The Bridge

September 2008, Issue No. 34
The Journal of the Churches' Agency for Inter Faith Relations in Scotland

Building Bridges with Judaism

Chief Rabbi urges faiths to pull together for the common good
Addressing more than 600 of the world's Anglican bishops, Britain's chief rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks has appealed to Jews and Christians to forge common cause and reach out to other people in a world dominated by politics and economics.

"Though we do not share a faith, we surely share a fate," said Sacks in his speech on 28 July, on what is believed to be the first occasion a chief rabbi has addressed a Lambeth Conference. "Whatever our faith or lack of faith, hunger still hurts, disease still strikes, poverty still disfigures, and hate still kills," Sacks told the bishops.

Sacks paid tribute to the then Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, and the chief rabbi in Britain, Joseph H. Hertz, who together in 1942 founded the Council of Christians and Jews. "And since then, Jews and Christians have done more to mend their relationship than any other two religions on earth," said Sacks. "And now we must extend that friendship more widely."
Ekklesia, Jul.30
The Independent, Jul.30
The full text of Sir Jonathan's address can be found here.

Building Bridges with Islam

"A Common word" sparks series of dialogues
A recent dialogue held in late July at Yale University in the United States brought together Muslim and Christian scholars, intellectuals, academics and religious leaders from the United States and around the world. The event was one of a series of dialogues organized in response to the October 2007 open letter "A Common Word" sent by 138 Muslim scholars to Christians around the world. The letter invited them to dialogue about what they viewed as the common parts of their respective faiths. 
Full text of the Yale statement (pdf)
WCC News, Aug.11

Christian officer in the Philippines promotes love of Muslims
A Filipino army officer, who served in the line of fire in the fight against Muslim secessionist rebels in southern Philippines, says he realised that somehow the cycle of violence must end, so he helped pioneer Project I.S.L.A.M., or I Sincerely Love All Muslims.

"I have seen how militarism has failed to address the armed conflict now raging again in southern Philippines," states Lt Col Johnny Macanas, a Roman Catholic. "And I have noted how prejudice and our lack of understanding about Islam have helped separate us from our Muslim brothers and sisters."
Ekklesia, Aug.31

Muslim and Catholic pilgrims share the wisdom of travel
'Don't tell me how much you know. Instead, tell me how much you have travelled.' These words were attributed to Muhammad.

Pilgrims don't travel with a view to loot or pillage. Pilgrims travel in God's path. They know that in the very act of travelling, they will learn things about themselves that they could never learn in books or in attending sermons at their local church or mosque.

Pilgrims overcome obstacles by relying on each other. They learn that they cannot undertake this journey on their own. The process of pilgrimage helps foster a greater feeling of community among both pilgrims and their hosts.

As a Muslim, I believe I can relate to what the thousands of young (and young-at-heart) Catholic pilgrims converging in Sydney must be feeling. It is the same feeling my many Muslim relatives and friends have experienced when they arrive in Mecca for the annual Hadj.

I'm pleased a number of Muslim families and schools are hosting their Catholic brothers and sisters visiting Sydney for the WYD pilgrimage. Perhaps when WYD is over and everyone has gone home, both Muslim hosts and their Catholic guests should remain conscious that our pilgrimage to God has not ended.
Irfan Yusuf  writing in Eureka Street, Jul.16

A guide to engaging Muslim communities
The Chartered Institute of Housing has produced this 24 page booklet which is aimed at housing and regeneration agencies, but will be of interest to all who are interested in fostering good relations with their Muslim neighbours.
The guide can be downloaded (pdf, 1.18 Mb) from CIH.

Five Key Myths about Islam…and the facts
Bristol City Council has produced this 8 page leaflet to address some of the misunderstandings about Islam and what Muslims believe.  You can download copies (pdf 98 Kb) from here.
This is a summary from a larger resource, Muslims in Bristol and Britain, which can be accessed (pdf, 733 Kb) from the same website.

