Abstract
Interfaith and intrafaith dialogue are increasingly being presented as viable options for addressing some of the tensions that emerge from the encounter of different faiths, having the potential to promote cohesive societies and bring people together. In this paper I want to present some reflections of my experiences with discourse at different levels of society in the Middle East, primarily in Jordan. My research has led to concerns about the potential effectiveness of top-down dialogue initiatives, specifically whether they are reaching their target audiences, or rather “preaching to the converted”. This paper will reflect on these issues and offer some suggestions for improving interfaith outreach.
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Notes
- 1.
These sabbaticals were variously enabled by the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Orient Institute Beirut, and the EU Erasmus Mundus PEACE II initiative.
- 2.
World’s Parliament of Religions was held in Chicago in 1893 and was the first international organised interfaith gathering. It brought together representatives from eastern and western faiths and was attended by over 5000 delegates (Parliament of the World’s Religions 2018).
- 3.
Until 2010 known as Association pour le dialogue international islamo-chrétien however it still retains the same acronym, ADIC (2018).
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- 5.
The introduction to the official book about the Amman Message, written by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, Special Advisor to and Personal Envoy of King Abdullah II of Jordan, provides an a detailed explanation of the theological basis behind ijmā‘, consensus and explains how consensus ruling was attained for the Amman Message.
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Markiewicz, S.L. (2019). Preaching to the Converted? Interfaith Dialogue vs. Interfaith Realities. In: Bock, JJ., Fahy, J., Everett, S. (eds) Emergent Religious Pluralisms. Palgrave Studies in Lived Religion and Societal Challenges. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13811-0_11
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