Interfaith education: An Islamic perspective

Abstract

According to a teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, “the quest for knowledge is the duty of each Muslim, male or female”, where knowledge is meant as the discovery of the real value of things and of oneself in relationship with the world in which God has placed us. This universal dimension of knowledge is in fact a wealth of wisdom of the traditional doctrine naturally linked to the cultural and spiritual heritage of every human being and every believer of every faith. It allows for the respect of internal and external differences as positive elements of the cultural and spiritual heritage of mankind. In this sense, intercultural and interfaith education plays a fundamental role and fits naturally within the Islamic religious education framework. The author of this article is Vice-President and Imam of the Islamic Religious Community in Italy (Comunita Religiosa Islamica [COREIS] Italiana), an organisation which has been providing teachers and students with training on Islam and interfaith dialogue for almost twenty years with the support of the regional and national offices of the Italian Ministry of Public Education. Referring to existing interreligious and intercultural societies such as Azerbaijan, and a number of successful initiatives and projects, several of which COREIS is involved in, he demonstrates how interfaith education can effectively contribute to preventing the diffusion of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and radicalism.