Off Message
Christians Critique Dialogue with Muslims & the Challenge of Missions
On June 14–17, 2009, about fifty Christian theologians from diverse geographical locations, various denominations, and different points on the Christian theological spectrum gathered in Larnaca, Cyprus, to discuss the world of Islam and the experience of Christian minorities living in Muslim-majority contexts. Sponsored by the Barnabas Fund, the conference focused on two important current issues: the Common Word initiative, and intra-Christian debates about the extent to which contextualization is acceptable in presenting the gospel to Muslims.
Conference papers covered both the academic and applied sides of the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. The academic papers came first, and focused on the history of Islam, the nature of God and revelation as taught by Islam, and the various ways in which the concepts of umma (community), da’wa (mission) and shari’a law are understood in Islam.
The participants then turned their attention to Christian presence in and engagement with the Islamic world. Topics considered included the Christian context at the time of the early expansion of Islam, and the methods of Christian engagement with Muslims down through the centuries, which ranged from dialogical to apologetic (defending Christianity) and polemical (challenging other faiths) approaches.
A Letter & a Response
As outlined by J. Daryl Charles in “Regensburg Left Behind”, elsewhere in this issue, the roots of the Common Word initiative lie in Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 speech at the University of Regensburg. During his speech, Benedict cited the following statement by the medieval Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
Though far from being the centerpiece of the pope’s eloquent and scholarly presentation, this citation nevertheless triggered Muslim protests around the world. But it also led to an approach by Muslim scholars to the pope for dialogue, culminating in the open letter “A Common Word Between Us and You,” also discussed by Charles. The letter called for dialogue between the Christian and Muslim worlds for the sake of world peace, and quoted as its cornerstone verse 64 of Qur’an chapter 3:
Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).
By also including copious quotes from the first three Gospels while carefully avoiding quotations from Acts and the Epistles, which Muslims consider outside the revelation from God, the open letter subtly affirmed established Islamic claims about the unreliability of the canonical collection of the New Testament.
Various Christian bodies and individuals produced responses to “A Common Word” (they numbered over 60 at the time of writing), but the one drawn up by four scholars from Yale Divinity School, entitled “Loving God and Neighbor Together,” but also known as the Yale Response, remains the most prominent. As Charles notes, this document, a warm and positive reaction to the Muslim initiative, attracted the supportive signatures of over 300 prominent Christians from diverse denominations and ideological positions.
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