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History |
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| Twenty-five years of ISA |
| Rev. Dr. Paul Jackson, S.J. |
| It is no coincidence that the Bible begins with the Book of Genesis. "How did it all begin?" is a question that comes naturally to us human beings. That is why the Bible begins as it does. A similar approach will be taken in this article. |
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| Beginnings |
| The first point made at the All India Seminar, Bangalore, 1969, with regard to Muslims was "that scholars be set aside to study the Muslim religion, social life and culture in India, hoping by this means to come to a better understanding of this great people." Nothing happened. In the All India Consultation on Evangelisation, Patna, 1973, a whole workshop was devoted to evangelisation and dialogue with Muslims. The members of the workshop submitted a Report, presented under five headings: Urgency and Opportunity; Obstacles to Dialogue; Reasons for the Necessity of a Special Presentation of the Christian Gospel; Suggestions to Facilitate Dialogue; and Final Remarks. These were followed by Resolutions, of which there were five. In the final Declaration produced by the Consultation, the resolutions in numbers 33 to 37 dealt with Muslims. It is interesting to take note of the fact that the verb 'should' was used seven times in these resolutions. Unfortunately it was not stipulated exactly who should bell the cat! Due to this slight oversight, no tangible initiative was actually undertaken. |
| It was in the general context of the felt need for the Church to reach out to Muslims that a Consultation on Dialogue with Muslims was held in Agra from 28th till 30th March, 1979, under the auspices of the CBCI Commission for Dialogue. The Consultation was graciously hosted by Dominic Athaide, Archbishop of Agra, who called it "a milestone in the history of the Church in India." Twenty-seven people participated in the Consultation. A report of the consultation summed it up as follows: "It began with concelebrated Mass, followed by an inaugural session at which Fr. Albert Nambiaparambil, permanent secretary of the CBCI Commission for Dialogue; Dr. Samuel Bhajjan, Director of the Henry Martyn Institute; and Archbishop Dominic Athaide, spoke. In the following sessions six papers were read and discussed; plans for the future were discussed and a committee of five was constituted to follow up these plans; and the participants were all afforded an opportunity to share their experience of dialogue. The Consultation concluded with votes of thanks for the convenors, organizers, hosts and the much-appreciated Chairman of the third day's sessions, our visitor from Bangladesh, Fr. Bob McCahill." |
| This report was published in a zero edition of JAMI Notes. This needs a little explanation. In 1977, a group of Jesuits who were committed to reaching out to Muslims had been formed and became known as JAMI - Jesuit Apostolate among Muslim in India. It began publishing a cyclostyled quarterly known as JAMI Notes, edited by Fr. Christian Troll. It was decided that this quarterly would become the organ of communication for the group that was formed as a result of the Consultation, initially known as the Committee for Christian-Muslim Relations in India. Its publication, in its present format, began in 1980, as JAMI Notes, but the name was changed to Salaam from 1983 onwards. Similarly the group changed its name to the Association for Islamic Studies until this was changed, also in 1983, to Islamic Studies Association (ISA). Anyone familiar with Islam will recognize immediately that the abbreviated form is the word used for Jesus in the Quran and in Islamic literature. |
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