Fear and Friendship: Anglicans Engaging with Islam

Many encounters between people of different religions are marked by an initial sense of incompetence, ignorance and fear-- of getting it wrong, of causing offence, of ulterior motives. Such fears are here explored honestly, in stories of actual situations and relationships - often unexpected, sometimes funny, invariably profound.Friendship is presented as a public rather than merely a private phenomenon, enabling relations of trust and depth to develop and leading to the possibility of authentic talk and reciprocity of respect and courtesy. It emerges as a risky venture in learning how to be human, involving honest negotiation, self-sacrifice and a seeking after the truth. It can enable people to address the fears that so often prohibit inter-religious encounters from deepening beyond the superficial. A strong underlying theme is how the Church of England can contribute to social cohesion in a religiously pluralistic society, even if local clergy and congregations at first feel untrained or wary.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1441101497
• ISBN13: 9781441101495
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: Continuum
• Length: 154 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.4"