In the Present
Around the world today, leaders from different faiths increasingly use this word to describe respectful conversation across religious boundaries.
What is "interfaith dialogue/discourse"?
This patriarch is seen as the father of faith in all three traditions.
Who is Abraham/Ibrahim?
This Arabic word means “submission” and names the religion itself.
What is Islam?
Composed of three sections, this is the name of the Jewish holy book.
What is the Tanakh?
Christians call the Hebrew Bible this term, reflecting its place before the New Testament.
What is the Old Testament?
In 2007, 138 Muslim scholars issued an open letter to Christian leaders, “A Common Word Between Us and You,” emphasizing love of God and neighbor. What was its main goal?
What is the encouragement of Muslim–Christian dialogue and peace?
All three scriptures describe this city as a site of divine revelation and struggle, a focus of pilgrimage and prayer.
What is Jerusalem (Al-Quds)?
Muslims believe the Qur’an was revealed to this prophet beginning in 610 CE.
Who is Muhammad?
This annual spring festival commemorates liberation from Egypt.
What is Passover?
This title means “anointed one” and corresponds to the Hebrew "mashiach".
Who is the Messiah/Christ?
Faith communities today increasingly cooperate on this global issue, seeing care for creation as a shared moral and spiritual responsibility.
What is climate change/environmental stewardship?
In Christianity, she is venerated as the mother of Jesus; in Islam, she is praised in an entire Qur’anic chapter.
Who is Mary/Maryam?
Muslims face this city during prayer, which also serves as the destination of the Hajj pilgrimage.
What is Mecca (Makkah)?
In Christianity and Islam, weekly communal worship also centers life around sacred time. In Judaism, this day of rest and worship recalls God’s creation of the world.
What is "Shabbat"?
The Christian doctrine of this three-in-one nature of God distinguishes it from Jewish and Islamic monotheism.
What is the Trinity?
In modern interfaith work, this 1965 Vatican II document influenced Jewish-Christian relations and inspired Jewish dialogue with Muslims.
What is Nostra Aetate?
This figure’s role as “the Word of God” in Christianity has parallels with Jewish and Muslim ideas about divine speech (a concept often debated in interfaith dialogue).
Who is Jesus/Isa?
Islamic mysticism, emphasizing love and union with the Divine, is known by this name.
What is Sufism?
This 2000-year-old story of covenant, testing, and divine guidance is shared in modified form with Christianity and Islam.
What is the story of Abraham/the Abrahamic covenant?
This teaching of Jesus, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” parallels Jewish and Islamic ethics of care for others.
What is the Greatest Commandment?
This 2019 interfaith document signed by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb calls for human fraternity, peace, and coexistence.
What is The Document on Human Fraternity?
This story of a people chosen, tested, and guided, runs through the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur’an, shaping each faith’s identity. In the Hebrew Bible this book is called...
What is the Exodus?
This concept of treaty encourages Muslims to engage in dialogue and understanding with People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab), fostering peace and cooperation.
What is mu’ahadah?
This Jewish concept, meaning “repairing the world,” has parallels in Christian calls to serve others and Islamic ideas of social justice and charity.
What is Tikkun Olam?
This movement in Christianity emphasizes action for the poor and oppressed, creating common ground with Jewish tikkun olam and Islamic zakat.
What is social justice/liberation theology?