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All actual life is encounter—Alles wirkliche Leben ist Begegnung, as Martin Buber famously wrote. An interreligious encounter can change a life. Charles de Foucauld, a blessed of the Catholic Church, confessed to a friend in 1901: “Islam has produced a profound upheaval in me. Seeing this faith, these souls living in the continual presence of God, I received a glimpse of something greater and truer than any worldly occupation.” An interreligious friendship can indeed change the paths of a whole religious community. The course revisits a series of ‘Abrahamic friendships.’ The study of relationships across faith communities reveals patterns of interreligious difficulties, breakthroughs and transformative effects.
The seminar is a collaboration between the Chair of Jewish-Christian Relations at the Faculty of Theology, The Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology and the Institute for Catholic Theology. The seminar is held in English and is based on readings of primary and secondary sources, as well as guest lectures and students’ discussions. |
