Book review

Michael Ipgrave (ed.)

Church house Publishing, London, 2002, 142pp, ISBN 0-7151-5002-2, £9.95

This book results from a dialogue meeting of 40 prominent Christians and Muslims held in January 2002 at Lambeth Palace. The main body of the volume is divided according to specific themes. Each is addressed by a Christian and Muslim, with another Muslim and Christian responding respectively. Volume editor Michael Ipgrave, Advisor to the Church of England Archbishop’s Council on Interfaith Relations, adds his comments throughout.

The initial chapter, entitled "Christians and Muslims Face to Face", includes contributions by Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the prolific writer and scholar Bishop Kenneth Cragg. Ceric cites the Qur’an in stressing that "... we are to adopt an inclusive, not an exclusive approach, to the worlds of faith." (10) Cragg, in his characteristically penetrating style, contrasts the confidence of Islam in the use of political power with Christian eschewing of a formal political role since the Enlightenment.

The second chapter addresses the thorny issue of how to deal with past history. Michael Ipgrave sees a possibility to control the memory of the past by deliberately focusing on certain key episodes in order to shape the future. Professor David Kerr of Edinburgh University provides a Christian voice in addressing this theme, followed by Professor Tarif Khalidi of the University of Cambridge.

In chapter 3, Justice Nasim Ahmad Shah of Pakistan and Professor Michael Banner of Kings College, London, consider respective approaches to religious minorities. Justice Shah graciously acknowledges that "Christians in practice face many difficulties in Pakistan" (52), providing in frank terms some details of discrimination. In response to this paper, Archbishop Henri Teissier asks whether the ambiguity of the teachings of the Qur’an regarding religious minorities fuels abuse of minority rights in certain countries.

The fourth chapter considers "Faith and change". Cambridge Professor David Ford proposes six items for a future agenda in the Christian-Muslim relationship. Seyed Amir Akrami of Iran presents an interesting threefold typology of Muslim responses to change (84-85), namely those who reject it or assume that traditional ways of dealing with change are sufficient; those who embrace change and dispense with religious tradition and heritage; and those who accept change, and allow religious positions to move where appropriate.

The final chapter is devoted to setting an agenda for the future. Dr Rabiatu Ammah of Ghana comments that "One way Muslim communities can seriously curb fundamentalism and extremism is for the authorities to give them a voice and constantly to engage in dialogue with them on critical issues." (100) Professor Tarek Mitri of the World Council of Churches stresses the importance of setting the agenda together. Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali points out that both faiths have well-developed mystical traditions attesting to "the true worth of inwardness", and Brunel Professor Gillian Stamp gives voice to this mystical tradition in Islam by quoting from the great Persian Sufi Jalal al-Din Rumi.

There are aspects of this volume which beg for constructive criticism. A key one relates to the approach to history proposed by Ipgrave, which would cause discomfort to many historians, who would argue that the task of the historian is to report and interpret all past events, not deliberately report some of them in more detail in order to facilitate present-day ideological whims and preferences. Ipgrave’s approach seems to be embraced in Kerr’s thumbnail sketch of past Christian-Muslim history. He mentions what he sees as the two eras of European imperialism: the Crusades and the imperial expansion of the 16^th-19^th centuries. No mention is made of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, Turkish imperial expansion into the Balkans and Central European states, or the massacres of the Armenians.

Furthermore, Christians involved in dialogue with Muslims need to speak not only for the masses they represent directly in their own countries, but also for the faceless minorities from their faith tradition situated in lands where the Muslim dialogue partner is in the majority. Tarek Mitri asserts that "the call for ‘reciprocity’ in the treatment of minorities is problematic" (107). While his eloquent argumentation may persuade some Christian scholars and please Muslim interlocutors, it is hard to ignore an impression of disloyalty and abandonment associated with Western Christian leaders refusing to advocate forcefully on behalf of Christian minorities in Muslim majority locations.

Nevertheless, the volume includes some powerful and honest insights. Cragg points out that "there is much that is elitist about dialogue, and remote from the passions in the street." (15) Here he has put his finger on one of the big challenges of dialogue activities, especially those undertaken by erudite scholars and prominent public figures. This problem can be compounded when certain groups are excluded from the dialogue. Ipgrave aptly states that "People and communities of other faiths hold many of the same concerns and values [as Christians and Muslims]; there is much scope for fruitful interaction on a wider inter faith basis." (120) Herein lies a weakness of many dialogue activities, extending far beyond the particular meeting reported by this book; namely, that the massive surge in attention to Christian-Muslim dialogue is somehow pushing the Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs etc. to the margins. In expanding the boundaries of the inner circle to accommodate Muslims in the official religious rhetoric in Western societies, there is a risk that other faiths may feel shunned and relegated.

Christian-Muslim dialogue is a path which demands support in these troubled times. This volume represents an important contribution, thanks to the sensitive yet honest interaction between a group of prominent Christians and Muslims. The practical recommendations for a way ahead provided in this volume should ensure that this important initiative gains momentum in coming years.

Peter G. Riddell

[This review was published in Third Way, 25/10, December 2002, 30-31]