Embracing a plurality of perspectives Over the centuries...

Embracing a plurality of perspectives Over the centuries, there have been few religious leaders who have possessed the patience or the courage to learn about the religion of the other with openness, tolerance, and compassion or to accept that other faiths may be encountering different aspects of the same truth. Medieval Christian apologists from the 7th to the 14th centuries struggled to understand Islam, usually reading the Quran and other Muslim literature in its original language.

The majority of these apologists strove to prove the supremacy of Christianity over Islam; however, there were a few exceptions.

Peter the Venerable, for example, wrote in the 12th century that in addressing Muslims, Christians should proceed "not as our people often do, by arms, but by words; not by force, but by reason; not in hatred, but in love." Nicholas of Cusa produced "Sifting the Quran" in the 15th century, which argues that the Quran may be used as an introduction to the Gospel, and praises the human and religious virtues of Muslims.

One of the most compelling calls for religious tolerance may come from the Gospel of John. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prays for the unity of all of his followers: 'Father, may they all be one as you are in me, and I in you; may they also be on in us so that the world may believe that you sent me' (John 17:20, 21).

Although this appears to be a call to unity within the Church itself, it could also suggest a broader interpretation, calling followers of all faiths to worship the same God. The Christian response to other faiths is also expressed in the book of Acts where Peter, responding to the realities of a multi-faith community states, "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 10: 34-35).

There have been several Shi'ia scholars who have supported the call to unity among a plurality of religious perspectives, particularly in the name of establishing peace. The late Allamah Tabataba'I in his interpretation of verse 200 of the Ali-Imran chapter of the Qur'an says: "Undoubtedly, the emergence and formation of any society are the results of a single objective shared in common by all the members of that society.

This objective is like a spirit which is inspired in all nooks and crannies of the society and brings about a certain type of unity among members of the society." In response to this, Dr.