Adina Friedman is assistant professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.
Peace-Building by, between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians
edited by mohammed abu nimer and david augsburger
Lanham, Md., Lexington Books, 2009. 324 pages
Hardback: US $80
Peace-Building by, between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians represents a coming together of Muslim and Christian scholars, talking with one another about key issues and varying perspectives in their faiths as they relate to peace-building. The collection is important and timely both in the content it offers and in the process it exemplifies.
The book is the product of conversations which were conducted over a period of one year, beginning in April 2005 in Washington, D.C., and ending in April 2006 in Pasadena, California. It is co-edited by a Muslim scholar (Mohammed Abu-Nimer) and a Christian evangelical scholar (David Augsburger), and the interfaith dialogue which it presents and of which it is a product was conducted under the auspices of three institutions: Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, a non-denominational evangelical seminary; Salam Institute of Peace and Justice, a Muslim research and practice centre located at American University in Washington, D.C.; and the Islamic Society of North America, the umbrella organisation of hundreds of Muslim community and professional bodies of North America.
The book is divided into four major parts: “Peace-Building, Non-Violence, and Conflict Resolution”; “Religious Diversity and Identity”; “Interfaith and Intra-Faith Dialogue”; and “Contemporary Issues, Case Studies”. The chapters are organised in the form of a conversation, so that Christian and Muslim scholars directly address one another, posing and responding to questions. Chapters vary in style as well as in content, some being structured and analytical, while others are written in a more personal and reflective manner.
Co-editors Abu-Nimer and Augsburger begin with a joint brief introduction and end with a conclusion in which they draw out and highlight the main points from the various chapters. The book’s authors delve into an exploration of key peace-building concepts as they are portrayed in Christian and Islamic scriptures and understood by Christians and Muslims. The concepts explored include forgiveness, reconciliation, justice, war and peace, and violence and non-violence. Subsequent chapters address questions of religious diversity and identity, including the concept of proselytising, which is an important element in both Christianity and Islam. A few chapters make clear connections to political issues and discourses, including that of human rights. Some concrete examples and case studies involving interfaith dialogue are offered in the book’s latter chapters.
The disconnection between words and deeds—between espoused principles and direct action—and the need for self-reflection within each faith community are stressed by a number of authors throughout the book. In chapter 5, for instance, Glen Stassen presents “Ten Just-Peacemaking Practices That Work”, in an attempt to influence Christian habits of talking about peace rather than actually doing something about it. And Karim Douglas Crow (chapter 6) responds, interpreting Stassen as calling upon Muslims to “uncover, refurbish, as well as innovate ‘concrete and specific practices of peacemaking’ that realistically embody and incarnate the ideals people commonly acknowledge yet too frequently ignore in their actual conduct of life” (p. 81).
Most if not all authors recognise that there exists a spectrum of interpretations of any given concept within each religious community, and that their personal interpretation is not necessarily shared by all. In fact, in a number of instances authors from the same faith community disagree with one another and offer divergent interpretations. While affirming their belief in the holiness of their scriptures, authors acknowledge that interpretations are human, and are thus dynamic and subjective. Moreover, as Wilbert R. Shenk and Alvin C. Dueck clearly point out in chapter 10 (“Social Location and Christian Identity: Some Historical Perspectives”), there are structural and contextual factors that affect the possibilities and nature of interpretation and of interfaith and intra-faith dialogue.
Shenk and Dueck describe the evolution of Christianity and Christendom, from the early days in which the faith emerged and was practised at the margins, to the fourth century and beyond, when it had merged with power structures:
Church and state were [now] linked together and exercised joint control over a whole territory. [This] also entailed other decisive changes. The way the Christian scriptures were read, the meaning of personal identity, and the development of theology all reflected the radically changed social location of the Church. (P. 119)
The authors argue that “Social location determines a group’s sense of power vis-à-vis other groups” and that “as social location changes a group’s sense of identity and the nature of peaceful dialogue between religious traditions are redefined” (p. 116).
Interfaith dialogue in general and Muslim−Christian dialogue in particular are extremely important endeavours, especially in the context of today’s international and domestic political realities. As S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana puts it in chapter 3 (“Muslim Perspectives on War and Peace”),
religion has been a powerful tool in the hands of political leaders since time immemorial. This is because religion … has a powerful hold on people’s way of thinking, acting, and perception of interests. Consequently, even though the main reasons and issues may not be of a religious character, religion plays a significant role at times of conflict, especially when different religious systems encounter each other. (P. 19)
Indeed, adherents of different faiths usually have little to no in-depth knowledge of other faiths. At the same time, mutual misconception and prejudice are rampant and affect policy as well as intercommunal relations. Islam and Muslims have been the target of many prejudicial attitudes and policies in recent years, and evangelical Christians as a constituency have had a significant influence on policy and policymakers in the United States. Thus, this particular dialogue, the attempt to discuss differences while discovering common ground between Muslims and Christians, is of the utmost importance on practical, policy levels as well as on an individual level.
