Muslim Scholar Works for Understanding of Pluralism Among Abrahamic Religions

March 13, 2002

Source: The Plain Dealer

On March 13, 2002, The Plain Dealer reported that Islamic scholar Abdulaziz Sachedina, famous for his "interfaith work and advocacy for the rights of women,... packed local [Cleveland] mosques with eager listeners and attracted about 300 clergy to his lectures yesterday at Hiram College... Sachedina travels the West Bank and Israel, working for curriculum reform in Islamic and Jewish schools...But Sachedina's central endeavor, as a scholar at the University of Virginia and an adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is engaging with the Koran and the legal systems of Islam... His 2001 book, 'The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism' is being translated into several languages of the Middle East... 'Religious people are very much disturbed by the idea of pluralism,' Sachedina said... The key, Sachedina said, is understanding that all the Abrahamic religions are related to God... Sachedina, 59, counsels each religion to reinterpret its sacred text to see its relationship to the others."