This Wednesday, the Christian-Muslim Forum, a bilateral network of Muslim and Christian leaders set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, are making an important announcement. The network covers a range of Christian and Muslim traditions and reflects real grassroots communities and, wonderfully, they are publishing a statement on the mutual commitment of both Muslims and Christians to the practice of evangelism. Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, one of those involved and representing many mainstream Sunni Muslims in Britain, says in the press release: "Islam and Christianity are two world religions that are missionary - and therefore are ever vying with each other for converts. But we should be able to speak of our faith honestly and with conviction without demeaning or ridiculing others. There is no place for coercion or manipulation and when a person does convert from either faith that decision should be respected." Amen, Hallelujah!
On Wednesday, a proposed list of "ethical guidelines" for evangelism will be issued. These are not intended to be the "last word" on the subject but to generate a momentum around mission, conversion and ethics that helps to remove fear and bring hope and transformation to communities struggling for religious freedom. I think it is a very exciting step forward that should be welcomed by us all. This, to me, is a concrete example of Muslims and Christians working together for the common good, and doing so despite their differences and not by suppressing them. I'll post the guidelines when they become public and do please engage with these robustly: look at your own practice of evangelism, whether in the Christian-Muslim interface or not and let me know whether you agree.
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Posted by: jacket | November 19, 2011 at 03:12 AM