Mufti Of Bosnia-Herzegovina and an Egyptian Islamist Argue about Dialogue between Religions

Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar) hosted a debate about Christian-Muslim dialogue in which Abu Islam Ahmad Abdallah, director of the Islamic Center in Cairo and Mustafa Sureij, Chief Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina participated. Following are excerpts from the discussion:

Abu Islam Ahmad Abdallah: The Church carries the burden of a black history. It wants to clear its conscience and this is why it has declared a dialogue, but it did not declare it rejects Jesus (as the son of God). Islam is spreading at an unusual pace and the only way to resist it is to strike it from within. How can one strike it from within?

The Muslims have one book while they have hundreds. This is an equation that cannot be bridged. The churches in the West are going bankrupt and you can attest to this, as you are chairman of the European Islamic Council. Every day churches are closing down and the number of Christians in the world in comparison with the number of Muslims is constantly receding. The Christians in the world are constantly receding in comparison with the Muslims. According to research, the average birth rate among Muslims is five children per woman, while among the Christians it is 1.3. There is an immediate need to deal with this.

Why? With your permission I will say it in a nutshell, because they need to defend their churches and believers in the Islamic countries, they want to facilitate the infiltration of missionary activities into our countries, live in it, and influence it?

Mustafa Sureij: I, as a Muslim and as a person, am ashamed every day, when I hear that in the land that is holy to the Christians, the Muslims and the Jews, blood is shed. True or false?

Abdallah: Of course.

Sureij: This is the place Jesus was born?

Abdallah: This is not true. I cannot keep silent, brother Faysal, in the name of God, how can this be, how can this be? You are saddened by Jews' blood? This is impossible.

Sureij: Well, it is the birthplace of Jesus and we write our history, right?

Abdallah: Exactly.

Sureij: There is where the Prophet Muhammad prayed with the other prophets and ascended to the heavens. And also the Jews are there and they have their holy places, as we know. In whose name do these three religions fight each other? In whose name? I think it is shameful that the Christians, the Muslims and the Jews, that they cannot make this land a land of peace instead of war.