Geopolitics and Interreligious Dialogue

Abstract

Abstract This chapter maps out the rise of state-sponsored interreligious dialogue initiatives in the Middle East and reviews state-centric theories of interreligious dialogue. It articulates the security needs, power dynamics, foreign policy, and domestic concerns which have driven state interest in dialogue activities. It also analyzes the geopolitical competition underwriting the growth of dialogue initiatives in the Middle East, especially in relation to the use of Islam as an element of foreign and regional policy positioning. The chapter argues that the promotion of interreligious initiatives can be understood as part of the search by states for a national narrative which responds to the aspirations of the Arab Spring, and in such a way that allows the state to manage those aspirations. At the same time, this ideological investment raises important questions about why the ideas reflected in these interreligious dialogue initiatives appear to be so attractive in the first place.