Muslims and Christians Praying Together, or Not: Some Observations on German Protestant Attitudes toward Common Prayer

Abstract

One of big often raised by Christian students in many of religion classes taught here at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, is whether Christians, Muslims, and Jews pray to same While more conservative Protestant American students struggle to answer question one way or another, others do not take too long to respond to question in affirmative. This past year, a Syrian Christian student was perplexed that one would even raise such a question; of course we are praying to same God--Allah in Arabic means nothing more than the God, and all three Abrahamic religions worship same As we live in an increasingly religiously plural world, where our best friends, colleagues, and neighbors are adherents of different religious traditions, desire to pray together with them is becoming ever more pronounced. While learning about faith of our neighbors and friends enriches our understanding of their worldview, praying with them enriches our spiritual horizons and can aid in our appreciation of mystery we call God. Indeed, according to Leonard Swidler's Dialogue Decalogue, praying together is an example of depth or 'spiritual' dimension (of dialogue) where we attempt to experience partner's religion or 'ideology' from within and thus discern values in partner's tradition. (1) In contemporary German context, numerous examples exist of instances of common prayer, often reported in local press. (2) Yet, on level of theology, various documents of Protestant churches in Germany (die Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, hereafter EKD) are raising questions about possibility and feasibility of such common prayers. In particular, documents issued by EKD after tragic events of Septemberl 11, 2001, suggest that attitude of EKD has toughened on question of whether Christians can pray together with This hardening is regrettable, as it comes at a time when Muslims in Germany have felt more and more excluded; it is also theologically problematic, particularly when compared to relative ease with which Christian-Jewish common prayers have been declared possible and desirable. While ultimately any human explanation of God and God's acceptance of prayer must be but preliminary, an outright rejection of possibility of common prayer is theologically arrogant, as it puts limits on a limitless Furthermore, a theology of hospitality demands a Christian duty to hope (3) for possibility, and also expresses desirability, of common prayer among all three Abrahamic religions. The EKD and Islam While EKD's engagement with Islam has spanned a few decades, and while EKD has issued multiple documents to guide Protestant Christians in their interaction with Muslims, documents from before and after horrific events of 9/11 are particularly telling in way that they reflect EKD's shifting stance on Islam. Regretfully, EKD's overall attitude toward Islam since 2001 has hardened, yet fortunately some documents of recent vintage issued by regional Protestant churches in Germany have become more inclusive and welcoming of common prayer with Thankfully, there is no singular Protestant position (4) of Protestant churches of Germany, and one hopes a more inclusive and open attitude toward Islam and Muslims will prevail in German Protestant thinking. 2000 A year prior to 9/11 attacks, EKD had issued their first, extensive document, Living together with Muslims in Germany: Fashioning Christian Encounters with Muslims. Overall, document is measured in its approach toward Islam; already introduction cautions that equating Islam with Islamism and fanatical ideas provides a distorted picture and that much of Islam is practiced in devoted piety and peaceful humanness. (5) As we will see, this is a much more differentiated characterization of Islam than in 2006 document (hereafter, EKD 86). …