November 18th

Reflections on Muslim Christian Dialogue 2024

The planning committee for our Annual Christian Muslim Dialogue this year chose the story of Jonah/Younis  as a story beloved to both faith traditions. The story seemed to resonate for our time – a time where many feel the darkness of difficult times and the need to find hope and potentially a path forward.  
 
Our three guest speakers brought Christian, Muslim and Indigenous perspectives to bear.  And our nine tables also reflected the diversity of perspectives as people from various faith traditions came together looking to build trust, deepen relationships, and find common ground   
 
In the lead up to the event, as I shared the topic for this year’s dialogue, I got similar responses from both faith groups: Christians tell the story of Younis?  Muslims tell the story of Jonah? There was excitement in learning that we have this story in common.  
 
And yet the Jonah/Younis story is quite different in each tradition.  
 
The Christian and Muslim presenters, Reverend Rob and Imam Nabil, respectively, were committed to telling the story in complete faithfulness to their traditions, in the spirit of celebrating the diversity of our faiths. “We are not the same.  We’ve got differences, but we can learn from each other,” Imam Nabil explained.  And this invitation created safety for exploring difference, learning from each other, in order to come together as one humanity. Yes – “we can coexist beautifully in our difference!” 
 
As has happened in every dialogue since ACWAB came into being in 2011, those who participated loved the table discussions. We used talking sticks to ensure that there was order and balance in the sharing. These sticks were made collaboratively by Al Rashid Mosque volunteers and Indigenous community leaders years ago.   
 
Here are some nuggets I heard from the presenters and my table discussion:

We began with a short Indigenous teaching from Della Lizotte. She shared about story, how important storytelling is to the Indigenous way, and how much richer we are when we share  our histories that have shaped us to understand each other better. Through storytelling, we connect. Through listening, we reinforce information sharing to help others  learn. The story of Jonah reminds us that God was always there!  Whatever we do, our God loves us unconditionally and helps us on our way.
 
In the Muslim telling of the story, Younis tried for 30 years to convince his people (Younis  is a Ninevite in this tradition) to turn back to God, and they wouldn’t listen. And so Younis got impatient and left.  And here the stories converge: Younis gets on a ship, a storm comes, and Younis gets thrown overboard.  In the dark belly of the whale, Younis realizes his shortcomings and prays a prayer of asking for understanding. 
 
But Younis had two friends including a man named Rubil. And while Younis was in the belly of the whale, the people finally listened – to this friend.  And when the whale vomits Younis onto dry land, a gourd grows to help Younis understand his mistake: Younis was more worried about the insects destroying the gourd than the people he left behind. Younis finally understands. 
 
Reverend Rob then shared the story as found in the Hebrew scriptures, highlighting the following:
Jonah is Jewish and was called to travel to a distant place to give God’s judgment to a people Jonah hated.  He was a foreigner in enemy territory. Jonah wanted to get away from the call! 
 
The whale keeps him safe and delivers him where he didn’t want to go. God is merciful and loving. When Jonah reluctantly shares the warning to the Ninevites, the common people  – the grassroots – listened to the prophet’s words; took them to heart; and repented.  And their actions trickled up to the King who joined the people in turning back to God. 
 
God seems to be asking Jonah: Who are you to decide who I will be merciful to – who I will forgive? 
 
And so, Jonah is a reluctant prophet – for many Christians he feels very much like a typical human! Struggling with self-interest and our own biases while trying to serve God.
 
Now it must be noted that Christians and Muslims understand the role of the prophet quite differently.  Prophets for Christians are not necessarily without sin, as they are in Islam. For Christians, only one is without sin, and that is Jesus. Prophets exist to call people back to God, but prophets have the capacity to sin as much as the next person.
 
At our table, we agreed, however, that although there are differences, the substance of the story resonates in the same way:

• God holds us to account!  We might think we can’t bear the call, but with God, all is possible!  When we reach out to God, we create an opening for everything else. 
• Whatever little I know can be used to spread the word!
• The real King of Nineveh is God!  The power of the grassroots plus wise companions help us speak truth to power to push back against the darkness. 
• The story reminds us of the miracle of seeing the other as part of us! 
• God has faith in us.  We need to have faith in each other as we wrestle with darkness and invite humanity out of darkness and into God’s mercy and forgiveness.

At the conclusion of the dialogue, we broke bread together and continued the fellowship. Many are looking forward to the next opportunity to build even deeper relationships.