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RUMI Forum holds event on ‘Christian-Muslim divide’
April 28, 2008
By Christina Caspersen
At a RUMI Forum event Monday, Fr. Sidney H. Griffith, Professor for the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures at Catholic University, discussed his book, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam.
The event, filmed by a satellite television production company, consisted of dialogue between Griffith and Jena Luedtke, Director of the RUMI Forum’s Center for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue. Griffith began by addressing Western assumptions of Middle Easterners who live in the West. “Most assume all Middle Easterners are Muslim; this is not the case,” Griffith said.
Within the Koran, many passages focus on Judaism and Christianity, creating a fusion of thought on religion and meaning, Griffith said, adding that Christians wrote texts in response to Muslim texts as part of an intellectual discourse. He also noted that there were Christian churches and residences in the earliest days of Baghdad, and scholars from all walks of life interacted in the city. These are examples of Muslims and Christians cohabitating willingly and freely, without threat or concern, Griffith said, noting that these friendly encounters created works of philosophy and theology that are still widely read and studied today.
Testimony of a peaceful coexistence is written into the histories of Muslims and Christians, Griffith said, adding that he wrote his book as a way to shed light on these positive interactions, which he cited as examples of how interfaith dialogue is very beneficial and helpful for the understanding of one’s religion and culture. With all the untruths currently circulating on the dynamic between Christianity and Islam, Griffith’s book can help to enlighten the misinformed.
“Interests in an era other than our own can teach a lesson we can all learn from,” Griffith said. |
