"Building a Better Bridge" is a record of the fourth 'Building Bridges' seminar held in Sarajevo in 2005 as part of an annual symposium on Muslim-Christian relations cosponsored by Georgetown University and the Archbishop of Canterbury. This volume presents the texts of the public lectures with regional presentations on issues of citizenship, religious believing and belonging, and the relationship between government and religion-both from the immediate situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and from three contexts further afield: Britain, Malaysia, and West Africa.Both Christian and Muslim scholars propose key questions to be faced in addressing the issue of the common good. How do we approach the civic sphere as believers in particular faiths and as citizens of mixed societies? What makes us who we are, and how do our religious and secular allegiances relate to one another? How do we accommodate our commitment to religious values with acknowledgement of human disagreement, and how can this be expressed in models of governance and justice? How are we, mandated by scriptures to be caretakers, to respond to the current ecological and economic disorder of our world? Michael Ipgrave and his contributors do not claim to provide definitive answers to these questions, but rather they further a necessary dialogue and show that, while Christian and Islamic understandings of God may differ sharply and perhaps irreducibly, the acknowledgement of one another as people of faith is the surest ground on which to build trust, friendship, and cooperation.
Introduction Muslims, Christians and the Common GoodMichael Ipgrave 1. Believers and Citizens "In Broken Images": Faith in the Public SphereMaleiha Malik Christian Faith and National BelongingMichael Nazir-Ali Faith and National Identity of Catholics in Bosnia-HerzegovinaMato Zovkic The Identity of Christians in Church and in StateBogdan Lubardi Faith and National Identity in BritainZaki Badawi and Michael IpgraveNotes 2. Seeking the Common Good Islamic Views of the CollectiveTariq Ramadan The Common Good: Catholicism, Pluralism, and Secular SocietyJohn LanganBosnian Muslim Scholars on Governance and JusticeFikret Karcic Muslim and Christian Perspectives on Different Models of Governance and JusticeVladimir CiricGovernment and Religion in MalaysiaMohammad Hashim Kamali Different Models of Governance and Justice: A West African Christian PerspectiveJohn Azumah Notes 3. Caring Together for the World We Share Christianity, Islam and the Challenge of PovertyRowan Williams Poverty and the Charism of IshmaelTimothy J. Winter Speaking to the HeartEllen F. Davis yatology and Rahmatology: Islam and the EnvironmentAref Ali Nayed Notes ConclusionBuilding Bridges in Bosnia-HerzegovinaMichael Ipgrave Index
