Interfaith Dialogue for Peaceful Coexistence

is based on acknowledging and celebrating the common ground between the religions, is very important. There is a great deal that Islam shares with other religions. This common ground provides a sound base for a joint platform to establish a new world of peace and tolerance. This fact has been successfully demonstrated by many Sufis, for instance. Using the potential presented by common grounds between religions, they established a rich history of peaceful coexistence between people from different religious backgrounds. Many Sufi hospices were international religious centres for the followers of various faiths. One of the greatest contributions of Sufis was their application of the principle of peaceful coexistence in the field of religion. The secret of the Sufis’ success was that they kept their activities in the non-political field. As a result, they distanced themselves from all kinds of controversies. The approach of the Sufis can be best expressed in a term that they coined, sulh-e-kul, that is, ‘peace with all’. The spirit of sulh-e-kul needs to be adopted and adapted for the modern age. It is a fact that peaceful coexistence, peace with all, is the only sensible and affordable way of existence in this world. Many Sufis worked in an age long before the advent of the modern mass media when the means of communication were few and opportunities for interaction were very limited. However, today, in an age of almost instant communications, we have vast opportunities to spread the message of peace worldwide. We can rightfully say that what was earlier possible only at a local or regional level has now become possible to achieve at the global level.