"Build trust and listen"
Leading Islamic scholar urges greater dialogue and trust between faiths
Generous Love Conference, Harrogate, March 28
A leading Islamic scholar has urged a conference for Christians, meeting in Harrogate, to reach out the hand of friendship to Muslims and develop greater trust between those of other faiths. Dr. Ataullah Siddiqui, Director of the Markfield Institute in Leicester, was a keynote speaker at the Generous Love Conference on March 28, held by the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds at St Mark's Church, Harrogate. Other speakers included the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser on Interfaith Relations, Canon Guy Wilkinson, and the Archdeacon of Southwark, the Ven. Dr Michael Ipgrave.
Dr Siddiqui, the author of Christian-Muslim Dialogue in the Twentieth Century, and a Senior Research Fellow at The Islamic Foundation, told the conference that dialogue was vital. "It is our responsibility to relate and co-operate with those of other faiths" he said. "The Christian and Muslim situation in Britain is a unique one. Any success here will be a very helpful and an important contribution to the for the future Christian Muslim relations."
"People who enter into interfaith dialogue are looked at with suspicion and doubt" said Dr Siddiqui. "Interfaith has a bad press in our own community and in general." But he said that it was an important work which was especially important as a new generation of Christian and Muslims grew up. "The Christian and Muslim context in Britain is a serious one" he warned, "because the next generation of Muslims and Christians are growing in mass culture, side by side, with mistrust of each other, not informed by local politics but by international politics and the international economic situation."
Dialogue, he said, was about a joining in spiritual witness with shared values to a secular society. It was also about listening and learning from one another, and he went on to say that sincerity, humility and spirituality were the characteristics which communicated and influenced those of other faiths. "Personally I have been blessed by many Christians. It was not how intellectual or powerful they were but what influenced me was their spirituality."
Generous Love
During the Conference, the Ven. Dr Michael Ipgrave introduced the study document, Generous Love produced by the Anglican Communion Network for Inter Faith Concerns. He spoke of the need for "partnerships for transformation" with those of other faiths, working together on common areas of social concern and building trust.
Another speaker was Bishop John Packer, who said in a recorded interview for the conference, that the issues being discussed at the conference were of vital importance both locally and internationally. “I also think that interfaith work is crucial to the life of the whole world, not least in the relationships between the western democracies and the Islamic world at the beginning of the Obama presidency.”
Hear Bishop John’s interview on the role of interfaith dialogue and understanding here.