Beyond the comfort zone:
Christians and Muslims face the challenge of suspicion
(NB 3 short videos available under Inter Faith Week)
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‘I was very happy with the choice of speakers, my first venture into Christian-Muslim encounter’
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‘A broad focus packaged nicely into one day. It felt focused and well organised’
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‘Very positive day, will make a difference to me’
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‘It was a good, informative, optimistic event’
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‘The day has raised my awareness of my own ignorance of the issues’
This was some of the feedback from the opportunity offered to Christians who feel less than comfortable with Islam to ask questions and see what is being done together for the common good by Christians and Muslims in this country.
Arranged by Churches Together in England and the Christian Muslim Forum the meeting took place at Hinsley Hall Leeds on 11th October bringing together Christians of various traditions who were joined by Muslims in the afternoon. The title of the day was: Christian Engagement with Islam: context and developments in England.
Bishop Tom Butler, former Co-chair of the Inter Faith Network for the United Kingdom, gave a keynote address highlighting the development in the churches commitment to inter religious dialogue over four decades. Dr Helen Reid, Programme Director at Bradford Churches for Dialogue and Diversity, offered a very helpful overview of Islam in England: a living religion expressed in many cultures and a global context. Dr Richard McCallum of the Department for Sociology at Exeter University unpacked Christian attitudes to Islam as they have developed over the last 50 years.
In the afternoon Dr Philip Lewis (author of Young, British and Muslim) and Anjum Anwar, Dialogue Development Officer at Blackburn Cathedral, spoke on Christians and Muslims working together for a healthy society. Julian Bond, Director of the Christian Muslim Forum and Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain addressed the task of Reconciling opposites: Mission and Dialogue in Christianity and Islam. Explaining in particular the development of the Ethical Guidelines for Christian and Muslim Witness in Britain.
Afternoon workshops on social action, on women as less visible leaders, on asking the questions you always wanted to ask and on politics and the international impact were led by Christians and Muslims together. Participants came from all over the country and also Scotland.
Further details will follow on the Churches Together in England and Christian Muslim Forum websites including web videos of some interviews and conversations during the day.
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