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The Bridge
February 2008, Issue No. 28
The Journal of the Churches' Agency for Inter Faith Relations in Scotland
February 12, 2008
The next issue of The Bridge will be published on March 13, 2007. Items for inclusion should reach me by March 12.
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
Friday, April 18, 2008 (confirmed)
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.
This will be led by Dr Maureen Sier.
Further details can be downloaded here.
To download and read pdf files you may need Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be obtained free-of-charge by clicking here.
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 visit to a Sikh Gurdwara in Glasgow on Sunday, June 8.
Further details will be circulated in due course.
Christian Bridge building
Why the Middle East needs Congregational Christians
In the middle east, we are in the heart of Islam. We know exactly what Islam is. We have many Muslim friends. Moreover, we have objectively studied Islam, from first hand sources in its ethnic language, under Muslim instructors, and listened to what they say of themselves.
Those who see Islam as identical to terrorism are erring and far from the truth. The truth is that there are Muslim terrorists, just as any other religious terrorists may exist, and the history of terrorism demonstrates this. There are also schools of fundamentalist Islam. Moderate Muslims in the Middle East are not few; they are increasing as a result of the many activities of enlightenment launched by more open Islamic societies and objective western institutions. Moderate Islam is promising; it is the best saviour of Islam from both fundamentalism and terrorism. I believe that the use of armed force will only strengthen Islamic fundamentalism and produce more acts of terrorism.
We would like to remind church historians that Christianity started in our territories, and the Eastern Fathers are those who discovered and formulated sound Christian doctrines, and composed the famous Nicene Creed, this succinct and eloquent treatise on Christianity.
Eastern Christians are still settled in the Middle East. In addition to this, the spirituality of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches of the Middle East is much better than when Protestant missionaries came. There are nowadays many charismatic circles in these Churches, and they now speak about a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and personal Christian commitment. Eastern Christians are currently reading the Bible and many organise Bible Study evenings. The best Arabic-speaking Biblical scholars are Catholics. This is the effect of Vatican II, clearly seen in the life of the eastern Catholic Churches.
In displaying a positive picture of Muslims and Eastern Christians, I don't want any of you to think for a second that the Congregational message is no longer needed in the Middle East. Congregationalism is an intrinsic part of the religious and cultural legacy of humanity. T has bestowed on human societies very precious traits; not least, democracy.
Our Eastern society, still today, more than any other time, needs the services, of Congregational Christians. The times have changed, the Middle east has changed, and methods of service should change. The Congregational church planters would change their methods if they were to come a time like this.
Rev Dr Issa Diab, Professor of Biblical Studies (OT) and Semitics, Lebanon, writing in the International Congregational Journal, reprinted by kind permission of the editor from the January 2008 issue of The Congregationalist.
Coptic Bishop Angaelos delivers CAIRS Annual Lecture
Earlier this month, those attending the CAIRS Annual Meeting and Lecture were privileged to hear Bishop Angaelos speak of the way in which Orthodox Spirituality informed and enabled inter faith relations. The Bishop highlighted the close relationship that Coptic Christians, who account for about 15% of the population, have with the Muslim majority in Egypt. He reminded his audience of the origins of monasticism hailing from the Desert Fathers including St Anthony, and pointed out many ways in which Eastern forms of Christianity are closer to Islam than those of the West. Na'eem Raza, Scottish president of the Islamic Society of Britain, compared listening to Bishop Angaelos to hearing an imam, and felt comforted and heartened by the Bishop's view of the importance of the family and was also impressed with the Coptic emphasis on fasting (twice weekly throughout the year).
Pope affirms concern for peaceful coexistence across the Arab world
In a meeting with Catholic leaders across the Arab world, Pope Benedict has said he shares "the concerns and hopes" of the people of these regions, noting how "the constant cycle of violence, insecurity and hatred makes coexistence very difficult, and can give rise to fears for the survival of your communities". The Pope gave guarantees of his support for the initiatives taken by the bishops "to contribute to creating socio-economic conditions that may help Christians remain in their own countries", and he asked "the entire Church to support such efforts". "The vocation of Christians in your countries is of particular importance", he observed. "As builders of peace and justice, they represent the living presence of Christ who came to reconcile the world... Hence the need to reaffirm and develop true communion and serene and respectful collaboration between Catholics of different rites. This will constitute an eloquent sign for other Christians and for the rest of society". For Catholics in those lands, "meeting members of other religions, Jews and Muslims, is a daily occurrence", said the Pope, noting that "the quality of relations between believers is particularly important, being both a testimony to the one God and a contribution to establishing more fraternal relations between individuals and between the various components of your societies".
