The Impotence of Interfaith Dialogue

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/khurram-dara/the-impotence-of-interfaith-dialogue_b_3057947.html

Khurram DaraAuthor, The Crescent Directive
Posted: 04/11/2013 10:33 am

The United States is, and has been, one of the most religiously tolerant countries in the world. But even the strongest have their moments of fatigue. With anti-Catholic "nativism" in the 19th century, rampant anti-Semitism in the 20th century, and most recently, anti-Muslim sentiment post-9/11, it seems as though religious intolerance is as much a part of American history as religious tolerance.

And as we would expect, there is a desire -- mostly by members of an affected group, but also by many unaffected do-gooders -- to increase tolerance. Today, often effectuated by interfaith organizations or advocacy groups, there is a concerted effort to confront the ignorance that fosters the intolerance. The hope is to dispel negative stereotypes, find common ground among religions, or simply educate the public. It could be a town hall meeting with a priest, rabbi, and imam, a religious student group tabling at a college campus, or an activist taking to the airwaves to debate a talking head. Irrespective of form, all of these attempts at increasing tolerance are grounded in the belief that if people were more informed and better educated about a particular religion, they would be less likely to have animosity toward its members.

But is this approach the most effective? Consider the type of individual who attends an interfaith event at his or her local community center. Do we really expect to find uneducated, ignorant individuals at these events? Of course not, in fact, we'd likely find individuals that are already open-minded and have a willingness to learn more.

Even if these methods were properly targeted, there are a host of issues and impediments to their success. If we're exposing misconceptions, pointing out half-truths, or educating in general, we're necessarily limited in terms of who can participate; we would have to rely on those well versed in, and knowledgeable of, the faith's tenets. Assuming we had a sufficient number of willing educators, think of the various schools of thought and interpretive disagreements that exist within each religion.

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