The University of Deusto hosted the 3rd International Symposium on Christian-Muslim relations titled: “Universal-Communitarian Approaches to Social Values in Christianity and Islam” organized by the HEST Cluster on Christian and Muslim Relations.
The Symposium gathered 22 participants from the Kircher Network’s institutions and other non-Jesuit universities in Europe. The event started with Dr. Alessandro Ferrary’s lecture: “European laicity on a global scale. The osmosys between the religious and secular juridical orders“ and the presentations that followed revolved around four topics: Creating a common ground: Philosophical and political reflection; Moral values in christianity and islam: underlining universalism or otherness; and, Building a common house: urgency of the Islamo-Christian dialogue.
This symposium, led by Christian and Muslim professors, has advanced as a theoretical and practical interreligious dialogue in the form of an academic discussion and contributes to the international projection of the Andalusian Chair for Interreligious Dialogue.
There were four main topics suggested by the participants for future academic events:
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The Education in Christianity and Islam: The mutual perception between the two religions in education. How is Christianity presented in Muslim education (school books, etc) and vice versa?
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The Role of Family and Women in Society (Traditional conservative approaches that are not in line with modern liberal approaches to the Role of women in society)
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Comparative study of ministry in Christianity and Islam (the roles of the imam, the priest, the nun, etc.); which forms of life do they perform? Celibacy? Studying the different approaches of Sunni, Shia, and Alawi traditions.
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Sharing the different context and country experiences related to Christian-Muslim dialogue. The cluster members come from different backgrounds, contexts, and experiences, so it would be productive to make a round table and share different perceptions.
