One of the world’s most eminent Islamic scholars will urge fellow Muslims to respect “the compassionate teachings of the true Islam” in a landmark lecture this evening (Wednesday, October 21st).

Speaking at the University of Cambridge, Dr. Aref Ali Nayed (pictured), a leading Muslim advocate for inter-faith dialogue and Director of Kalam Media and Research, will call for followers of all faiths to reach deeply into their scholarly traditions to find resources for engaging with one another in relation to the challenges of the modern world.

He will also warn his audience of the need to guard against the “mutilation” of religion displayed in recent terrorist atrocities and “unite in compassion against human cruelty.”

The presentation, which will be attended by leading Muslims from the UK and Oman, including Oman's Minister for Religious Affairs, Shaykh Abdullah Al Salmi, marks the latest stage in a series of discussions between Muslim and Christian theologians exploring their differences and discovering how both faiths can work together in a spirit of peace, hope and friendship.

Dr. Nayed will highlight the Qu’ran’s teachings on the importance of compassion towards others and respect for human diversity. Both, he will say, are fundamental principles of Islam that should guide the relationships between Muslims of different denominations and between Islam and other faiths.

His lecture adds: “Just as the peace-loving teaching of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) was sometimes warped and invoked to unleash cruel actions, the peace-loving teaching of Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sometimes also warped and invoked to unleash cruel attacks on fellow human beings, such as in the grotesque terrorist attacks of recent times.”

The dominant note is nevertheless one of hope. “With God's permission, ecologies of peace, compassion and blessing are already flourishing in both heavenly and earthly gardens," he will say.

The lecture, which is being hosted by the University of Cambridge’s Inter-Faith Programme, is a direct response to an earlier presentation given by the Programme’s Director, Professor David Ford, at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Oman, earlier this year. Shaykh Abdullah Al Salmi is attending on behalf of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, in a visit whose purpose is to deepen relations between Oman and the University of Cambridge.

Entitled “A Muscat Manifesto”, Professor Ford's paper laid out a set of nine principles for “wise theology” designed to guide inter-faith relations in the future. Among other things, it encouraged a deep understanding of the religious scripture underpinning both faiths and “partnerships of difference” – groups, networks and personal relationships – dedicated to inter-faith conversation.

In reply, Dr. Nayed will say that many of these principles of wise theology are echoed by statements within the Qu’ran. He will also call for “respectful engagement” not just between Muslims, Jews and Christians, but with other traditions, in the light of the challenges of the modern world.

Where these different belief systems cannot agree, the lecture says it is the duty of Muslims to wait patiently and pray for divine arbitration. The spreading of peace, it adds, is “absolutely essential to true religiosity”.

Professor Ford said: “Aref Nayed is one of the most significant contemporary Muslim thinkers. This lecture should be a further milestone in relations between the Abrahamic faiths, as Aref Nayed engages with some of the core issues in our ongoing inter-faith discussion.”

Dr. Nayed’s lecture: “Growing Ecologies of Peace, Compassion and Blessing” will take place on Wednesday, 21st October, at 5pm in the Runcie Room, Faculty of Divinity, West Road, Cambridge. All are welcome to attend.
 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.