Can Muslims be friends with Jews and Christians? Have people been telling you that the Muslim community is trying to take over? Did you buy into the propaganda that all Muslim people are your enemies? Is it possible for non Muslims and Muslims to be friends in the current political climate? Humanity lives today in a "global village," where no people or nation can live in isolation from and indifferent to what goes on elsewhere. Our world is so interdependent and so interrelated that peaceful dialogue has become an imperative. In spite of the general erosion of commitment to "religion," however interpreted or misinterpreted, religion still plays a pivotal role in shaping people's attitudes and influencing their behavior. In spite of serious instances of abuse of various religions by some of their claimed followers so as to justify or instigate acts of brutality and bloodshed, there are positive and helpful common themes in these religions. Therefore, peaceful and candid intra-faith and inter-faith dialogues are important tools in working for such goals. This lecture is a humble contribution to that dialogue from one perspective within a major world religion that is the professed faith of nearly one fifth of the human race; one that is more misunderstood than any other faith, sometimes, even, by some of its followers. The Topic: Muslims - Non-Muslims Relations: Misunderstood Qur'anic Text A talk by Dr. Jamal Badawi (Toronto, Canada April 5th, 2005)
