Bosnian Delegation Visit UK

When visiting Bosnia in October last year, it soon became apparent that as our friendship developed, it would be only natural that our hosts would visit us in the UK. So I am very pleased to say, that with the hard work and dedication of Anjum Anwar and Chris Chivers from Blackburn Cathedral, as well as Leslie Griffiths and Paul Johns, that this visit was made possible, and was a great success.

This was a wonderful opportunity for those who did not travel to Bosnia last year to meet with some of the people that took part in the Christian Muslim conference. The Bosnian delegation was made up of Six Christians and Four Muslim, all whom we had met when in Bosnia and all whom had valuable stories to share with the people that they met in the UK.

Our Bosnian friends were in great demand. Starting their week visiting Nottingham, then on to Blackburn and ending in London, where in one day they visited Westminster Abbey, given a tour of the House of Lords, took tea with Princess Alexandra, finishing their busy day with a guided tour of London, a project I was only too happy to lead!

It was more than appropriate that their stay in Blackburn coincided with the launch of the ‘F word’ at Blackburn Cathedral. I continue to be amazed by the power of forgiveness and love expressed by our Muslim and Christian friends. The recollection of the conflict in Bosnia by our guests proves to be a continual lesson for people of all faiths, and a powerful example of how our faith can provide us a lucid picture of reality in times of conflict.

It is often the case that we do little justice when trying to explain the ability of faith to reconcile differences. It is often better to listen and learn from the accounts of those who have been involved in violent conflict. The Bosnian visit enabled this process to take place and reach a larger audience, within what was a very busy and tiring week for our guests.

Listening to the stories of the Bosnian conflict from both Christian and Muslim, young and old, reminded me that it is often in times of great darkness that we truly learn who we are and the important role that our faith plays in our everyday lives. Of the many stories we heard from our Bosnian friends one story will always stay with me, and I hope by sharing it with you, you can also benefit from it.

Father Niko from Tuzla recollected the sheer fear, that at any moment his house and church could be attacked from various groups, a situation shared by many at the time, all previous trust and relationships between communities having broken down. It was amid this fear and confusion that a Muslim neighbour approached Father Niko’s father for help. His Muslim neighbour’s house had been shelled and it was no longer safe for him to stay in what was left of his house. Niko’s father suggested that his neighbour could stay in his house.

Not only is this a wonderful story to hear, it was one told by Niko with some humour, remembering his father’s stubborn theological position, which possibly saved his life. It is a story of deep religious conviction, and courage. Niko’s father was taking this action in a time when Christian and Muslim understanding was being distorted to justify the killing of innocent people. It is also a great example of non-violent action in a time of violent conflict.

I consider it very special to have heard many stories like this from both Christians and Muslims alike. I deeply appreciate the opportunity given to us, one where we can share each others experiences of living together with different faiths.

Daniel Edge

Challenging encounters between Muslims and Christians

An article by friends of the Christian Muslim Forum, Sayyed Nadeem Kazmi and Shaykh Muhammad Amin Evans. Their stories are of:

• not walking over scripture texts on the floor of Coventry Cathedral
• Bibles being placed on the floor
• confused descriptions of Shi’ism
• the things that we say about each other’s scriptures

An encouragement to all of us to be open, generous, understanding and welcoming and deepen our dialogue.

Faith Schools Seminar (Primary)

As the Muslim and Christian Presidents of the Christian Muslim Forum we deplore terrorism and violence, especially any which claims to be religiously justified (‘Chief Constable warns terror fight will take decades’ comments to BBC2′ ‘Generation Jihad’). We re-affirm that our scriptures and prophetic traditions themselves neither inspire nor support violence. Rather they call us to peace, bridge-building and being good neighbours with each other and discourage the waging of war. The roots of religiously justified terrorism and violence lie elsewhere, as many in the community and inter faith organizations have been saying for some years.

We were very disturbed and concerned that the image of a Muslim praying at a mosque was originally used to accompany the online report of this news item. This allows, or encourages, people to wrongly associate religious practice with violence and terrorism. We are pleased that the BBC has recognized that this was inappropriate and have now replaced it. We also ask the BBC, and other media, to avoid associating the mainstream Muslim community, and practice of Islam, with violence and terrorism and clearly identify these as criminal, not Islamic acts.

The Christian Muslim Forum, whose origins pre-date 7/7 and 9/11, exists to promote positive dialogue and better understanding between both faiths by challenging myths, misunderstandings and prejudice. We have contributed to improved public understanding and better relations between both communities through our statements on Religious Festivals, our Ethical Witness guidelines and our current Mosque-Church twinning and Campus Dialogue projects.’

Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham, Dr Musharraf Hussain OBE (Co-Chairs), Revd Esme Beswick MBE, Shaykh Abbas Ismail, Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Shaykh Haytham Tamim, Dr Nicholas Wood