Zaidie and I were delighted to join our friends at St Andrews URC for an event they had organised called ‘Understanding Islam’, presented by Dr Chris Hewer. I learnt a great deal about Islam and was reminded how little I know about this world faith. Much of what Chris said challenged our Christian stereotypes of Islam and he gave us a sympathetic picture of the beliefs, practices and spirituality of muslims, whilst not ignoring the significant differences between our two religions and our understanding of God. Chris was speaking from a Christian point of view but was able to help us see the world of faith from an Islamic perspective. It reminded me of my previous experiences of relating to people of other faiths. Whilst we might feel uneasy at first, we soon discover how rewarding it is to engage with people who are different from us. Such encounters don’t threaten our faith, but actually help us think more deeply about what we do believe and why. It may be a bit of a paradox, but in my experience taking someone else’s faith seriously can strengthen our own.
If you feel you would like to find out more, Chris runs a very useful website: https://www.chrishewer.org Jamie