New guidelines on inter-faith harmony

The document was unveiled at City Hall in front of representatives of both the Muslim and Anglican religions.

The guidelines aim to foster greater understanding between adherents of the two faiths as well as dispel some common misconceptions.

The guidelines were officially endorsed by the Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend David James and Mufti Mohammed Aslam, president of Jamiat-e-Ulama Britain.

Key issues identified are the historical attitudes of both faiths to each other and the need to focus not just on negative examples; mutual respect and understanding of the basic etiquette or adab when visiting a place of worship whether it be church or mosque; advice on the use of language particularly in regard to the separation between ethnic identity and faith.

The Bishop said: “It is with great delight that I commend these national guidelines.

“It is fitting that we encourage co-operation between mosque and church, Imam and clergy and that it should be signed in a civic building.

“Nothing is more urgent than for Christians and Muslims to show how we can work together. For some years there have been regular and cordial relations between faith leaders. These guidelines go further and aim to develop relationships of trust and active collaboration.”

Mufti Mohammed Aslam said Muslims had to realise and accept the responsibilities and challenges that society presents.

He said: “The Koran says we are the sons and daughters of the same father and mother.

“That is our humanity. Muslims have been wrongly branded as terrorists in the media but Islam means peace and well being not just for Muslims but for all those who live alongside us and we need to make sure we can all live in peace and harmony together.”

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Howard Middleton said the guidelines built on many practices that were already taking place in the city.

He said: “I am delighted on behalf of the Council to support this historic first.

“We are proud of the many good relationships that exist between faith communities in Bradford and their contribution to the well being of the city.

“It is so very important to build upon and enhance our existing channels of communication and I firmly believe these guidelines will go a long way to achieving this.”

Councillor Martin Smith, who holds the safer communities portfolio on Bradford Council, also welcomed the guidelines.

He said: “We have been working on this issue for some years here in Bradford liaising between Council, the Muslim faith organisations and the Christian groups. It is interesting now that this is being taken up on a national level. We have excellent links here which go all the way through our society from housing issues to policing and community links. Bradford is very much at the vanguard of this kind of approach.”

The guidelines are one of a number of measures and initiatives which are to be introduced in the coming months and years to further promote co-operation between the two faiths in Bradford and across the UK.

e-mail: paddy.mcguffin @telegraphandargus.co.uk

The guidelines are:

For God’s sake

The last 50 years has seen the creation of Muslim communities in Britain as well as across other western, European countries.

This new chapter in Muslim history is full of promise as well as perplexity.

Britain’s Muslim communities, many with roots in majority Muslim societies, are having to learn new skills of living well in a pluralist society marked by a complex Christian and secular past.

Britain’s Christians, for their part, are having to learn to share public and civic space with another world faith which also makes universal claims. The prize in Britain is to show a sceptical wider society that Christians and Muslims can serve God – with their commitment to dawah and mission undiminished – while committed together to improve the quality of life locally for all.

Beyond suspicion

Our two world religions have had a long and sometimes troubled history. We are not responsible for our past history but we are responsible how we use our history.

We commit ourselves not to simply re-play those negative episodes where the ‘other’ was the enemy and so deepen suspicion, but to quarry our respective histories to retrieve and celebrate those episodes of creative co-existence and generosity.

Equally, we are determined not to allow international relations – over which we have no direct control – to dictate how we relate to each other in our cities as British citizens.

British Muslims are no more responsible collectively for such terrorist atrocities as those committed in London on July 7, 2005 than British Christians for the excesses of western foreign policy!

What is expected of imams and clergy?

If imams and clergy are to develop links with a local minister/church, they will need the support of their mosque committee or Christian congregation. We will have to address any misgivings they have about such relationships.

Initially, we would encourage meeting at a neutral venue. In future, we hope to produce additional resources to deepen co-operation with an emphasis on small practical initiatives appropriate in a locality. Also, shared guidelines about the appropriate adab/etiquette in visiting a mosque or church. For example, where salat/worship is taking place, the Christian or Muslim visitor is not expected to participate but rather to watch respectfully.

Taking care over the language we use of each other

In our post-7/7 world, we have to learn a language to speak of each other from mimbar/pulpit which is respectful and enables responsible relationships. It will be a good discipline to ask the following questions: If a Christian or a Muslim was listening to my khutba/sermon would he recognise himself in what I was saying about him and his religious tradition?

Do my words encourage my namazis/congregation to relate well to their neighbours and colleagues at work or to keep their distance from them? The latter is a betrayal of dawah and mission.

Christians need to disentangle ethnicity from religion.

Practically, this means not using ‘Pakistani’ as a shorthand for ‘Muslim’. Not all ‘Pakistanis’ are Muslim – many are ‘census’ Muslims and a minority Christian. Further, we should beware of such pejorative labels as ‘fundamentalist’.

Muslims might wish to refer to Christians as Ahl al Kitab, ‘People of the Book’ – a more respectful term than Kafir, ‘non-believer’ which can fuel an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality.

Moreover, not all gore [‘whites’] are Christian, a majority are also likely to be ‘census’ Christians!

Such a care for our language will help us to get away from confusing ‘ethnic’ identity – English or ‘Pakistani’ – with religion. This will also help educate our namazis/congregation to distinguish ‘cultural abuse’ from religious teaching: ‘forced marriage’ is no more part of Islamic teaching than ‘binge drinking’ is part of ‘Christianity’!

Learning to live with our differences

While there is much that unites us, Muslim and Christian also have wise advice within their respective scriptures for acknowledging real differences.

Such require candour and civility: Sura 16:125 urges Muslims to: “Invite all to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.”

In the New Testament are the following words: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)

Shared action rooted in our ethical norms

Christians and Muslims, despite fundamental doctrinal differences, share many ethical norms. Surah al-Nisa [4:135] includes the following luminous comment: “O those who believe, be upholders of justice – witnesses for Allah, even though against (the interest of) yourselves or parents and your kinsmen…”

For Christians, justice in society is frequently judged by its treatment of the vulnerable – where three groups are usually mentioned: the stranger [the asylum seeker, if you like], the orphan and the widow [psalm 146].

This is a firm basis to extend and enlarge the range of issues on which there is already co-operation.

This co-operation already encompasses such examples as: Muslims and Christians co-operating with others on a ‘curry run’, where vulnerable, urban people are fed; Church and mosque co-operating on a summer project with the youth service to engage local, disaffected young men – young men who formerly had been causing a nuisance to Christians and Muslims at worship; Islamic Relief and Christian Aid producing joint posters which went into mosque and church to raise money to relieve victims of humanitarian disasters and an inter-city cricket competition involving mixed clergy and imam teams.