The idea of the Dialogue of Civilizations cannot be rejected...

The idea of the Dialogue of Civilizations cannot be rejected by a humble civilized human being, nor disapproved by an astutely religious individual. One should get beyond the various forms of contemporary fundamentalism and extremism wherever possible. Muslims today should operate with epistemological modesty, as no one can deny that great civilizations have been built by wise non-fundamentalist leaders like the Greeks, Chinese, Persian and Muslims.

The Qur'anic principle supports such a civilized approach, and we may quote the following Qur'aic verses: "إذ قال لصاحبه وهو يحاوره، أكفرت .... الآية." "His companion said to him while disputing with him: Do you disbelieve in Him who created you from dust, then from a small seed, then He made you a perfect man?" Qur\'an 18:37 "أدع الى سبيل ر