Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue

<strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>: <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on <strong>the</strong> State of Dialogue
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Religion, Ethics <strong>and</strong> Ideology
religion, ethnicity, politics <strong>and</strong> economics is in
play. Not only churches <strong>and</strong> mosques, but also
schools <strong>and</strong> hospitals serving local communities
are sometimes drawn into complex dialogue
about <strong>the</strong> connections between <strong>the</strong>ir service
missions <strong>and</strong> any efforts to gain adherents.
Finance is a complicating factor as many foreign
backed missionaries draw on diverse sources
of support, including funds from local parishes
in <strong>West</strong>ern countries <strong>and</strong> Muslim charities in
oil-rich Arab countries.
This competition has to date been less an
occasion for dialogue than it has been for mutual
suspicion <strong>and</strong> increasingly open conflict. The
absence of a level playing field exacerbates <strong>the</strong>
situation. In many places, Christian missionaries
enjoy superior economic resources. In some
areas, such as Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Nigeria, Muslims are
better positioned. In countries such as Iraq
<strong>and</strong> Afghanistan, <strong>the</strong> protection of an occupying
power creates a situation that evokes memories
of <strong>the</strong> colonial era. Charges of illicit proselytism
have been most prominent where missionary
efforts are accompanied by material inducements
such as <strong>the</strong> provision of humanitarian aid.
Christian groups such as <strong>the</strong> World Evangelical
Alliance invoke <strong>the</strong> norm of religious freedom
against those who would restrict Christian
preaching. They echo <strong>the</strong> US government in
pointing out that <strong>the</strong> global human rights
regime, set down in UN declarations <strong>and</strong>
conventions, guarantees freedom to have <strong>and</strong>
manifest one’s religious beliefs. International
law also protects <strong>the</strong> rights of individuals to
change <strong>the</strong>ir religion. Critics of Christian
missionary efforts – not just Muslims, but also
Christians, Jews, <strong>and</strong> non-religious individuals
<strong>and</strong> groups – tend to emphasize ano<strong>the</strong>r
current in international law, which is <strong>the</strong> right
of groups to maintain <strong>the</strong>ir own cultural <strong>and</strong>
religious traditions.
The World Council of Churches has taken
up <strong>the</strong> proselytism issue over <strong>the</strong> past several
years. A major forward step came with an
August 2007 interfaith ga<strong>the</strong>ring in Toulouse,
France, which followed-up on a May 2006
meeting between leaders of multiple faiths
struggling to find <strong>the</strong> line between <strong>the</strong>
“fundamental, inviolable <strong>and</strong> non-negotiable
right” to witness to one’s faith <strong>and</strong> a desire to
“heal” religious organizations of <strong>the</strong> “obsession
of converting o<strong>the</strong>rs.”
The code of conduct that emerged emphasizes
aneedtoavoidcoercionin<strong>the</strong>promulgation
of faith <strong>and</strong> similarly addresses state sponsored
anti-conversion <strong>and</strong> forced conversation laws,
specifically within <strong>the</strong> Muslim world. Although
<strong>the</strong> conference exposed differences in views
on proselytism between <strong>the</strong> world’s two major
religions, it also demonstrated a broadly
shared recognition that targeted conversion
efforts backed by material inducements are
inappropriate. As one Christian representative
commented: “The problem with <strong>the</strong> idea of
bribing people or in some way enticing
someone into 'joining' <strong>the</strong> Christian group –
like some companies offer inducements to
take out a credit card – is that it doesn't work.”
The ongoing controversy over proselytism
suggests that this universal impulse within
both Christianity <strong>and</strong> <strong>Islam</strong> is likely to generate
tensions <strong>and</strong> complicate dialogue on o<strong>the</strong>r
issues in years to come. There is cause for
optimism, however, in <strong>the</strong> fact that a majority
of religious <strong>and</strong> secular citizens within Muslim
<strong>and</strong> non-Muslim majority countries do not see
religious differences as insuperable obstacles
to cooperation. According to a major BBC
World Service Poll across 27 countries in
December 2006, only 26% of responders saw
“fundamental differences” as <strong>the</strong> cause of
tensions between <strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>. Many