You must be nicer to Muslims, Britain is told by UN
Britain was told yesterday by a United Nations committee to take firm action to combat 'negative public attitudes' towards Muslims. The human rights committee, which is composed of legal experts, said it was concerned ' negative public attitudes towards Muslim members of society' continued to develop in Britain.
Daily Mail, Jul.31

Building Bridges with Sikhism

High Court backs girl barred from wearing bangle
A Sikh schoolgirl who was excluded from her school for refusing to remove a religious bangle has won her High Court battle after a judge decided that the school's actions were unlawful under Britain's race and equality laws.

Sarika Watkins-Singh, 14, was forced to take lessons in isolation for two months before being excluded from at Aberdare Girls' School last November because she refused to take off her kara, a slim steel bracelet that constitutes one of five religious symbols observant Sikhs are expected to wear at all times.   The school argued that Sarika's kara broke its "no jewellery" uniform policy. But the judge ruled that the kara was of "exceptional importance for religious and racial reasons" and that Sarika had therefore been the victim of  discrimination on the grounds of race and religion.

Shortly after the judgment was announced, Sarika said: "I am so happy to know that no one will ever have to go through what me and my family have gone through and no other pupil will ever get banned from wearing their kara again ... I am proud to be a Welsh, Punjabi, Sikh girl."
The Independent, Jul.31

Building Bridges Together

"Promised Land" conference brings about "constructive confrontation", new views on Israel-Palestine conflict
A conference on "Promised Land" that aired different theological approaches to this key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has given church leaders and theologians new views to take home to their churches. Some participants said their outlook had been changed by the "constructive confrontation" at the World Council of Churches (WCC) event.

A key result of the conference is a better understanding of the question of land in the Bible, in theology and in the conflict. The conferees said decades of violence in Israel-Palestine challenge Christian theologians to work out "life-affirming" responses to the conflict. The Bible "must not be utilized to justify oppression or supply simplistic commentary on contemporary events", the final document said.

The 10-14 September conference was hosted by the Swiss Protestant Federation and the Reformed Churches in Bern-Jura-Solothurn. The encounter took place as part of the WCC Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum, an inter-church advocacy initiative. The 85 participants came from Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Africa and Asia. "Concrete contributions to the discussions from Palestinian Christians helped to significantly change approaches to the issues," the host churches said in a communiqué. "In the controversial and at times passionate debates a constructive sensitivity to the central themes developed."
WCC News, Sep.15


Inter-religious youth group celebrates open debate
During a youth interfaith seminar outside Geneva last month some participants realized the religious differences are usually smaller than imagined and cultural differences are often more significant than expected.

During three weeks in July 2008, 22 young people from across 4 continents and 3 religions gathered in the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Geneva, to share their thoughts, meals and prejudices with each other.

"I have realized I have much more in common with a Christian from Palestine than [with] a Muslim from the West", said Razan Abd el Haque, a Muslim from Jordan, when asked what she would take back home from the seminar. "The differences are mainly cultural, not religious."
WCC News, Aug.13


Madrid conference links interreligious dialogue with building peace
Dialogue is "the best way for mutual understanding and cooperation in human relations as well as in peaceful coexistence among nations," said the final communiqué issued by the conveners of the World Conference on Dialogue and broadly affirmed by the conference held during July in Madrid.

"Dialogue is one of the essentials of life. It is also one of the most important means of knowing each other, cooperation, exchange of interests and realizing the truth, which contributes to the happiness of humankind." The communiqué urges continuing dialogue between religions, civilizations and cultures, calls upon the UN General Assembly to support the recommendations of this assembly, and looks forward to follow-up events.

The conference was seen as historic not only because it was convened by the king or by Muslims, but because among the dialogue partners were Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs traditionally not regarded as religions by conservative Muslims.  Christian delegates included representatives from the World Council of Churches and Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Ekklesia, Jul.22
WCC News, Jul21

Obstructions to Bridge Building

Other News