Ekklesia, Jan. 20
Building Bridges with Islam
Evangelical Christians and Muslims meet for historic dialogue
The second meeting of an Evangelical Christian-Muslim Dialogue took place in Tripoli last month, and was heralded by participants as an important step forward in understanding between two faith traditions that have often been at loggerheads. The aim of the gathering in Libya, from 3-6 January, was to engage in conversation on the themes of "Human Nature and the Divine Presence."
Ekklesia, Jan. 16
Christians and Shia Muslims consider suffering together
Christians and Shia Muslims met in Luton last month to consider together the suffering of Jesus Christ with that of Imam Hussain. The idea was NOT to draw comparisons but simply to share what we believe and befriend one another. The organiser, David Jonathan, welcomed 100 or so Shia Muslims into a church. He commented, "It's not often that Muslims (Shia or Sunni) ask to come into church to hear about Jesus. This was a rare opportunity for us as Christians to enable Shia Muslims to learn about The Biblical Jesus rather than The Qur'anic one and also for us as Christians to witness a Shia Muslim's bearing, spirituality, and regard for The Bible." The Shia speaker, Maulana Kazmi a Shia leader/scholar, thinks it important that Shia Muslims understand the suffering of Jesus.
Islam & Muslims Training
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Building Bridges with Hindus
Relations with Other Faiths
This month's news, featuring the Hindu festival of Maha Shivratri, from Iain Stewart, the Church of Scotland Inter Faith Support Worker, is available here Iain also reports on a recent faith sharing meal that took place in Glasgow.
Building Bridges Together
The Contextual Theology Centre
The Contextual Theology Centre is located in the East End of London. Few areas have such a diversity of faiths and cultures, or as positive an experience of them living and working together. The Centre's purpose is to bring faith into an active dialogue with the context in which people live and work. It combines grassroots engagement and links with international centres of academic excellence. 'Contextual theology' is a two-way process. Doctrine is applied to the context in which congregations live out their faith. Their experience of discipleship in turn develops their relationship with God and their theological understanding.
Visit the website here.
Jewish and Muslim schools seek to build bridges
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has advertised for a Muslim schools adviser to develop links between Jewish, Muslim and other minority faith schools. "We hope to match schools to improve local neighbourhoods," Alex Goldberg, the board's community issues director, explained. He continued: "Existing links between Jewish and Muslim schools tend to be superficial, such as events once a year, rather than a continuing relationship. We hope to bring in educational programme providers covering such areas as sport, leadership, the environment and business ethics."
Ekklesia, Jan. 19
Guidelines for the funding of faith groups in Scotland
A paper has been produced by the Equality Unit of the Scottish Government to assist faith groups in formulating applications for project funding. A copy of the paper can be read here.
Paul Knitter Inauguration as Tillich Professor at Union Theological Seminary
In conjunction with the inauguration, on Feb. 19, of Professor Paul Knitter to the Paul Tillich Chair, the Poverty Initiative at the Union Theological Seminary in New York is presenting: "Religions of the World and Poverty: A Symposium." The Symposium will bring together renowned spokespersons from religious traditions around the world to meet with local activists, religious leaders, and poor people to explore ways of collaborating to achieve economic justice.
Full story here.
Obstructions to Bridge Building
Archbishop's comments on Sharia Law
The furore which greeted the comments made by Dr Rowan Williams is reminiscent of the reporting of the speech at Regensburg University by Pope Benedict last year. The Archbishop of Canterbury seemed to be suggesting that there may be a case for certain issues, eg family law, being dealt with under Sharia Law within the Muslim communities, in the same way as certain other religious institutions including both the Jewish community and the Church of Scotland are permitted to rule on certain matters under the framework of the British legal systems. In this context, what the Archbishop said may well be worth hearing. But the rumpus that has greeted the breaking news muddies the water. The original story broke at
BBC News, Feb. 7
This page has links to other comments on the story, including an interesting and thorough analysis by Alex Kirby
BBC News, Feb 11
A call for the disestablishment of the Church of England following the Archbishop's remarks is also reported.
Ekklesia, Feb.12
Ekklesia's reporting of the original comments and reaction can be traced here.
British mosques are more extreme than ours in Baghdad, warns Iraq's deputy PM
Mosques in Britain are more extreme than in Iraq, according to the country's deputy prime minister. Dr Barham Salih claimed some mosques in Blackburn would be banned in Iraq for the extremist messages they preach. After visiting mosques in Lancashire, Dr Salih said: "I am not surprised that you British are facing so many problems with extremists after what I saw in those mosques in Blackburn. What I saw would not be allowed in Iraq - it would be illegal." Daily Mail, Jan. 23
Daily Express, Jan. 23
Cultural cleansing?
Politicians and Christian leaders are supporting public campaigns and petitions against the construction of mosques which are being denounced for destroying Europe's Judaeo-Christian heritage. In several countries extreme-Right parliamentary parties are seeking constitutional change (sometimes by means of a referendum) to outlaw the construction of mosques and minarets.
