Muslim Voices for an Interreligious America

The Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad’s living example—the Sunnah—continue to guide the global Muslim community in their engagement with religious diversity since the 7th century. The unique and exclusive claims of those sacred Islamic sources are affirmed by Muslims while being held in tension with passages that stress diversity as divinely sanctioned. What emerges is a Muslim posture of dialogue that affirms difference, and sameness, alike.

Whether early examples of the Muslim migration to Christian Abyssinia, the declaration of The Charter of Medina or more recent efforts like the Jurisprudence of Muslim Minorities (fiqh al-aqalliyat) and statements by Muslim scholars like A Common Word or The Marrakesh Declaration, Islamic history demonstrates that Muslims have a wide range of experiences and resources that focus on interreligious engagement.

In light of these rich resources, how can Muslims envision an interreligious America that draws on the multifaceted Qur’anic and Prophetic assessment of religious diversity? What role do Islam and Muslims play in building an interreligious society? What are the unique contributions that the multi-ethnic and multi-racial Muslim community in America can make to this project? What are the prerequisites and challenges in that regard? What kind of intellectual, moral, social, political infrastructure needs to be cultivated and created in order to build an interreligious society in which Muslims can flourish and thrive alongside with other communities?    

As an organization devoted to inquiry around religion and religious difference, ICJS welcomes robust reflection and debate by American Muslim scholars and their engagement with religious diversity.