wfn.org | Christian-Muslim Dialogues in Asia

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (443
notes).

Note 442 by UMNS on Nov. 7, 1997 at 16:30 Eastern (3767 characters).

CONTACT:	Linda Bloom					   630(10-71B){442}
		New York (212) 870-3803				  Nov. 7, 1997

Asian Methodists work together
for understanding with Muslims

			by United Methodist News Service

	Methodists in four Asian countries are trying to make their own ministry more
effective by making an effort to understand and communicate with Muslims.
	The dialogue is being assisted through regional consultations, resource
materials and national and local meetings, according to the Rev. S.T.
Kimbrough, associate general secretary for mission evangelism, United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
	As it looks to the future of mission, Kimbrough said, the  board "has to take
very seriously the presence of the Muslim community in the world.
	"If we don't increase our understanding of our Muslim neighbors ... there's
no way we can expect our own faith to resonate," he added.
	Kimbrough said he initially was approached in March 1994 by Methodist bishops
from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines with the idea of
having a regional consultation on how to relate to the Muslim populations in
their countries.
	The first consultation on "Christian Witness and Lifestyle in Countries with
a Strong Muslim Presence" took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1995. A
follow-up consultation occurred in September in Jakarta, Indonesia.
	Designed for both pastors and laity, the consultation programs considered
history, culture and lifestyle, and compared religious beliefs and teachings
from the Bible and Koran.
	The September consultation included leadership by the Rev. Robert Hunt, a
longtime Board of Global Ministries missionary who has written a book, Islam
in Southeast Asia, and Jabel Buaben, a Ghanese Muslim scholar who teaches at
Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham, England.
	Kimbrough noted in his report that participants were impressed with Buaben's
"knowledge of Islam and Christianity, the Koran and the Bible, the openness of
his approach to share with us and among us and the sincere counsel he offered,
beyond his vast knowledge of Islam, of how Christians should be in mission
among Muslims."
	Part of the challenge, according to Kimbrough, has been to find new language
"that affirms who we are, but doesn't make someone else an outsider." 
	For example, he said, after the first day of the Jakarta meeting,
participants stopped referring to mission "to" the Muslims and started talking
about mission "among" the Muslims.
	The relationships and situations for Muslims and Christians vary by country.
Singapore has a religious harmony law that dictates that the religion of
another person must be respected. Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom
of religion but in practice, according to Kimbrough, it is an Islamic
government. Any indigenous Malays who convert to Christianity could face
imprisonment.
	In Indonesia, the law of "pancasila" guarantees the freedom to practice
religion. Although that country has the largest Islamic population in the
world, it still has a secular government, he explained. Christian converts may
face discrimination -- and churches have been burned -- but it is not illegal
to convert.
	The island of Mindanao in the Philippines has a large Muslim population and
United Methodists there are involved in a joint Christian-Muslim committee.
	Kimbrough hopes Methodists in each of the four countries will follow-up with
yearly national consultations and continue to work together on the development
of educational resources. Some also will take supportive resolutions to their
general conferences.
	A motion passed by the Jakarta delegates commits to forming a committee to
develop a study and training program for local churches, utilizing Hunt's
book.
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