Christians, Muslims in Madhya Pradesh urged to interact

(February 28, 2011) A meeting of Christians and Muslims in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state has stressed the need for the two minority communities to work together to create a just society. “The more we interact and exchange ideas the more we stand to gain as a society and as a nation,” Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal, who heads the Catholic Church in the state, told the biennial convention of the Islamic Studies Association (ISA). Around 300 Christian and Muslim delegates attended a convention organized by the association in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh state. “This kind of initiatives would help us know each other better and lead to greater understanding and co-operation,” Archbishop Cornelio said. ISA secretary Father Pushpa Anbu wants more people to attend such programs to dispel misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims. The Divine Word priest objected to branding some people as terrorists just because they follow a particular religion. “No religion engages its members for terror,” asserted the priest, who is a specialist on Islam. Father Anand Muttungal, general secretary of the Madhya Pradesh bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue, said the convention has boosted relations between Christians and Muslims in the state.