4.2 Workshop:

Christians & Muslims: Building Relations in Challenging Times

Presenter: Fr Patrick McInerney, Director, Columban Mission Institute

This workshop will explore what unites Christians and Muslims and what divides them. It will challenge popular stereotypes and Islamophobia and propose pro-active strategies to counter them. It will promote positive relations based on genuine encounter and accurate information, in accord with an authentic Christian missionary responsibility. A Muslim person will co-present with Patrick. This will provide an opportunity for personal encounter and to hear personal testimony of what it is like to live as a Muslim in Australia at this time. A Catholic person and a Muslim person presenting together will model how we too can engage with ‘the other’.