Here is the English abstract of Ali Salahshour (Assistant Professor at Kurdistan University)'s presentation at the 13^nd pre-con meeting of the conference “Imam Reza (PBUH) and Interreligious Dialogue" which was held in the Kurdistan branch of the International University of Islamic Denominations (Sanandaj, Iran) on  December 19, 2023.

Methodology of Interreligious Dialogue; Social Approaches

One of the most important issues in human life is the issue of religion and its beliefs. Interfaith communication is one of the subfields of communication sciences. The methodology of interfaith dialogue from the perspective of the Qur'an is a continuous process and has gone through the following stages, the first of which is "knowing on another (taʿāruf)" (Al-Hujurat: 13). In the verse, God first attributes the existence of multiplicity and diversity of man to himself. Secondly, it considers the purpose of this variety to be communication and ultimately " knowing on another" or mutual recognition, and ultimately negates any superiority of one over another except through piety. In the second stage, that is, after knowing one another and the acceptance of diversity, God speaks of "alliance" between peoples and religions (Al-'Imran: 64). It is not about changing beliefs; rather, it is about friendly coexistence with a unifying factor, namely common beliefs. After completing these two stages, it is said to "argue with them in the better way" and God invites people to a methodical dialogue (Nahl: 125). For inviting to the straight path of truth, he has mentioned wisdom and good preaching, and for scientific discussions, he has mentioned the argument in the best way and has emphasized it. The phrase "argue with them in the better way" indicates the methodical nature of argument and dialogue. In the fourth stage of this divine process, God gives his servants the good news that they will listen to the words and arguments well and freely choose the best of them (Zumar: 17 and 18). The ultimate goal of interfaith dialogue is to open new windows for thinking, to achieve truths, and to find clear paths. To achieve these goals, there are techniques and etiquettes such as: Politeness and calmness, patience and tolerance, knowledge and trust, tenderness, decisiveness, deliberation, knowing the audience, asking for challenge, wisdom, use of the technique of simile and analogy, using the accepted propositions of the audience, using rational, scientific and historical evidence, avoiding harmful abbreviation and tedious prolixity, avoiding fallacy, and ultimately the techniques of good listening and the use of listening skills.

Translator: Mahdi Qasemi