The things that make for peace: The purpose, promise, and peril of interfaith engagement

Abstract

In the early weeks of 2011, during the Arab Spring uprising, Egyptian blogger Nevine Zaki posted a photograph from Cairo’s Tahrir Square. It showed a group of people bowing in the traditional style of Muslim prayer, surrounded by other people standing hand-in-hand, facing outward, as a wall of protection against hostile pro-government forces. Zaki affixed this caption: “A picture I took yesterday of Christians protecting Muslims during their prayers.” Similar scenes, some ancient, some as recent as yesterday’s newspaper, can be referenced in numerous ways with a variety of religious identities. No religious tradition can claim a monopoly on compassionate courage, yet such stories are rarely headlined. This article will review some of the progress made in interfaith collaboration on issues of justice, peace, and human rights, beginning with a review of organizational breakthrough statements, like “Dabru Emet,” a document from Jewish intellectuals and rabbis affirming that “Jews and Christians worship the same God,” and “A Common Word Between Us and You,” by leading Islamic scholars and clerics, followed by multiple responses from Christian bodies. With these as evidence of closer interfaith orbits on a large scale, we then examine the purpose, promise and pitfalls of interfaith collaboration on the ground in regions and communities, especially in the United States.