Madam, - I read Ali Salim's article of April 22nd with great interest and I welcome many of his sentiments. I fully agree that Ireland has indeed become more multicultural (thankfully) and that building trust is of major importance.
However, I was reminded of an experience I had several months ago while attending a conference bringing together European and Arab professionals in Cairo, Egypt. After a long day's discussions, our working group was introduced to a distinguished Coptic (Christian) Egyptian woman who explained that after years of research, she had been amazed to discover that Islam and Christianity share much in common, theologically speaking, and that it was her intention to devote the remainder of her life to exploring this theme.
It was also her firm belief that this would be the most successful means of breaking down barriers between European and Arab, Christian and Muslim.
I was full of admiration for this noble intention. At the same time, I was profoundly uncomfortable, and to a degree saddened, by what I had just heard, as were the majority of my colleagues. For however much the various world religions may, or may not, have in common, Christianity is simply not the defining feature of Western European life any more. It does not shape our daily lives and it does not shape our political opinions, parties or points of view.
I was saddened because this woman, whose Christianity was of such great personal importance, had never considered the possibility that many of her co-religionists (myself included) simply don't care any more.
Religious dialogue does not have the kind of resonance amongst nominal Christians that Mr Salim believes. I have Muslim, Christian and Buddhist relatives and have never taken much more than a passing interest in their religion, nor they in mine. I commend Mr Salim's efforts to promote harmony, but I would implore him (and his counterparts in the Christian Churches) to broaden the dialogue on mutual trust to include the vast majority of the population for whom religion is of little or no importance.
- Is mise,
SHANE MOFFATT, Dublin Road, Dublin 13.