Inter-Religious Dialogues - Essay Example

The colorful humankind consists of many nations, religions and races but is a family. Today, it seems as if the root causes of all the problems originate from religion. The bases of all the terrorism and its reactions are religious fundamentalism and extremism. The deterioration of morals and spiritual destruction is at its height and the only solution is the religion, which can direct us towards justice peace and reconciliation. Since no religion teaches aggression. Love and kindness is essential for the sustainability of any society and religion. No religion promotes hatred and cruelty. Each religion is based on justice and equality. We all need each other, since our way of life cannot alone tackle with the challenges of today. We all need to grow together, hand in hand. Therefore, better understanding of each other through crystal clear dialogues can only help us survive. The best examples of inter-religious dialogues are Jesus Christ and the Prophet. History makes it clear that Islam was spread by peaceful means. Hazrat Muhammad(MPBUH)1 was known as a just and peaceful person long before he even talked about Islam. Muslims never forced any one to convert. South Asia and Africa were the countries where the message of God was taken by trading Muslims. The environment under His rule was to lift up the teachings and practices of Islamic traditions that nurture life and support community living. The Messenger of Allah (MPBUH)) prohibited even the fragrance of Paradise on a person who is a killer. On the other hand, the last word from God , Quran says,” Whoever kills a person …it is as though he has killed all mankind."2 This is the basis on which Islam swelled and till now people are converting Truth. Prophet and Jesus believed dialogue should be based on listening to each other and learning about each other without being offensive. They never compromised on faith. They discussed the issues to its deepest level, not to remove them but to challenge. The only aim for the dialogues they held was to deepen mutual trust. Sulahe-hudebia3 was the best example of inter-religious dialogue held by Hazrat Muhammad. It generated hope and respect between the different people and created the atmosphere of mutual confidence. In any distrustful situation, dialogue should not be the last resort rather should be the first step towards reconciliation. It lessens fear and doubt by becoming the sign of hope. Jesus and Prophet Muhammad never used confrontational language and always focused on transparency and simplicity of dialogue. Whatever, they did in tackling those situations can also be done today and all of the points discussed above are essential for any dialogue. The ignorance of Quran has led Muslims to a wrong path way, and all in the name of Jihad. Negative role of media added fire to the fuel. Jihad means to defend oneself from anything that is harming but Muslims are not allowed to harm others. The Qur'an clearly states ""Nor take life, which Allah has made sacred, except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, We have given his heir authority (to demand Qisas or to forgive): but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life; for he is helped (by the law)" ( Qur'an Al-Israa' 17: 33)4. A formal conversation between two groups is known as dialogue, but there are many kinds of dialogue which take place in different type of situations. The most frequently used is the dialogue of life, for example in plural state of affairs where Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists make their life together and build relationships. Multi-lateral and Bi-lateral dialogues5 are organized and are between different groups of people who come together to discuss a subject relevant to the communities concerned. They are helpful in building up trust between two groups. Academic-dialogue is the most useful form, it removes misconceptions and prejudices by bringing the supporters of different religions at common grounds because it affects the life of societies. Fundamentalism and militancy has deepened its roots as a reaction to the supremacy of dominant cultures. All the religions, around the world are facing the problems of prejudice and narrow approach to matters of mutual concern, inside the religious community as well its dealing with the world of different religions. Now, in this alarming circumstance, many efforts of peace making and conflict resolutions have taken place through inter-religious dialogues. In these dialogues, religious leaders of different religions are invited to develop a common ethical outline on the center of common values and beliefs. The main dilemma here in holding dialogues is the sensitive and complicated nature of inter-religious dialogues. The need for serious dialogue in closely interactive religions is an urgent need of this hour. Practical solutions in the transformation of societies are obligatory. Determination and consistency will be required at a greater level to solve the global issues. A realistic approach towards the religious traditions can help as well. The dimensions of ecumenical movement can be controversial. So the matters are fragile and should be dealt with huge concern Dialogues, talk to solutions is the only clarification which can provide us with an answer. But inter-religious activities are still hunting for comprehensible context to bring harmony. The Bilateral, trilateral and multilateral dialogues taken place so far have not achieved much. But there is an immense hope for having a successful dialogue because I consider there is no alternative. During the last decade, inter-religious dialogues have make shift to issues of societal life than academic topics. Besides the importance of dialogues in Islam, the Roman Catholic Church also acquired a crucial theological foundation. The stimulus of these inter-religious dialogues was given by the Pope Jean Paul II, when he asked the religious leaders to join him to pray for peace in 1986 and 2002.6 The World Council of churches became aware of the need to develop better relations with the people of different faiths. In June 2005, “Critical Moment” conference also took place. Many types of council have formed to deal with the difficult situations around the world. WFDD( world faiths development dialogue), IIC(international inter-faith Center), IID( Institute for inter-religious dialogue in Iran. for example Christian-Muslim forum on human rights, Hindu-Christian dialogues on caste systems, Christian-Muslim-Jewish dialogues on the issues of Jerusalem. These all Councils are of great help to sort out the problem of different regions. Since, I see the dialogue is the only solution. We need to know more about each other in order to live in a peaceful society. We all can sit, like we did in past, when the Islam came and conquered, to promote harmony by rejecting discrimination and inequality. These forums should commit themselves to defend the dignity of all the human beings who have an equal social, economic and human rights. Therefore, “we must not do separately what we can do together.”7 We have to talk to people of other faiths with an open mind and try to understand and empathize with other religious views without any kind of force rather with peaceful dialogues they are invited to discover the Read More