Baptists and Muslims seek -- and find -- common ground

WHY THIS STORY IS IMPORTANT:
When we feel powerless in the face of longstanding divisions, this story reminds us that when people of good will act wisely and respectfully, they can begin a process of healing.

In his January 12, 2009, story from New Center, Massachusetts, Bob Allen wrote for Associated Baptist Press:

Several dozen Baptists and Muslims gathered Jan. 9-11 to repair a relationship better known for harsh anti-Islamic rhetoric by high-profile Baptist preachers than by dialogue or cooperation.

Also in January, EthicsDaily.com reporter Brian Kaylor, citing the participation of leaders Roy Medley, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches, USA and Sayyid Syeed, national interfaith director of the Islamic Society of North America, explained the genesis of the meeting:

As planning was underway for the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, held early last year in Atlanta, Medley made a comment in a Muslim newspaper that he hoped one early effort of the Baptist unity movement would be an effort to create dialogue with Muslims.

“We need to repair the damage done by Baptists who made hurtful statements about Muslims in the past,” Medley was quoted saying in August 2007. “If you believe in religious liberty, you must respect other religions. The best way to witness to your own faith is through humility and service.”  After reading Medley’s remarks, Syeed wrote Medley in hopes of moving toward the goal of creating dialogue between Muslims and Baptists.

By the August meeting of the Baptist World Alliance, American Baptist News Service was reporting on a call by Neville Callam, general secretary, for a commission that would deal primarily with Baptist conversation with Muslims.

At that international session, Medley reported on the January meeting in Massachusetts:

"There were eye-opening moments for each of us," Medley recalled, "as Muslims asked to learn more about religious liberty and the separation of church and state in democratic, pluralist societies. Baptists were challenged to think more about submission to God, the regular practice of prayer, and the practice of charity as essential to love of neighbor."

"We're very clear that our goal isn't to create Maptists and Buslims — a syncretism of our faiths," he stressed. "We recognize that while we share a 'common word' we do not share common theologies on many points." Rather, he said, the talks are an effort to find common ground, ways to understand each other.

To capture the ideas and event of this year of "common ground," EthicsDaily.com produced a documentary that will be airing nationwide in early 2010.

 The documentary includes stories from:

• -- Washington, D.C., where the Islamic Society of North America maintains an interfaith office;
• -- Oklahoma City and Norman, Okla., where Baptists and Muslims have developed friendships and humanitarian partnerships amid the legacy of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that initially was blamed on Muslims;
• -- the Texas-Louisiana border, where a Baptist pastor and Muslim businesswoman have pooled resources for hurricane relief and other community needs;
• -- Memphis, Tenn., where a Baptist professor and Muslim medical physicist struck up what initially seemed an unlikely relationship to many;
• -- and Columbia, Tenn., where the Islamic center was firebombed in February 2008 by white supremacists, prompting various community responses.