Promoter of Christian-Muslim relations remembered

New Delhi: Colleagues and friends of Ataullah Siddiqui have recalled the UK-based Islamic scholar’s contributions to the promotion of Christian-Muslim relations.

They shared their experience with Siddiqui at an online event organized by the Delhi-based Islamic Studies Association on November 29.

Siddiqui died November 9 of cancer at Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He was 66.

The online program began with a recitation from the Qur’an and a reading from the Bible.

Siddiqui was one of the leading scholars of Christian-Muslim dialogue in the twentieth century. He was a professor of Christian-Muslim Relations and Inter-Faith Understanding at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education where he was also its director from 2001 to 2008.

He was also the founder president and vice chair of the Christian Muslim Forum in England. As a founder of member of the Leicester Council of Faiths he contributed to the cause of better understanding between Christian and Muslims in the UK and elsewhere.

He was also a visiting professor at the University of Gloucestershire and York St. John’s University. As an academic he guided many students to deepen their understanding of the relations between these two sets of believers.

“While being an Islamic scholar of the highest caliber he could delve into deep meanings of Christianity and see the interrelationships between the two traditions,” pointed out Jude Fernando, who is with the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin.

Imtiaz Yusuf from Kuala Lumpur, another colleague of Siddiqui and a expert on Buddhist-Muslim relations, said the deceased scholar showed respect for others, expressed caring and concern, listened responsively, recognized the contributions of others, and engaged in reflective practice.

Siddiqui excelled as a teacher and practitioner of dialogue, Yusuf added.

Jesuit Father Victor Edwin, who teaches Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Vidyajyoti College of Theology in Delhi, hailed Siddiqui as “a gentle man with an ever-flashing tender smile on his face. He was a noble person who lived his academic life and cultural life with great integrity and graciousness.”

Akhtarul Wasey, who chaired the meeting, said Siddiqui’s friends and colleagues would miss his “inspiring presence with us here and now. Nevertheless, we are sure that he rests in peace in the presence of our Creator and Judge the one True God.