Scholar describes tensions within Islam and with Christianity

Published: 2007-03-15

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- "It is a mistake to judge Islam on the basis of terrorists, just as it is (unfair) to judge Christianity from the Crusades," an Islamic scholar told a San Francisco audience. Mona Siddiqui, founder and director of the Center for the Study of Islam at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, made the comment in response to a question following a highly annotated lecture on divine love and divine law as they relate to human dignity in Islam. "To see Islam through the example" of suicide bombers "is so very negative and so toxic, and it does Islam a great injustice," she said. Atonement Father Elias Mallon, also a well-known scholar on Islam who provided a formal response to Siddiqui's presentation, agreed. The most positive route to dialogue between faiths, he said, "is to bring the best of ours and the best of yours." However, he added, "the temptation is to focus on the worst of mine and the worst of yours" because the more positive approach can "be boring." The two scholars were featured Feb. 26 at the 28th annual Paul Wattson Lecture on the campus of the University of San Francisco.

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