The Bridge

January 2008, Issue No. 27
The Journal of the Churches' Agency for Inter Faith Relations in Scotland

The next issue of The Bridge will be published on February 12, 2007.  Items for inclusion should reach me by February 11.

Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of CAIRS unless otherwise specifically stated.  Most news items are links to other news sources, for whom CAIRS accepts no liability for accuracy. We take reasonable precautions to check for viruses but you are strongly recommended to carry out your own checks as CAIRS will not take responsibility for any damage caused as a result of virus infection.

CAIRS Events

Thursday, February 7, 2008.
CAIRS Annual Meeting (7pm) and Annual Lecture (7.30pm)
HG Bishop Angaelos, of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Moderator of CCIFR, will speak on "Orthodox Spirituality and Inter Faith Relations"
Augustine United URC, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.
ALL WELCOME

Friday, April 18, 2008 (provisional)
What is the Baha'i Faith?
A study day in the "Christianity and Scotland's Other Faiths" series to be held in Scottish Churches' House, Dunblane. 
Further details will be circulated in due course.

Thursday, September 25, 2008
Jesus and Other Faiths
A study day in the "Christianity and Scotland's Other Faiths" series to be held in Scottish Churches' House, Dunblane. 
Further details will be circulated in due course.

We are also planning a Saturday visit to the Synagogue of the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation and a Sunday visit to a Sikh Gurdwara in Glasgow. 
Further details will be circulated in due course.

Christian Bridge building

Shared humanity
Tolerance was shown at Temple Address when we ate together - Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Sikh and Christian. Our dietary requirements may have betrayed our religious differences, but our appreciation of fine food and conversation showed our shared humanity. Together we debated, sometimes disagreeing but also finding points of consensus as we asked how we could build a better society together.
Joel Edwards writing in idea, Jan/Feb 2008

More than tolerance
The 'your voice' page of the print version of idea contains a number of interesting letters following the previous issue's articles about tolerance.  In one, Elma Soebie, suggests that Jesus did much more than practice tolerance towards tax-collectors and the like.  "Our Lord tends to show a loving concern for those who disagree with him rather than mere tolerance.  I furmly believe that with his help we should follow in his footsteps" [Hear, hear! Ed.]

Building Bridges with Islam

Bishop's visit to Central Scotland Islamic Centre
It is now commonplace for people of one religious tradition to visit people of another religion.  With much negative press about religion as a whole; internal warring factions and religion against religion; the excellent work which is on going in communities when religious people come to talk and work together is often overlooked. On 8 Jan. David Chillingworth, Bishop of St. Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and Dominic Ind, the Rector of St. Saviour's Episcopal Church, Bridge of Allan, met with Imam Arif Hansrot and members of the Islamic Centre in Stirling.  They were greeted with the normal graciousness and hospitality which so many mosques offer, and is particularly characteristic of Imam Arif.  A fruitful discussion was had touching on topics such as the Church not being the force it might have been for previous generations of Scots and how Muslims in Scotland develop their faith in a minority context. The discussion after the visit highlighted the many parallels that could be made between churches and mosques.  There are of course differences between these two great world religions but there is much that unites.  The Diocese covers East Central Scotland, and despite much of it being rural, is committed to developing inter faith work.  In September 2007, we opened the Scottish Centre for Inter Faith and Spirituality  at St. Saviour's, Bridge of Allan.  This is a centre for the Diocese and anyone else who wishes to use it, to promote positive faith relations across Scotland. Pictures from the visit can be viewed here. (pdf, 44Kb)

Muslim and bishop met to boost understanding
A Muslim Iman and a bishop met as part of Edinburgh's Inter-Faith week. Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, the Inter-Faith representative of the Muslim Council of Britain conversed with the Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh, Brian Smith, at a public event in St. John's Church, Edinburgh. The event was an attempt to increase co-operation and understanding between the Muslim and Christian communities. Shaykh Mogra and Bishop Brian spoke of their reactions to "A Common Word", the call from Muslim scholars to the Christian and Jewish communities to work together for a more peaceful and spiritual world, showing that the call to peace and harmony is common to the Hebrew Bible, New Testament and the Qu'ran.
Evening News, Dec. 4

