system of sound, universal moral values.
Muhammad Ayish is Dean of the College of Communications at the University of Sharjah

Food for thought: It is time that Muslims of all languages and English speaking people begin to refer to Allah as God, not as Allah. Allah of course simply means 'God' so why create a difference in perception by labelling God as Allah? If an article, book, etc. is predominantly in English than should not all references be in English? Why can we not say God instead of Allah? Surely, something as simple as this would re-inforce the commonalities and similarities between Christianity and Islam.