Abstract
Interfaith dialogue has surfaced as an emblem of peace becoming a voice for peaceful relations amongst the adherents of different religions in a world embroiled in wars, conflicts and religious intolerance. It focuses on the dialogue of the followers of different religions especially on a scholarly level to identify the commonalities in various religions in order to proceed towards the common aim of communal harmony. This paper aims to examine the importance of interfaith dialogue in contemporary era and provides the rationale to pursue this dialogue by elucidating statements from the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith. Furthermore, it examines the rationale of inter-faith dialogue present in other religions including Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism. The dialogue faces various challenges which need to be dealt with a comprehensive approach. As a result of this dialogue, mistrust and inaccurate perceptions will be removed and empathy between religious communities will be enhanced. The inter-faith dialogue will not only open channels of communication between the factions that are unable to interact normally but also confront the realities of hate, discrimination and violence in our society.
Keyword(s)
Interfaith, Dialogue, Environment, conflict resolution, Hadith, Rationale