Questioning the Promotion of Friendship in Interfaith Dialogue: Interfaith Friendship in Light of the Emphasis on Particularity in Scriptural Reasoning
Creators: name: Fields, Jennifer Ruth
Publisher: name: Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Year: 2020
Subjects: Scriptural Reasoning
Interfaith Dialogue
Interreligious Dialogue
Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue
Abrahamic Religions
Muslim-Christian Relations
Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations
Comparative Religion
Friendship
Qur'an
Bible
Nostra Aetate
A Common Word
Interfaith Relations
Interreligious Relations
Interfaith Friendship
Interreligious Friendship
Mutual Understanding
Mutual Respect
awliyā’
biṭānatan
Islam
Christianity
Judaism
Muslims
Christians
Jews
Islamophobia
anti-Semitism
Particularities
Dialogue
Building Relationships
Disagreement
Hospitality

description: ‘Friendship’ is among the buzzwords such as ‘peace’, ‘tolerance’, and ‘understanding’, that are part of a shared vocabulary in the interfaith world. In discussions of the goals and benefits of interfaith dialogue, buzzwords such as ‘friendship’ are often implicitly presented as a common currency, and there is little attempt to explore how people within each religious tradition might define, shape, and describe them differently. How might, for example, Christians and Muslims differ in their opinions on the nature, possibilities, and limits of interfaith friendship? Looking at general interfaith dialogue material and at material for a specific type of interfaith dialogue, ‘Scriptural Reasoning’, I consider Christian and Muslim discourse, including promotional material for charities, speeches by religious leaders, religious documents, non-academic material (e.g. online forums, magazines), and academic material. I also look at discussions regarding the Qur’ānic verses about friendship with the religious other, which are one source of a specifically Muslim approach to the idea of interfaith friendship. My data shows that Christians tend to depict friendship as an obvious goal or benefit of interfaith dialogue, typically without explaining what interfaith friendship entails. Muslims tend to use friendship language much more sparingly in the context of interfaith dialogue, and when they do use it, it is with caveats. I note how the generic use of friendship language creates tension with the efforts to pay 'attention to the particularities of the traditions and scriptures' that the founders and practitioners of Scriptural Reasoning, among others, advocate. What questions does this analysis raise about how we frame and promote interfaith dialogue, and what other approaches to naming the goals or benefits of dialogue may be available, once attention to the particularities has made the appeal to friendship more complex?
description: The Polonsky Foundation provided me with a full Ph.D. studentship grant via the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme at the University of Cambridge, as well as extra funding during my medical intermission. Funds for Women Graduates funded an additional academic year of study. I received financial assistance from several other funding bodies throughout the years I worked on this thesis: The Worshipful Company of Cutlers awarded me the Craythorne Scholarship; Jesus College alumnus, John Driscoll, gifted me a grant through the Jane Bourque-Driscoll Fund; and Jesus College provided me with financial assistance via various other College funds.