May 26, 2013

Devilish Details -- Part 1

By Andrew E. Harrod
The Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at Georgetown University hosted on April 24, 2013, a conference on "The Boundaries of Religious Pluralism & Freedom: The Devil is in the Detail" (conference video here). Conducted within the framework of the six-year old "A Common Word" initiative of international Christian-Muslim dialogue, this conference offered surprising insights into Islam's aggressive and authoritarian elements. These insights showed that even at an event emphasizing interfaith coexistence with Islam, this religion's darker side simply will not disappear. No number of amiable academic conferences at venues like Georgetown or superficial invocations of Islam as a "religion of peace" can replace the critical measures necessary to overcome Islam's internal barriers to freedom. Throughout the daylong conference, the participants, many of them declared Christians and Muslims, discussed the theme of freedom for all to practice, preach, and...(Read Full Article)