Mission: A Proclamation in Dialogue. A Focus on the Middle East Ecumenical Contribution to Interfaith Dialogue

Abstract

This contribution surveys early encounters between people of different faiths that were sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) during the second half of the 20th century. These early meetings were of great significance in establishing the foundations of interfaith dialogue. The chapter pays special attention to the pioneering roles of Middle Eastern Christian theologians and Muslim scholars as well as to the regional ecumenical bodies, mainly the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). Lebanon with its multi-confessional identity provided an excellent venue to host these meetings. The chapter argues that these meetings played a crucial role in fostering mutual understanding between people of different faiths and instituting Christian-Muslim dialogue. A sketch of the historical development of the dialogues shows that, while the concept of interfaith dialogue was contested in missionary circles in the first half of the 20th century, the ecumenical movement provided an impetus for interfaith dialogue as a tangible expression of faith commitment and the freedom to proclaim one’s religion in a pluralistic world, thus overcoming the dichotomy between witness and dialogue. This chapter relies on reports and statements that were issued by the various ecumenical dialogue meetings.