Many in the United States and Europe advocate the separation of church and state and maintain that such a separation in fact exists; however, this is to a large extent self-deception and/or wishful thinking. Religion is a major element of identity. It guides many policymakers directly, and is the basis upon which many constituents make their decisions. I am not necessarily advocating that politics and religion should be intertwined; rather, I am suggesting that to some extent this is already the case, and is almost inevitable in a world where so many people draw on their religious repertoires for meaning and moral guidance. Acknowledging the extent to which religion actually does play a part in politics and capitalising on this dynamic can possibly yield results more conducive to peace and conflict-resolution than can denying religion’s role.
In chapter 10, Shenk and Dueck quote Marshall G. S. Hodgson, who argued that “to separate out religion from the rest of life is partly to falsify it” (p. 120). Given that religion and identity are not separate from politics, interfaith dialogue is also affected by the broader political context in which it takes place. In fact, the urgent need for such dialogue is to a large extent the result of international and domestic political affairs. US policies in the Middle East and particularly on the Arab−Israeli conflict have an implicit effect on Christian−Muslim dialogue, and thus interfaith dialogue should at some level include other faith communities, particularly Jews in this case. This is not meant to suggest that Jewish communities and scholars should necessarily have been included in this particular project or that there is no merit in bilateral Christian−Muslim dialogue (there definitely is). In the bigger picture, however, there needs to be trilateral and multilateral interfaith dialogue—and Muhammad Shafiq gives an example of such endeavours in chapter 20, “Abrahamic Faiths: Models of Interfaith Dialogue in the United States (A Case Study of Rochester, New York, Experience)”. This is especially true if a major impetus for such dialogue is not only a doctrinal theological exchange, but rather a search for meaning, answers, and calls for actions that are affected by and affect politics and policies, domestically and internationally.
One thing I find is missing in this book is some discussion of the gendered nature of the structures, interpretations, and evolution of religion and religious texts. These gendered structures of religious institutions, as well as of political institutions which mobilise people to war and violence using religious symbolism, are not negligible. I am not referring merely to the perspectives of men and women (and a few chapters are in fact written by women and thus offer their perspectives). What I am referring to is a deeper discussion of the connection between religious, political, and gender hierarchies and their relation to notions and endeavours of war and peace. In chapter eleven (“Response to Shenk and Dueck’s ‘Social Location and Christian Identity’ ”), James (Jimmy) Jones does make reference to Rosemary Redford Reuther’s book Sexism and God-Talk, but he does not really discuss that book’s content or arguments.
In spite of this lacuna, the book provides a well-rounded discussion of Christian and Muslim understandings of topics central to peace-building. It offers a mix of theoretical analyses, drawing on theology, history, politics, and psychology, and at the same time makes the link to direct, practical action. The new ethic of peacemaking put forward and discussed by Glen Stassen and Karim Douglas Crow in chapters 5 and 6 respectively is one example of new interpretations which are an outcome of these inter- and intra-faith reflections and which have some practical implication.
Shenk and Dueck conclude their chapter by stating that in today’s world,
The affirmation of pluralism, tradition, and particularity affords the post-modern person the possibility to speak out of his or her unique tradition in a confessional way. The assumption that there are no universal narratives, as purported by modernity … means that Christians and Muslims can speak from their traditions with new freedom. A peaceable posture affirms difference, is open to the wisdom of the other, and refuses to violently demand the other must conform to my tradition. (P. 126)
This passage highlights some of the book’s main strengths and importance: Christian−Muslim dialogue is in and of itself an inter-constitutive process which allows followers of both religions to re-examine the pillars of their own faith in a new light. As mentioned earlier and as suggested by many of the authors, the meaning with which texts and symbols are imbued is a product of human interpretations and is affected by context and power-relations, as well as other things; therefore, interfaith dialogue can not only help people understand the meaning of one another’s faiths and symbols, but can also allow them jointly to create new meanings more conducive to a better, more peaceful world.
True dialogue does not seek to evade differences and difficulties, but rather to acknowledge and work through them. Reflection is an essential ingredient of dialogue, and the book’s authors not only reflect out loud, but call on their communities to engage in self-reflection and act accordingly. In spite of some doctrinal and interpretive differences, Muslims and Christians indeed share much in common, as the book conveys and as the co-editors comment: both communities care about peacemaking, both view justice as a central and important concept and as God’s will. Ultimately, what so many people seek—whether through their faith or otherwise—is moral guidance and substance, and a way to make meaning of the world. Importantly, both Muslims and Christians take their scriptures seriously, in which case interpretations of central concepts in peacemaking that stem directly from these scriptures have the potential to resonate with and be very powerful and compelling to members of these faith communities. As history has shown, while religious traditions and interpretations have been used repeatedly to justify war and violence, they have also been “an inspiration for peacemaking and nonviolent struggles for establishing justice” (Kadayifci-Orellana, p. 19).
While giving us a glimpse into a range of each faith’s perspectives, the book constitutes the very inter- and intra-faith dialogue it wishes to engender. In other words, the book not only discusses peace-building by, between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians, it constitutes an important building block in that process.
