Shihab: Dialogue Is Fundamental Principle Instituted by Islam

Dr. Muhammed Quraish Shihab, member of the Muslim Council of Elders and former Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs, affirmed that dialogue is a fundamental principle instituted by Islam for the welfare of humanity. Allah Almighty calls upon us to cooperate, and true cooperation can only be achieved through mutual understanding. 

As the Almighty says: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another” (The Quran, 49:13) One of the most important means of achieving this mutual understanding is through dialogue. 

Moreover, difference and diversity are part of the divine order, as Allah also states: “And if your Lord had willed, He could have made mankind one community; but they will not cease to differ — Except whom your Lord has given mercy, and for that He created them.” (The Quran, 11:118–119 )

Speaking in the seventh episode of the Ramadan program “One Ummah”, which is broadcast across the Muslim Council of Elders’ social media platforms throughout the holy month, His Eminence explained that the diversity willed by Allah is a diversity of variety—not of contradiction. 

Therefore, dialogue is a key Islamic teaching; it is the effort to understand others and to explain our own perspective without imposing our views on anyone.

Dr. Quraish Shihab further emphasized that difference can be a source of mercy and a means of broadening the horizons of the Ummah. In fact, some differences among us may stem from a shared pursuit of truth—such as the differences that exist among scholars on various legal and jurisprudential matters. 

Accordingly, we must learn to benefit from our diversity and embrace it as a source of strength, not division or conflict.

Throughout the month of Ramadan, the Muslim Council of Elders is broadcasting five special programs across its social media platforms as part of its media strategy to promote and reinforce the values of dialogue, peace, tolerance, and coexistence. These programs are: “Al-Imam Al-Tayeb”, “One Ummah”, “Humanitarian Values with the Elders”, “The Month of Harmonious Coexistence”, and “Our Ethics”.