Australian Religious in a Multi-faith Society: Reality, Gift and Challenge
Examples of dialogue within the Church
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I, too, am delighted to speak to you today. I will concentrate on two aspects of inter-religious dialogue, both are to do with Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Part 1
The first is a study, published in the latest Compass Review, so I won't spoil your enjoyment by telling you everything about it now. The study is related to practice rather than to theory, and indeed takes as its starting point the idea that there is quite a bit of theory on the official Catholic side about Muslim-Catholic dialogue, and not a great deal about practice.
Various typologies have been elaborated, most of which draw very arbitrary distinctions between different types of dialogue and who might be involved in the several dialogues.
I can refer you to the excellent book by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald and John Borelli, Interfaith Dialogue: A Catholic View, published by Speck and Orbis Books in 2006.
Auburn study
This study was carried out in co-operation with Mehmet Ozalp of Affinity Intercultural Foundation, and focused on one Muslim and one Catholic worshipping community in Auburn: 50 participants from Auburn mosque and 50 Catholics from St John's, Auburn.
Each Muslim participant was asked what question they would most like to ask a Catholic, and each Catholic was asked what question they would most like to ask a Muslim.
Overall, the study found that each group framed its questions, and therefore revealed its understanding of the issues according, to its own framework of faith. That might be fairly obvious, but it points to an important element which some theorists appear to want excluded from Catholic-Muslim dialogue and that is knowledge and understanding of the other's faith. It is not just about being nice, as Bishop Kevin said, and having cups of tea.
The finding points also to the importance of cultural exchange as well as exchange on religious questions alone because when interreligious dialogue is worked out in real life, people relate to the whole of life and not to discrete parts of it.
Some findings
Muslims wanted to know about the prayer life of Catholics. They asked about the obligation to pray, the frequency, pattern and content of prayers outside Sunday Mass, and prayer to Mary and the saints. They asked about Jesus and His role in salvation.
Catholic responses were spread over a number of areas: they wanted to know how Allah related to Muslims: how does he show his love for them; how do they experience his forgiveness? Sanctions drew one question: can one be expelled from the mosque for moral laxity?
In the context of practice of faith, what was surprising was what was not asked by Catholics. There were very few questions about women in Islam, only five out of 50 addressed the topic, and there were no questions about the wearing of the veil or hijab.
This finding may be explained by the high visibility of veiled Muslim women in Auburn leading to an understanding of the practice as part of the multi-faith and multicultural landscape, and as something which no longer warrants comment or question.
It may be that a different result would have been obtained had the Catholic group come from another part of Sydney where the Muslim women wearing the hijab are few or nonexistent.
However, the interest of the Catholic community in aspects of Islamic practice other than the wearing of the veil is an encouraging sign, and gives hope that, in spite of the media's preoccupation with the position of women in Islam and the veiling of women, non-Muslims exhibit interest in Islam over a much broader range. It is evidence of the community's capacity to develop beyond, or refuse, the categories the media seeks to impose.
Conflict
A strong strand in the questions on the Catholic side was the lack of reciprocity between rights Muslims enjoy in Western democracies and rights non-Muslims are not afforded in some Muslim countries.
Although one question was forcefully formulated - taking for granted that Muslims want to expunge all other religions - the majority, and moderately expressed, sentiment was that, in Australia, Muslims enjoy freedom of religious expression which is not enjoyed by non-Muslims in countries with a predominantly Muslim population.
No differentiation was made between Muslim countries which, as a matter of government policy, do permit non-Muslim religions to practise, and those which, as a matter of government policy, do not do so.
Although the generalisations in the formulation of the questions reveal a lack of understanding of the cultural diversity within Islam, they also evidence the conviction that the refusal of freedom of religious expression cannot be explained away by an appeal to cultural diversity.
The conflict in Iraq and the practice of Muslims deliberately targeting and killing other Muslims, an activity which is reported frequently in the print and electronic media, drew some questions.
