Interfaith Dialog vs. Cross-Examination

IslamOnline.net posted an edited interview with Merhrezia Al-Obeidi, a French Muslim about the nature of interfaith dialog. She believes in it as an Islamic principle, but says “When I attend seminars I feel as if I’m being cross-examined by police.” She noted that “inter-faith dialogue often diverges from its core message to subjective and irrelevant topics.” Sha maintains that the dialogue, which is axiomatic fact in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic France, with the other should not take a patronizing or derogatory tone. Obeidi, author of several books is co-championing a “fraternity convoy” with Christian and Jewish clerics to “meet schoolchildren and citizens across France, taking the ‘fraternity’ slogan as a springboard for dialogue.”