Tag Archives: christian

A typical program at Christian Muslim Dialogue in Edmonton

By Donna Entz, Facilitator, A Common Word Alberta

In the last ten years I have attended Dialogue events in Canada and the USA. The usual format has been speakers being given equal time and then a Q & A for the audience to engage the speakers. Here in Edmonton we decided instead to make it a priority that the participants engage with each other and have therefore designated the time allotments accordingly. The Speakers are there to shape the theme of the event and to be a catalyst for the discussion. We certainly hope that people leave the event pleased with the speakers and how they were challenged. But even more we as a committee long to hear from participants that they had a positive time around the tables in the facilitated discussion period. We try, but don’t always accomplish two blocks of time, each 45 minutes in length.

As to opening ceremonies, we always start by a prayer or recitation of one faith community, and close the event with the other. The first is usually the host community. The last years we have had an Indigenous person doing a welcome and opening as well.

The icebreaker is done with a set of cards supplied by the Intercultural Dialogue Institute. The cards are distributed around each table and each person shares an experience in turn. The cards are topics that help us establish our common humanity before we address faith issues later in the program. Some examples would be: Describe a time that you were very afraid, tell about a favourite person as you were growing up, etc.

The speakers of each community are given two rounds of 15 minutes each. The core of the Dialogue happens in the two discussion periods after the speakers. Here is an example of a typical schedule for our event, based on our 2018 dialogue event.

But in summary, none of this is possible unless there is “a willingness of all faith communities to work together on a continuous basis to form a closer bond”. Let’s not lose sight of this as the beginning point for anything of good to happen through the logistics of the Dialogue event.

Facilitating the Muslim Christian Dialogue

By Pouria

Through facilitating the Muslim Christian Dialogue 2018 event hosted by A Common Word Alberta, I was greeted with a warm welcome from the multi-culturally diverse audience upon my arrival. Being unacquainted with the others at my table, we played an ice breaker card game to break through the barriers between us. We quickly warmed up to one another as we shared stories and laugher ensued. A humorous moment that I recall, was when a Muslim gentleman, seated next to me, got the ‘share a stressful moment card, but he could hardly recall any stressful moment in his life!

 After the game and the fantastic remarks by the MCs, we had the chance to listen to two inspirational talks by the two guest speakers. The speakers would break to allow every table the opportunity to discuss the topics brought up by the speakers. I certainly enjoyed the mutually compelling discussions at my table, where a Christian lady shared her sad story about her father. Despite all her efforts in opening his eyes to and being more tolerant of different religions, he was still resistant to it. In contrast, everyone at my table was so willing to be open and transparent and coming together in dialogue to “walk the path together”. In addition, we had some detailed discussions on the practical aspects of the two faiths. Undoubtedly, a couple of Christian ladies at my table were somewhat astonished by the refusal of a hand shake by the Muslim gentleman and found it to be a challenging topic, which I tried to explain from the Muslim viewpoint. After an explanation, the ladies were satisfied with the rule and learned that it was by no means used to segregate or disrespect the other gender. It was simply a rule that both Shia women and men follow, due to the special reverence between the genders. Overall, the event was not only beneficial in teaching us to learn the differences between the religions, but also, to learn from and embrace each other’s faiths. To build onto the event, I am looking forward to more of these opportunities in the future.

The 6th Annual Christian/Muslim Interfaith Dialogue

By Joseph Abraham

The sixth Christian-Muslim Dialogue was held at the ARCA Banquet Hall in Edmonton on October 27, 2018. The theme of the Interfaith Dialogue was “Walking Together: Experiencing Peace In Our Midst.”

In a world that is constantly changing, where relationships between nations and neighbors are deteriorating, it is imperative that we constantly communicate with each other. Engaging in dialogue is very important to understand the view of others, especially in today’s world where we are no longer living in a situation where we are insulated from outside influences. As the saying goes the only constant in the world is change. Those people who are not willing to adapt to the changes that come, are left behind. Embracing change does not mean that we have to give up the values we stand for, but it is always beneficial to look for positives in the opposite parties whom we detest. Participating in the Interfaith Dialogue definitely helped to open the eyes of many in that regard.

After coming to Canada as a new immigrant myself, I faced many challenges to integrate with the Canadian psyche along with much discrimination and racism. The same discrimination exists in the country I originated from, in the form of the caste system where different groups are considered superior to others based on the caste they are born into. I could experience the feelings of the lower caste when I arrived in Canada and faced a similar type of discrimination.

These very same feelings of discrimination and hopelessness are currently being felt by the Muslim community and visible minorities in Canada which were clearly highlighted by the speaker Mr.Zaid al Rawni. The importance of loving your neighbor was highlighted by Dr.Wes Thiessen from Calgary.

The fundamentals of Christianity as explained by Jesus himself in Mark 12:30-31 as following:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

When we Christians follow the above two commandments of God it is possible to experience “peace in our midst.”