Respondents focused on the incongruence between the teaching of the Qur'an on the peaceful nature of Islam and the violent activities of Muslims against other Muslims in Iraq, expressed in some responses as a Sunni versus Shi'a conflict.
Internal Muslim conflict is an issue on which the Australian media does not comment frequently, although some Muslim organisations in Australia, from time to time, issue condemnations of all forms of terrorism.
All in all, this study affirmed that when inter-religious dialogue is worked out in real life, the categories of the typologies have little meaning because people relate to the whole of life and not to parts of it.
Part 2
the booklet: Christian-Muslim Relations: Guidelines for Catholic in the Diocese of Parramatta
Now, I come to the booklet, Christian-Muslim Relations: Guidelines for Catholic in the Diocese of Parramatta, which was launched late last year by the Hon Barbara Perry MP, NSW Minister for Local Government and Member for Auburn.
Barbara is of Lebanese background, a mother of five and holds her seat with a comfortable majority. She is a woman of strong Catholic faith and supports inter-religious dialogue primarily from that perspective, as well as the perspective more common along politicians, social cohesion, understood by some as "Keeping Australia Safe".
The idea of the booklet was born one afternoon when I was driving the Bishop back from a gathering of Catholics involved in a certain ministry. He had been invited to address the gathering on Christian-Muslim dialogue. At the end, the facilitator divided the assembly into small groups and invited them to return with comments or questions.
What astounded me, and Bishop Kevin too, was the complete lack of awareness, not hostility, but a breathtaking lack of awareness on the part of most of these Catholics that Catholic-Muslim dialogue was happening around them. That afternoon, we decided to do something about the lack of awareness by way of a small publication, which would enhance awareness, and provide encouragement.
I read from the Introduction,
"this booklet is designed to help; to reassure you that the Church supports inter-religious dialogue; to remove some of the mystery attached to what Muslims believe and, most of all to encourage you to take some small steps in friendship and dialogue."
We are fortunate to have in the diocese, Fr Herman Roborgh, a Jesuit, who is very well versed in Islam. He and I collaborated on the text of the booklet.
Wendie Parker, a designer in the Parramatta Catholic Education Office, did the design and layout, and those of you who have seen the booklet, or will buy it, will agree that she did a fantastic job. Her choice of images and overall design really gave the text life.
Readers have commented that the text is simple, and we are delighted to hear that. To present a complex subject in accessible language, and retain the integrity of the topic, is not an easy task and Fr Herman is particularly gifted in that regard.
Other feedback suggests that the booklet has been found to be useful in schools, especially for the HSC Board Courses in Studies in Religion. It has found its way into the diocesan seminary in Los Angeles, theologates in Ireland, and to houses of study in Malaysia.
The topics covered are:
What is inter-religious dialogue
Muslims in Australia (Sunni/'Shia)
The Church's attitude to Muslims; the Qu'rans' teaching on non-Muslims
What does the Qu'ran say about Christians
Christ; What we have in common and
The importance of relationships.
It ends with a section on Practical Considerations.
At one stage, Herman was for ditching this page but I held firm because it talks about hospitality, a very important aspect of Muslim life. Catholic women frequently say to me, but not to Herman, "I want to invite them back for a meal but I know there's something about the food? What will I do?" This page tells you what to do.
We have given you a gift of a booklet, with an order form and I know that you'll know how to fill it in.
I would like to end with a quote from a recent pilgrim to the Holy Land, yes Pope Benedict XVI. I saw that Clare used this quote on CathNews!
"There are three fundamental impressions: the first is that I found everywhere, in every context, Muslim, Christian and Jewish, a determined readiness for inter-religious dialogue, for encounter and collaboration among the religions. And it is important that everyone see this not only as an action inspired by political motives but as a fruit of the very core of faith. Because believing in one God who has created us all, believing that God is love and wants love to be the dominant force in the world, implies this encounter, this need for an encounter, for dialogue, for collaboration as a requirement of faith itself."
Thank you for the opportunity to join you this morning
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