To supplement today’s announcement about Muslim scholars reaching out to the Pope, we would like to share a recent paper that was published. Titled “New Paths in Interfaith Dialog : Understanding Islam from the Light of Earliest Jewish Christianity“, this paper was presented at the Conference on Muslim Peace, Justice and Interfaith Dialog in Washington, DC in May 2007. The event was hosted by the Salam Institute and ISNA.
Author Rodney Cardoza writes:
“Recent developments in the study of earliest Christianity provide great opportunity for interfaith dialog, enabling us to see there is far more common ground between Islam and Christianity than has been previously assumed. New perspectives afforded by these developments are also opening a growing number of Christians to consider the prophethood of Muhammad in ways they never before imagined. Unfortunately, most Christians and Muslims are unfamiliar with these developments and their theological implications. Therefore, most Christians continue to believe medieval assessments of Muhammad and the Qur’an, thereby erecting enormous barriers to interfaith dialog and peacebuilding. Similarly, while the Qur’an certainly brings correction and warning to Christians who persist in excessive doctrines not taught by Christ, many Muslims believe that various titles of Jesus found in the Bible constitute clear evidence of its corruption, further complicating interfaith dialog and understanding. This paper will examine one significant development in the study of earliest Jewish Christianity, show how worldview and translation complicated later developments in Christian theology, then propose a cooperative effort between Muslim and Christian peacebuilders to gently and respectfully expose both Christians and Muslims to these matters in order to build genuine understanding and greater peace between these communities.”
To read the complete the whole article: New Paths in Interfaith Dialog (Scribd)
Cardoza is a cultural, theological and linguistic anthropologist. He has published ethnographic research on Muslim ritual and lectures internationally on Muslim-Christian dialog. He is presently working to form an international organization uniting Jews, Christians and Muslims to work together for peacebuilding, relief of extreme poverty, and sustainable development.
And presented here is the introductory paragraphs of the letter issued by more than 130 Muslim scholars from all over the world to many Christian leaders. To read the complete letter, click here:
Muslim scholars reaching out to the Pope (PDF).
A Common Word between Us and You
(Summary and Abridgement)
Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population.
Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no
meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between
Muslims and Christians.
The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very
foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour.
These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and
Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity. The following are only a few examples:
Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-
Sufficient Besought of all! (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Of the necessity of love for God, God
says in the Holy Qur’an: So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil, 73:8).
Of the necessity of love for the neighbour, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself.”
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ (peace be with him) said: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. / And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
In the Holy Qur’an, God Most High enjoins Muslims to issue the following call to
Christians (and Jews—the People of the Scripture):
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). (Aal ‘Imran 3:64)
The words: we shall ascribe no partner unto Him relate to the Unity of God, and
the words: worship none but God, relate to being totally devoted to God. Hence they all relate to the First and Greatest Commandment. According to one of the oldest and most authoritative commentaries on the Holy Qur’an the words: that none of us shall take others for lords beside God, mean ‘that none of us should obey the other in disobedience to what God has commanded’. This relates to the Second Commandment because justice and freedom of religion are a crucial part of love of the neighbour.
Thus in obedience to the Holy Qur’an, we as Muslims invite Christians to come
together with us on the basis of what is common to us, which is also what is most
essential to our faith and practice: the Two Commandments of love.
Credits: Thanks to Sidi Tariq Subhani for the BBC link and to the Sherfy family for the Interfaith article.
UPDATE:

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