Canon Goddard apologises for Muslim prayers in his church – Church Times

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A PRIEST in the diocese of Southwark who opened us his church for Muslim prayers has apologised after being told that this was not permitted within a consecrated building.

Madeleine Davies. Church Times 18 March 2015

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2 thoughts on “Canon Goddard apologises for Muslim prayers in his church – Church Times”

  1. Liz, thank you for commenting on this interesting item. We seem to agree that Christians should better understand the religious experience of Jews and Muslims. We seem to differ on the way we should acquire this understanding.

    Christians who are serious about an authentic dialogue with Jews and Muslims should study sacred texts with them on equal terms, but should also refrain from stealing their sacred rites. Canon Goddard’s comments on Psalm 139 point toward an even better idea, but it is not ethical for any Christian to stage a Passover seder or a Muslim prayer service.

    http://www.esvbible.org/Psalm+139/

    By “study…on equal terms” I have in mind the fascinating meetings for Scriptural Reasoning or “SR” begun in the UK by Anglican theologian David Ford and in the US by Jewish philosopher Peter Ochs. In SR, participants of all three faiths discuss all three bodies of scripture, and they do so as equals. Now no longer just a pass-time of scholars, many outside the grove of academe participate in SR to see familiar texts through fresh eyes, and to get a direct, unfiltered exposure to the hearts and minds of other religions.

    http://www.scripturalreasoning.org/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_reasoning

    For example, rather than hearing a priest venture a blandly pan-abrahamic reading of Psalm 139, why should not Jews, Muslims, and Christians each take their turns at commenting on it? And why should they not comment on the Sura Al-Ma’ida or a passage from the Mishnah Sanhedrin as well? Were you yourself to join such a collaborative reading, you could comment on any of these texts. If you found others to be making overconfident claims about your beliefs, you would be free to push back against their misconceptions. These are groundrules of respectful inquiry.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ma%27ida

    Alas, such respect cannot be a groundrule when Christians stage the rites of Jews and Muslims for their own enjoyment. Though we might feel the frisson of the exotic or the transgressive when we enact them, we inevitably ‘baptise’ their words and gestures into familiar Christian meanings, and there is nothing to correct misunderstanding. Moreover, prayers to a disincarnate god are not fitting for the Word made flesh Who dwelt among us. Even if such strange rites no longer mean what they did, they still do not mean what they should.

    Apart from such theological considerations, the ‘appropriation’ of another group’s ‘res sacra’ is a secular sin. In today’s pluralistic global village, peoples have rights to their traditions. Those from a social and political majority-– never mind a state church–- should not steal the sacred ways of a relatively powerless and sometimes persecuted minorities. Canon Goddard has graciously apologised for his Islamic prayers, but perhaps to the wrong people.

  2. Allah is the Arabic word for God (al ilāh, literally “the God”), so when Giles gave thanks “to the god that we love, Allah”; it makes sense. Allah means God. As a Christian I believe in God expressed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit but using arabic to say God doesn’t offend me.
    I would find it more difficult to have prayer services from different faiths in a Roman Catholic church building because the signs and symbols are so important and I find it calming to be in a space that never changes. However, I don’t have any problem with an Islamic prayer service being held in an Anglican church that is already used for all sorts of events including Southbank Sinfonia, meetings, Christmas parties, Passover meals, plus tea & biscuits after every Sunday service. Why are all these activities allowed in a consecrated space but not prayer? Surely, Islamic prayer, in a building built after the Festival of Britain to welcome everyone, is an excellent idea. Throughout history Muslims and Christians have given each other sanctuary, including space to pray. We should encourage more of this.

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