The Necessity of IRD

All people come from God alone, regardless of race,

nationality and religious beliefs, and we are
descended from one pair of parents: Adam and Hawa
(Eve)

Al-Quran reminds us in Surah al-Hujurat: 13

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of male and
female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may
know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight
of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you
 The Holy Bible conveys the same message (Genesis
1.26-1.28):
And now We will make human beings; they will be like us and
resemble us; So God created human beings male and
female, blessed them and said, Have many children, so that
your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under
their control

Looking at both, the common origin that brings people together

and the misunderstandings that have kept them apart, scholars
of different religions namely
Hans Kung, John Hick, Ismail Ragi al-Faruqi, Fazlu Rahman,
Leornard Swidler, Wilfred Cantwell Smith have attempted to
find out ways on how to make people transcend the conflicts
that have resulted from their religious divergence.
 They have come up with the idea of IRD, which involves
high cooperation with good esteem and mutual respect
leading to the understanding of the others beliefs
between the participants.

Involves a genuine reciprocal process, readiness to listen

as well as to be heard, therefore implement the two-
sided project.

IRD is encouragable in Monotheistic-Abrahamic-

Ecumenum religions (Islam and Christian) because they
have so much in common provide starting point for
dialogue on a universal scale, lead to mutual respect and
better understanding.
 Muslims and Christians together make up well over half
of the worlds population. Without peace and justice
between these two religious communities, there can be
no meaningful peace in the world .

The basis for this peace and understanding already

exists : love of the One God, and love of the
neighbour found over and over again in the sacred
texts of Islam and Christianity.

The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the
necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common
ground between Islam and Christianity.
 With the terrible weaponry of the modern
world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined
(twist together) everywhere as never before, no
side can unilaterally win a conflict between more
than half of the worlds inhabitants. Thus our
common future is at stake. The very survival of
the world itself is perhaps at stake.
 Diana Eck (1985) asserts that IRD can be the basis for the
creation of one world.

One world cannot be built on the foundation of competition and

polarization between the superpowers. One world cannot be build
on the foundation of science, technology and the media. One
world cannot be built on Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Sikh
triumphalism. One world cannot be build on the foundation of
mutual fear and suspicionLaying the foundations for one world is
the most important task of our time. These foundations are not
negotiated statements and agreements. These foundations are,
rather, in the stockpiling of trust through dialogue and the creation
of relationships that can sustain both agreements and
disagreements.