wfn.org | Episcopalians: Archbishop of Canterbury hosts dialogue of Christian and Muslim scholars in Q

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

April 9, 2003

2003-077

Episcopalians: Archbishop of Canterbury hosts dialogue of 
Christian and Muslim scholars in Qatar

by James Solheim

(ENS) While the war continued to rage in Iraq, Archbishop of 
Canterbury Rowan Williams brought together 15 Christian 
theologians and 15 Muslim scholars to explore the use of 
Scripture in the two faiths in a "Building Bridges" seminar in 
Qatar.

In his opening remarks April 7, Williams thanked the Amir of 
Qatar for his "exemplary commitment to this dialogue," adding 
that "he has shown precisely the kind of enthusiasm for honest 
exchange and deepened understanding which meetings such as this 
are designed to assist."

Noting that the foundation for the dialogue had been laid by his 
predecessor, George Carey, in a similar meeting last year at 
Lambeth Palace in London, Williams said, "Christians are 
Christians and Muslims are Muslims because they care about the 
truth, and because they believe that truth alone gives life. 
About the nature of that absolute and life-giving truth, 
Christians and Muslims are not fully in agreement. Yet they are 
able to find words in which to explain and explore that 
disagreement because they also share histories and practices 
that make parts of their systems of belief mutually 
recognisable--a story reaching back to God's creation of the 
world and God's call to Abraham."

The purpose of the dialogue, according to Williams, was "to 
discover more about how each community believes it must listen 
to God, conscious of how very differently we identify and speak 
of God's revelation." That listening becomes all the more urgent 
in times of conflict and anxiety, he said. "Listening to God and 
to one another as nations, cultures and faiths have not always 
had the priority they so desperately need," he said. 

"In this dialogue, we are not seeking an empty formula of 
convergence or trying to deny our otherness; indeed, as we 
reflect on the holy texts we read, we shall be seeking to make 
better sense of how we relate to the other, the stranger with 
whom we can still speak in trust and love," Williams said. In 
doing that, "we learn more of the depths of what nourishes us in 
our own faith and we hope to go from this dialogue better 
equipped to witness in a deeply troubled world, to witness what 
faith and humble obedience to God and patient attention to each 
other might have to offer to struggling and suffering nations 
throughout the globe."

The conference was planned well in advance of the military 
conflict in neighboring Iraq and is part of a continuing process 
of engagement between scholars of the two religions. "Christians 
and Muslims have much to learn from each other," Williams said 
before the meeting. He argued that the meeting is "a clear 
demonstration that we do not have to be imprisoned in mutual 
hostility and misunderstanding when our encounters are shaped by 
the scholarship and experience" of participants. 

According to Bishop Clive Handford, president-bishop of the 
Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, a confirmation 
service attended by almost 600 people was held during the 
seminar at the English-speaking school in Doha. The archbishop 
preached, confirmed 16 young people of seven nationalities, and 
Handford celebrated the Eucharist. 

The archbishop also blessed the first stone of what will be the 
Church of the Epiphany. Christians are free to worship openly in 
Qatar, thanks to the tolerant policies of the Amir.

------

--James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service.