Dave Andrews

We need to not only affirm ‘good things’, but also confront the ‘bad things’. In Christian-Muslim engagement either people do not confront the ‘bad things’ that need to be confronted, or people confront the ‘bad things’ that need to be confronted by criticizing all the ‘bad things’ about the other. The trouble is by attacking the ‘bad things’ about the other, in the name of aggressive apologetics, we make things worse by escalating the conflict with one another that already exists.

Jesus told his disciples that when they were criticizing (things like religion) they needed to proceed with care: ‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the plank is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye”. (Matthew. 7:3-5)

My Muslim colleague, Nora, and I encourage people not to be critically-projective, attacking one another’s religions and making things worse by escalating the conflict with one another that already exists, but critically-reflective, helping one another confront the ‘bad things’, (what Nora calls the ‘ugly bits’) in our own religions and working to make things better through reform in our religions that can make the resolution of the existing conflict between our religions much more possible.

Nora and I agree with Maulana Wahiduddin Khan who says there are two ways we can engage our religions. One way is to ‘take pride in our religion’ and be critically-projective of another’s religion. Which, the Maulana says, makes us partisan, protective of our tradition and reactive against others who may call our traditions into question. The other way – that we have adopted – is to ‘be true to the spirit of our religion’ and be critically-reflective of our own religion. Which, the Maulana says, can make us more sensitive to the issues we need to deal with in our traditions, and more willing to ask serious questions about our traditions ourselves.[i]

For example, rather than criticize the violence in one another’s traditions, Nora and I help one another confront the violence in our own traditions and both of us host conversations, in-house, in our own families of faith, to help our co-religionists safely, honestly and vulnerably reflect critically on traditional interpretations of sacred texts that are used as pretexts for violence. 

[i]     Maulana Wahiduddin Khan The Prophet of Peace Penguin New Delhi 2009 p10-13