Progressive Scottish Muslims
This is a blog by Amanullah De Sondy, Glasgow University, which hopes to open up many critical and timely topics of discussion for the next generation of Scottish Muslims to start thinking, pondering and reflecting on their words and actions as believers in Islam rather than accept the usual platitudes from the usual suspects! The time is right for Progressive Scottish Muslims to raise their voices! Aman addresses a whole range of issues including relations between Muslims and people of other faiths.  One example being: "Food is a way of understanding and learning about differences. On a recent visit to Israel, I sat between a Palestinian and an Israeli, who argued that the chickpeas based fried balls we were eating, better known as the 'Falafel', belonged exclusively to their community. A hesitant smile came to their faces when I asked if it was possible to share the 'falafel', in the same way that the holy land could be shared. In the words of Voltair, 'Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity'. And so I am left wondering, if the simple act of eating together, can accomplish, more than just empty stomachs."
Progressive Scottish Muslims, Jan. 10

Hajj Diary
The BBC's Imtiaz Tyab performed the Hajj last month and wrote a diary of his experiences for the BBC News website.  This can be read at the BBC News website on the following pages Hajj 1, Hajj 2, Hajj 3, and Hajj 4
Na'eem Raza also performed the Hajj last year, for the ninth time, and it is hoped to include some of his reflections in a future issue of The Bridge.

Muslims are also Scots, so treat us the same
Half of Scots see Muslims as a cultural threat, according to a report published by the Scottish Government this week.  The report also found that while 4 per cent of people would object to an Asian teacher, 21 per cent would do so if it was a Muslim teacher. In a revealing interview with The Scotsman, Osama Saeed, a member of the Muslim Council of Scotland, called for better understanding between the majority of Scots and Muslims, who make up 0.8 per cent of the population. 
You can read the interview and over 100 comments on it at The Scotsman, Dec. 14


Building Bridges with Jews

Holocaust Remembrance
Paper Clips is the moving and inspiring documentary film that captures how the middle school students of Whitwell in Tennessee responded to lessons about the Holocaust-with a promise to honour every lost soul by collecting one paper clip for each individual exterminated by the Nazis. Despite the fact that they had previously been unaware of and unfamiliar with the Holocaust, their dedication was absolute. Their plan was simple but profound. The amazing result, a memorial railcar filled with 11 million paper clips (representing 6 million Jews and 5 million gypsies, homosexuals and other victims of the Holocaust) which stands permanently in their schoolyard, is an unforgettable lesson of how a committed group of children and educators can change the world one classroom at a time. Whitwell is a small, rural community of less than two thousand people nestled in the mountains of Tennessee. Its citizens are almost exclusively white and Christian. In 1998, the children of Whitwell Middle School took on an inspiring project, launched out of their principal's desire to help her students open their eyes to the diversity of the world beyond their insulated valley. What happened would change the students, their teachers, their families and the entire town forever… and eventually open hearts and minds around the world.  Paper Clips Website.
The DVD of the film may be hired (possibly at no cost!) from LoveFilm  or purchased on DVD from Sendit  for £6.39 with free postage. 
Reviews of the film, some of which are positive, others less so, can be read at CD Wow, Buzz Flash, and DVD Review.
"From a parent's perspective, this may be the best way to introduce a young mind to the horrors of the Holocaust. "Paper Clips" focuses more on the students and their project rather than the harsh details of their subject."

Christmas and Chanukah are about radical hope
Christmas and Chanukah share a spiritual message: that it is possible to bring light and hope in a world of darkness, oppression and despair. But whereas Christmas focuses on the birth of a single individual whose life and mission is itself supposed to bring liberation, Chanukah is about a national liberation struggle involving an entire people who seek to remake the world through struggle with an oppressive political and social order: the Greek conquerors (who ruled Judea from the time of Alexander in 325 BCE) and the Hellenistic culture that they sought to impose.
Rabbi Michael Lerner writing in Ekklesia, Dec. 24

Rabbi addresses Mosque
Rabbi Lerner (see above) was the first Jew to be invited to speak to the Denver Mosque. His topic was about the need to switch US foreign policy from the paradigm of domination to the paradigm of generosity. It included a discussion of the current dynamics of fear and how that could be changed to a new prevalence of hope.  The reaction to the talk was extremely favourable, with several of the Muslims who had opposed the Rabbi speaking at their mosque telling him that they had never heard a Jew so willing to understand their perspective and acknowledge their pain.
Tikkun, Jan. 9

