Scholar: Christians, Muslims need to defend faith in secular world

Published: 2007-01-26

ROME (CNS) -- Christians and Muslims need to defend the importance of faith in a world that increasingly accepts only the concrete as real or reasonable and they need to demonstrate that faith in God is reasonable, said an expert in Catholic-Muslim dialogue. Missionary of Africa Father Maurice Borrmans, a retired professor of Islam, said Pope Benedict XVI's "unfortunate citation" of a 14th-century Christian criticism of Islam has led Catholic and Muslim scholars to reaffirm the importance of their dialogue and to recognize the common challenges they face. Father Borrmans spoke Jan. 25 at Rome's Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, where he had taught for many years. While saying the use of the quote was a mistake, Father Borrmans also said, "We must rejoice that there is a desire for a dialogue that would focus on even the most sensitive questions and face the most difficult challenges" modern culture poses for believers.

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