Institute of Race Relations, Jan. 16
Malaysian opposition says government misusing Islam to compromise pluralism
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has said multi-racial harmony in his country is under threat by State-sponsored Islamic puritanism that has damaged the constitutional rights of other faiths in the Muslim-majority south-east Asian nation. "The real issue is what I would describe as State-sponsored Muslim puritanism borne more by racist sentiments than religious principles," Anwar told a gathering at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. "It is this kind of theology that leads to the rejection of constitutional freedom of other faiths." About 60 per cent of Malaysia's population of 25 million are Muslims. Christians and Buddhists, who are mostly from the country's minority Chinese community, make up about 25 percent of the population, and Hindus of Indian origin make up about 10 percent. Racial harmony between Malaysia's ethnic and religious groups has recently begun to show some strains as minorities have complained of their rights being encroached upon by court decisions and government policies favouring Muslims. Earlier in January, Malaysia's government banned minorities from using the word "Allah" in publications to describe the God of their non-Muslim faiths. Anwar called the ban "ridiculous nonsense".
Ekklesia, Jan. 16
Sikhs hold peace march to protest against French turban ban Sikhs from across the world joined in moral and practical support of a peace march in New Delhi, India, last month to protest against a French secularity law that bans the wearing of sacred turbans in schools and other work places throughout the country. The new law in France prohibits all "ostensible" religious articles - including the Sikh turban, the Muslim hijab, the Jewish Kippa and Christian crosses in public schools in France. Civil rights campaigners say that the French law is unacceptably prohibitive, and an example of "eliminative secularism" - a version of secularity which is not simply about equal treatment and the denial of privilege to any one group, religious or non-religious, but a deliberate attempt to deny any visibility to religion in public life.
Ekklesia, Jan. 19
Ekklesia, Jan.26
Scottish pagan gathering spells worry for some Christians
Some Christian groups in Scotland are anxious about pagans from across the UK gathering in a small north-east community this summer. The Pagan Federation is intending to hold its first summer camp in Inchberry near Fochabers. The three-day event, scheduled for July 2008, will be a celebration of the ancient religion, which is based on the honouring of the natural order as an expression of the divine. Rev Graham Swanson of Elgin Baptist Church, said: "I have grave concerns and reservations about this event taking place. As a Christian I believe the Bible warns us about dabbling in such things as witchcraft."
Ekklesia, Jan. 30, http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6650
Other News
Focus On: Religion.
From the Office for National Statistics overview series Focus On, this particular edition looks at many aspects of Britain's religious populations. Here you will find out that: Jews are the most likely to be self-employed, with Jewish men more likely to be working in banking, finance or insurance than men from other religions; a Hindu man is ten times more likely to be a medical practitioner than a Christian man and that Muslims are the most likely to have no educational qualifications. Young Muslims the most likely to be married, with those of no religion the least. Hindus and Sikhs are the least likely to be divorced, separated or re-married, with the most likely group being those of no religion followed by Christians. Muslims reported have the poorest health and the highest rate of disabilities, while Jews, Christians and the non-religious had the least. Sikhs are the most likely to own their own home, Buddhists the most likely to be renting privately, and Muslims the most likely to be living rent-free. The summary report, full data download and quicklinks can be found here.
Prayer Corner: Christians in India.
India (which is ranked 29th on Open Doors World Watch List) has a religious breakdown of 73% Hindu, 13% Muslim, 6% Christian, 4% Ethno/tribal religions, 4% Sikh, 1% Non-religious and 1% Other religions. The 2001 Census put the number of Christians at 25million, but most Christians feel this is a serious under-estimate. Of India's 28 states, 7 have anti-conversion laws in place, and an eighth is considering introducing them. Every time a new anti-conversion law is put in place there is a correlating rise in anti-Christian violence in that state. Hindu extremist groups have been organising forced reconversion campaigns, a recent one involving at least 2,000 tribal Christians. According to Barnabas Fund, although Hindu militant groups are responsible for the majority of Christian persecution (55%) a worrying 10% is attributed to the police. Other groups responsible are the Community (18%), Government, both local and regional (8%), Islamist (4%), and Family (1%). Many of the Christians are Dalits, a group already discriminated against and considered so low as to be outside of the caste system, and as Christian Dalits, they face even more discrimination in some areas such as education.
Open Door's World Watch List can be accessed here, and Barnabas Fund's website is here.
More information about Dalits can be found here.
Other Events
2008 Middle East Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1-11 March 2008 (with pre-events the week before)
Details for the 2008 Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace, MESP 2008, are now available here, by contacting 0131 331 4469 or email.
Job Advert
Assistant Director, Inter Faith Network
The Inter Faith Network for the UK is seeking to appoint an Assistant Director based in London. The closing date for applications is Feb. 27, 2008. Full information can be found here.