Two experts in Muslim-Christian relations told OSV News that preserving dialogue amid the Israel-Hamas war comes down to recognizing what is really at issue-and what is really at stake.
“We cannot afford to lose our solidarity … because of a war that is not based on religion,” said Mehnaz M. Afridi, professor of religious studies and director of the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Centre at Manhattan College, a Catholic institution in Riverdale, New York.
“I think the key is to not let what is a political issue turn into an issue of religious bigotry,” said Jordan Denari Duffner, a Catholic author, educator and scholar of Muslim-Christian relations, interreligious dialogue and Islamophobia.
The complex dynamics among three of the world’s major faith traditions-Islam, Judaism and Christianity-have been at once highlighted and strained by the war, which was sparked by Hamas’ militants ambush on 7th October on approximately 22 locations in Israel, killing hundreds of civilians.
Israel declared war on Hamas on 8th October, placing Gaza under siege and pounding the region with airstrikes. Amid the violence, both Afridi and Duffner stressed to view those of other ethnicities and faiths as multidimensional, rather than monolithic.
More than ever, people of different faiths need to unite for the peace and security of all, both Afridi and Duffner said.
Picture: Smoke rises amid destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, 18th October 2023. (OSV News photo/Amir Cohen, Reuters)