The primary objective and challenge of interfaith dialogue initiatives is to help induce positive long-lasting change in people's understanding of the 'other.' There is a need to formulate innovative community-based educational approaches to ensure that participants in Muslim-Christian interfaith encounters leave thinking differently, feeling differently and acting differently. 

In order to try a different approach, Bluestar Intercultural Centre and the Uniting Church, Canberra, developed the idea of having home discussion. The project  comprised  six Muslims and six Christians having monthly meetings for six consecutive months. These meetings were facilitated by a moderator and covered contemporary issues affecting both Christian and Muslims in each meeting. After each faith's perspective was presented, a respondent from the other faith tradition summarised the presentation in their own words and as they understood it. This was followed by an informal discussion and questions and answer session. 

 A Better Understanding

The idea of having house gatherings to facilitate learning at an individual level has worked and resulted in lasting change within the participants. The 'sustained dialogue' experience was a unique community-education initiative as it was a large operation and has the propensity of expanding to include hundreds of people and over time, thousands.

Also, such a project does not necessarily have to be for Muslims and Christians only. Suitable topics can be chosen to accommodate people of all different faiths, so that they can come together.

The project not only proved that a personal dialogue experience enables a participant to learn about his or her own faith, but also learn about the other faith tradition while having an opportunity to get to know members of the other faith tradition at personal and human level.

The experience has generated profound understanding of the other within their frame of reference. Surprisingly, it has also led participants to better understand their own faith tradition.

The key to success was the establishment of an atmosphere of trust in an informal setting of a home, training each participant to develop better listening skills together with a basic willingness to understand. The right atmosphere, the right set of skills and the right attitude produced a unique community-based educational approach in Muslim-Christian relations.

The Project Structure

A facilitator directed each meeting, which covered a set topic from a Christian and Muslim perspective in each meeting. 

After a particular faith's perspective was presented, a respondent from the other faith tradition summarised the presentation in their own words and as they understood it. This was followed by an informal discussion and question and answer session.

The key to success was the establishment of an atmosphere of trust in an informal setting of a house, training each participant in listening skills and having a willingness to understand. The right atmosphere, the right skill set and right attitude produced a unique community-based educational approach in Muslim-Christian relations.

The Project Outcomes

The initial organising committee was authorised to formulate and execute the project to ensure that the following outcomes were met:

People who would be willing to take part in the project were found.

The format of the gatherings was formulated.

The topics of discussion would be identified and agreed to the satisfaction of both Muslims and Christians.

The meetings were carried out with full participation.

Organisations Involved

The project was organised and managed by a committee made up of Christians and Muslims. It was not organised solely by one faith group. In this respect, there was a closer dialogue and relationship building at an organisational level as well.

Without the sponsorship of Bluestar Intercultural Foundation and Uniting Church as the main organisers of the project, individuals would not feel safe to engage in dialogue at a personal level. The facilitation of trusted and experienced organisations is key to success in interfaith dialogue.

The logistics of the operation was also significantly complex and it required a strong management team to make sure everything was running smoothly and consistently.

The First Project

Our first project was completed in Canberra with Uniting Church.

An organizing committee comprising of representatives from Bluestar and Uniting Church was established to manage the project to completion..

Joining the Project

If you believe your organisation would be interested in becoming involved in the project please Contact Us and we will provide registration information.

Discussion Subjects 

The six subject matters of discussion were:

1. Monotheism

2. Prophethood

3. Scriptures and their History

4. Family and Marriage

5. Spiritual Experience and Development

6. Concept of Holy War

Discussion Outcomes

The experience has generated profound understanding of the other in their frame of reference. Surprisingly, it has also led participants to better understand their own faith tradition.

Key outcomes were:

1. Greater Understanding of One's Own Faith

Writing the topics of discussion, sharing insight between own group members, studying the topic knowing that one will give a fifteen-minute presentation and finally listening to the presentation in a meeting, all augment one's understanding of the faith tradition that one belongs to. This was further enhanced by the questions that were asked by the other group and the answers that were given by the members of the same group.

2. The Level of Improvement in Understanding the other Faith Tradition is Different for Muslims and Christians

The net change in the level of understanding of the other's faith tradition by Muslims and Christians was not the same. In general, Christian participants experienced a higher leap in their understanding of Islam than the learning by Muslims of Christianity. This is mainly due to the fact that, prior to the start of the project, Muslims had already had a base knowledge about Christianity for two reasons. Firstly, one of the essential tenets of Islam is that it recognises Christianity as a God revealed religion and Jesus as a person who represented God on Earth. However, the same cannot be said about Christians, whose faith tradition does not talk about Islam and Muhammad and as a result they do not necessarily learn about Islam.

Added to this lack of knowledge, is the distorted imagery portrayed by media sources and actions of some Muslims, which places an average Christian in a dark view of Islam and Muslims. Therefore, the Muslim and Christian reaction to a dialogue experience is not the same.

3. Realisation of Commonalities

The positive tone of the word 'dialogue' and an emphasis of the gatherings to highlight similarities enabled the participants to see many similarities not only in certain beliefs but also in practices as well. Exclamations of how many similarities there were between Islam and Christianity underscored the responses of many Christian participants. For Muslims, similarities were expected and were natural, as they believed that both Islam and Christianity are revealed by the same God.

4. Better Understanding of Differences

The usual tendency in a dialogue initiative is to put the differences in the background for the concern that they will cause people to be defensive and unwilling to listen. However, such attitude also does not give opportunities to discover the reasons for the differences. Perhaps a true understanding takes place when the differences are explored. Also, talking about differences without getting offensive or defensive is a test of sincerity and respect for the other in dialogue.