THE JOURNEY OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

THE JOURNEY OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE Bright Future Ahead Whenever common grounds for agreement between two or more parties cannot be arrived at on an ideological basis, then the way of practical coexistence must be adopted. R ELIGIOUS differences have always existed between people. That is why interreligious dialogue has been found in one form or the other since ancient times. Fourteen hundred years ago, the Prophet of Islam held in Madinah a three-religion conference— in modern terminology, a trialogue—to exchange views on religious issues. Such attempts have repeatedly been made in history. The circumstances that unfolded following the Second World War led the Christian Church, in particular, to pay great attention to this matter. Through its continuous efforts, dialogues of this nature are regularly being held in various countries, between Muslims and Christians in particular. I have been fortunate to participate in several of these dialogues. These efforts have borne fruit, at least partially. For instance, it is as a result of these efforts that on the one hand, a Church has appeared once again in Ben Ghazi (Libya) while on the other, a mosque has been built in Rome for the first time in recent history. If the Quran is consulted to find its guidance on this matter, we find two main principles on which to hold dialogues. One is derived from this verse of the Quran: Say, ‘People of Book, let us come to a word common to us that we shall worship none but God. (3: 64) The first and foremost principle for any dialogue held to discuss two or more religions is to strive to find a mutual basis for peaceful coexistence. It is a fact that finding a common ground in secular matters is comparatively easy, for nothing is held as sacred in secularism. On the contrary, everything acquires a sacred character in religion. Therefore, it becomes a difficult task to find a basis for agreement in religious matters. However, despite all difficulties, we must continue our efforts peacefully, irrespective of the results.