Interreligious dialogue

Last week, the US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Karen Hughes, stopped by in Vienna on her tour through Europe (which, by the way, consisted of three days in Prague and two in Vienna). The purpose of her visit was to promote interreligious dialogue in Europe in the name of the American government.

Hmmm. I know.

Anyway, the editor-in-chief of the Catholic youth magazine I write movie reviews for called me up to ask me whether I wanted to represent the Christian side in an interreligious youth panel discussion held at a mosque in Vienna. Free (kosher) lunch, a chat with Karen Hughes, and national TV - how could I say no?
Narcissism aside, what I was really interested in was the interreligious discussion side of things, and how an such an event when organized, amongst others, by the American Embassy would turn out.

To relieve the suspense, I was a bit disappointed. Sure, there were highlights.
Michael, the Jewish panelist, had never been to a mosque before. In his religion, it is forbidden to enter churches or temples of other religions. He was genuinely touched by the hospitality of the Imam and the Muslim community.
I, for my part, think it might have been the first time ever that Jesus Christ was discussed in a mosque, at least in Vienna, and I enjoyed meeting youth leaders of other faiths.
Thirdly, the fact that a mosque opened its doors to a discussion like this was a sign of readiness for dialogue that people need to see.

However, the whole thing boiled down to the general assertion that there weren't, in fact, many significant differences between the three Abrahamitic religions, and that the ones that existed didn't really matter. I respectfully but firmly disagree. If we are going to leave aside the obvious differences between the religions, what are we left with to discuss?
I am all for connecting on a personal level, becoming more familiar with other faiths, and understanding in a deep and real way the motivations and philosophies behind other forms of worshipping and serving God - because, lets face it, suspicion and hatred feed on ignorance and fear.
But there are things I love about my faith that are central to it, and that other faiths do not share. I am not willing to pretend that these things do not matter, because they are at the very heart of my religion, and - maybe more importantly - an essential part of its beauty and truth. I am sure that Muslims and Jews feel the same, and it would be sad if they didn't, because their faith would mean little to them.

Unfortunately, between speeches on interfaith dialogue and accolades for U/S Hughes, there wasn't much space to talk about this. However, thanks to a comment from the audience (my mother, to be exact), I was able to squeeze in a quote that I think sums it up very well. It is a section from an article by Rabbi Jacob Neusner. He wrote a book called "A Rabbi Talks with Jesus", where he imagines that he listens to Christ's Sermon on the Mount and then enters into an intense dialogue with him, trying to understand his teaching from the perspective of a devout Jew. At the end of the book, he decides that he cannot follow Jesus, and must remain faithful to his religion - but not before he has earnestly tried to understand what Christ said. Here's the quote:

"Both Jews and Christians should find in "A Rabbi Talks with Jesus" the reason to affirm, because each party will locate there the very points on which the difference between Judaism and Christianity rests.What makes me so certain of that outcome? Because I believe, when each side understands in the same way the issues that divide the two, and both with solid reason affirm their respective truths, then all may love and worship God in peace - knowing that it really is the one and the same God whom together they serve - in difference."
(Read the full article. More interesting reading material on the subject: Sandro Magister's take on things and chapter five of Pope Benedict's latest book Jesus of Nazareth)

For those of you who speak German, here's a little video of the event.

And, as always, I am very much interested in your thoughts.