Building Bridges with the Chinese community 

Relations with Other Faiths
This month's feature from Church of Scotland Inter Faith Support Worker, Iain Stewart, is about the Chinese New Year.
Church of Scotland
 

Building Bridges Together

May I call you friend? is the title of a resource for individuals and groups interested in sharing their faith with people of other faiths.  Produced by the Inter Faith Relations Reference Group and the Evangelism Strategy Group of the Methodist Church, it is a collection of studies, projects and resources for further exploration, plus papers on evangelism and inter-faith dialogue which set out some of the theological principles against which the studies were written. What do dialogue and evangelism have in common? Are they poles apart or ends of a spectrum with most people occupying a place somewhere in the middle? Would dialoguers and evangelists say similar things to people who seek to relate to members of other faith communities or completely different things? This collection of studies enable us to ask awkward questions of all of us and help identify some principles which we can agree on and others that we will answer differently. Price £3.50.  For further details and to order, visit mph.

Obstructions to Bridge Building

'Mistaken policy'
Muslim thinker Manzoor Moghal accuses secularists of teaming up with practitioners of what he termed "political correctness" for the decline of the Nativity play. "I can assure you Muslims do not take offence at Nativity plays," says Mr Moghal, chairman of the Leicester-based Muslim Forum. "Britain is a Christian country and the majority of people are Christians. We enjoy your festivities and we like to learn about them. "This is a mistaken, misguided and misrepresentative policy: we should celebrate the freedom to celebrate our faith."
BBC News, Dec. 4

Bishop warns of 'Islamic areas'
Michael Nazir-Ali suggested that some areas have become out-of-bounds to non-Muslims in an article published in the Sunday Telegraph.
BBC News, Jan. 6,

The Bishop then published clarification of his comments in the following terms:  "The main thrust of this article is to note that successive governments have failed to foster an integrating vision for Britain based on its Christian foundations. The fact of 'separated' communities has already been noted by distinguished commentators such as the Cantle Report about disturbances in Northern cities, and Trevor Phillips, the Chair of the Equality Commission. Politicians, have also recognised its reality. Such 'segregation' will end only when the hosts can offer proper hospitality, not mere tolerance, and other communities can respond with openness and respect for the well-springs of British values. I deeply regret any hurt and do not wish to cause offence to anyone, let alone my Muslim friends, but unless we diagnose the malaise from which we all suffer we shall not be able to discover the remedy. I hope that what little I have said will lead to a proper diagnosis and, therefore, to an appropriate remedy for separation in due course
Diocese of Rochester website, Jan. 8
Ekklesia, Jan.6

Christians in India's Orissa state campaign for protection from attacks
Christian groups and churches in Indian's eastern state of Orissa are demanding urgent protection, saying they have been hounded by Hindu extremists, with reports of nine people being killed in attacks since Christmas - writes Anto Akkara. "Christians are brutally attacked by the fundamentalists and law and order is [wholly] missing especially in Kandhamal where the fundamentalists have taken charge of the whole district," said Christian groups and churches in an appeal to India's National Human Rights Commission a few days ago.
Ecumenical News International, Jan. 3
"Some people have characterised the violence as a Hindu-Christian clash. This is wrong. Dalit Christians were clearly the targets and innocent victims." Christians leaders also said the authorities were preventing their relief bodies from distributing aid in the area affected by the violence.
Ecumenical News International, Jan. 10

Malaysian Christian leaders protest against ban on use of 'Allah'
Malaysian Christians have protested against a government ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims in the Islamic Southeast Asian nation. In a statement issued to the media on 7 January, the Christian Federation of Malaysia expressed "deep disappointment and regret" at the announcement by the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, Abdullah Zin, that only Muslims were allowed to use the word "Allah". Zin said the word "Allah" referred only to the Muslim God and that non-Muslims were banned from using the expression. Zin's comments followed a long-running government campaign against a Roman Catholic newspaper because its Malaysian-language section referred to "Allah" as a synonym for God. The latest ban has fuelled concern among Malaysia's non-Muslim population that the government was bolstering the status of Islam at their expense. "The word 'Allah' is a pre-Islamic word used by Arab Christians before Islam came into being," said Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing SJ, head of the Malaysian Christian Federation.
Ecumenical News International, Jan. 7