Place of Muslims and Christian Dialogue in Islamic Shariah/ Law and the contemporary world.

Abstract

Today, the picture of sharia conceived by the Western population in general is so negative that one could call it Islamophobia. Articles written on “sword verses” extracted from Quran such as Surah Tauba verse 9/ (9:5) to demonstrate that there is no room for religious oluralism and interfaith dialouge in Islam and Muslims cannot be loyal citizens in a non-Islamic state are aimed at developing theories of hate and legitimating discrimination against Muslims. But the fact is that Islam is a faith of peace and pluralism. Its core values are compassion, mutual respect, acceptance and freedom of religion. The Holy Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are a clear testimony to this. History indicates a long tradition of interreligious harmony and dialouge between Muslims and Christians. This paper focuses on the necessity and general principles for holding dialouges and the way in which dialouge should be conducted between Muslims and Chirstians. It analysis the views of certain Islamic scholars who quote the Holy Quran and say Christians cannot be friends of Muslims. In recent years, some efforts have been made by prominent people and groups of specialists from among Christians and Muslims towards constructive and meaningful dialouge in order to try and explore the common values such as peace, justice, mercy etc. The aim has been to build a pluralistic environment to contribute towards a common future for people of the both faiths and prevent conflict at present and in future.