Network for Inter Faith Concerns - News

Thursday 7th February sees the launch of Generous Love: the truth of the Gospel and the call to dialogue

Sub titled 'An Anglican theology of inter faith relations' this short treatise is the culmination of work in which NIFCON has been engaged over the last four years. The discernment of a distinctively Anglican theology of inter faith relations is set against the backdrop of and builds on similar work in other Christian traditions, notably Nostra Aetate.

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NIFCON has added six books and two lectures that were published in the last quarter of 2007 to the Resources section and details of a conference coming up later this month (see Events).

The lectures both deal with matters of faith and citizenship and The Inaugural Zaki Badawi Memorial Lecture on the Books page picks up on issues of pluralism in communities. Two of other books deal with issues of dialogue with Islam and a third on how Christianity maintains a strong but hospitable presence in a minority context. On a completely different theme is Rev Dr Joshva Raja's new title 'Did Jesus Feed Five Thousand People? - Hermeneutical Secrets of John's Gospel'. The sixth book returns to Islam but the geographical perspective switches to Malaysia.

We welcome suggestions for resources to add particular from outside UK and USA.

Early next month NIFCON will publish Generous Love: the truth of the Gospel and the call to dialogue - An Anglican theology of inter faith relations. It will be available to download from this site or in printed form from the NIFCON office.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, today received a copy of a key letter from Muslim scholars and religious leaders addressed to Christian religious leaders. Dr Anas S. Al-Shaikh-Ali, Chair of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, and one of the signatories to the letter, presented it to the Archbishop at Lambeth Palace.

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The Joint Committee, which is composed of a delegation from the Anglican Communion and from the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar al-Sharif for Dialogue with the Monotheistic Religions, held its sixth annual meeting in London on 2-3 September 2007 which corresponds to 21-22 Sha'aban 1428. This was held in accord with the agreement signed at Lambeth Palace on 30 January 2002 by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.

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Welcome to our new website within the main Anglican Communion portal. We hope you find it easier to use and navigate. We would be happy to receive your feedback but most of all we need news from our contacts to reflect the Communion wide nature of the network. High resolutions pictures would be particularly welcome to keep the site fresh and to include in our Anglican Episcopal World pages from time to time.

Meanwhile we have been fortunate to secure funding from the Community Development Foundation to launch the Christian Muslim Digest. This involves a researcher checking through english speaking media and produce a digest of items three or four times per year. The aim is to build a picture of how events are portrayed in the media, to indicate where there are distortions and demonstrate how events in one part of the globe can influence relations elsewhere. It will also be interesting to read the diversity of Christian-Muslim relations around the Communion.

The first issue is available here: http://nifcon.anglicancommunion.org/digest/docs/digest01.cfm

A recent email enquiry to the NIFCON office began with this question based on the fact that the website had not been updated in a very very long time. The reply then and now is that we are very much alive and kicking but we have been redesigning the website to make it more user friendly and easy to navigate. It is now similar in style to other Anglican Communion Network sites. Sorry if in trying to show we are part of the bigger picture has meant you felt out of the picture.

Participants from Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Sudan, Egypt/Jordan, Zambia, Pakistan/US, Germany, Ireland and England were present at the meeting, as well as a number of representatives from various parts of Nigeria itself, including the Church of Nigeria's ecumenical and inter faith officer, Ven Sola Igbari. The Archbishop of Canterbury sent his greetings, via his inter faith adviser Canon Guy Wilkinson

ACNS article is available here

A period of study leave, preparations for the forthcoming consultation in Kaduna, Nigeria and a lack or emails from key contacts (ie no news) has meant there was no newsletter for the second half of 2006. We hope for a flurry of news and a fresh layout will enable us to resume this service in 2007. Back issues are now archived on the web in the Friends section.