Typology of Dialogue

Dialogue does not refer to verbal

communication only. It has been subdivided
into 6 types of dialogue:
i. Parliamentary dialogue
ii. Institutional dialogue
iii. Dialogue of Life
iv. Social Dialogue
v. Spiritual Dialogue
vi. Theological Dialogue

i. Parliamentary dialogue
Refers to the large assemblies created for interfaith
discussion. The earliest example was the World
Parliament of Religions convened in Chicago in
1893.
These types of meetings have become more
frequent under the auspices of multi-faith
organizations such as the World Conference on
Religions and Peace and the British-based World
Congress of Faiths.
They tend to explore broader concerns such as the
possibilities for better cooperation among religious
groups, the challenges of peace and disarmament
for people of faith.

ii. Institutional dialogue

Includes both the organized efforts by
particular
religious
institutions,
and
in
Southeast Asia, governments of nations that
initiate and facilitate various kinds of dialogue.
This type of dialogue seeks to establish and
future channels of communication between
various religious communities.
For examples, World Council of Churches (WCC)
menubuhkan unit Dialogue with People of
Living Faith and Ideologies (1971), the World
Council of Muslims for Inter-religious Relations,
Muslim World League (Arab Saudi) dan World
Islamic Call Society (Libya).

 Institutional dialogue has a twopronged objectives:

i. to enable communities to
understand each other and to live
together peacefully
ii. to foster relationship between
government and the people

iii. Dialogue of Life

peaceful and respectful co-existence, including active
participation in one anothers lives, between people of
different races and cultures (religions).
Encompass most of the unstructured interaction between
people of different traditions. These take place in markets
and on street corners, at times of festivals in the course
of humanitarian projects and times of community or
family crisis.
Contoh: Dialog antara gereja tempatan di salah satu
bandar Amerika bersama wakil masyarakat Muslim
setempat.

take place as people in communities think together

about violence, militarism or economic depression.

 Dimulai dengan perbualan antara agama bagi

membincangkan persamaan antara agama
(common ground).
Diadakan di kawasan neutral space - bilik
mesyuarat di perpustakaan dan disusun dalam
bentuk bulatan.
Format dialog a simple get-to-know-you
sebagai langkah awal sebelum meneruskan
dialog.

These dialogues happen spontaneously, concentrate

on practical issues of common concern.

iv. Social Dialogue

cooperation between people of different races and
cultures in socio-economic enterprises.
- Martin Forward turut memperkenalkan istilah
Dialogue in the slums bagi menjelaskan
keupayaan dialog memulihkan hubungan antara
Hindu-Muslim. Misalnya, perobohan masjid Ayodhya
pada Oktober 1992 oleh penganut Hindu yang
menyakini kawasan tapak masjid tersebut
merupakan tempat kelahiran Lord Rama sehingga
menimbulkan ketegangan antara Hindu-Muslim di
kebanyakan kawasan di India.

 Sebuah pertubuhan Aman-Shanti Forum yang

dikendalikan oleh Henry Martyn Institute
(HMI)
mengadakan
pertemuan
dan
mesyuarat bagi meleraikan perbalahan
antara Hindu-Muslim. Pertubuhan ini turut
menyediakan
pusat
latihan
kemahiran
pentafsiran
agama
bagi
meningkatkan
kefahaman dan kesedaran bahawa agama
menekankan perdamaian.
Aman dalam bahasa Urdu bermaksud
kedamaian, sementara shanty dalam bahasa
Hindi juga memberi maksud yang sama.

v. Spiritual Dialogue
is concerned with deepening spiritual life
through interfaith encounter. This type of
dialogue does not struggle overtly with
theological problems or issues between
communities of faith.

Rather, it is designed as a means to nourish,

expand and develop spirituality or the spiritual
dimension of religious life.

Speaking or living together by special types of

religious people, such as monks, or simply
exchange of religious experiences and practices
by people of different cultures and religions.

vi. Theological or Inter-Religious Dialogue

Conversation and explanation by experts of
different religions about the teachings and
practices of their faiths.

Refer to particular elements found in

interfaith encounter as well as the larger
process of reflection among Muslims, Jews,
Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and others.

It includes structured meetings in which

theological and philosophical issues are the
primary focus of discussion.

 Christians and Muslims, for example, may

concentrate on their respective
understandings of Jesus or the role of
prophets and messengers in communication
Gods revelation.

Dialogue among Civilizations

Dialogue
among
civilizations
conversing with other civilizations.

is

is an approach that require the definitions

of culture, civilization and man.
This would mean to pay special attention to
the collective aspect of mans existence,
emphasizing the vast and infinite range of
human civilization, and stressing the point
that no major culture or civilization has
evolved in isolation.

 In other words, only those segments of

cultures and civilizations have survived that
have been endowed with the power of
communication which involves speaking
and listening.
Therefore, dialog among civilizations entails
both speaking and listening.
Listening is a virtue which should be
cultivated, and is not found easily in
everyone.

 Listening is not a passive activity. It is an active

engagement where the listener is exposed to
the world created, discovered, or experienced
by the speaker.
One of the duties of the theory of dialogue
among civilization is to refine the philosophical
and intellectual core of the theory.
This refinement paves the way for the
emancipation of the theory from any dogmatism
hostile to the pursuit of truth.
The precondition for
civilization is tolerance.

the

dialogue

among

 Tolerance is necessary for the realization of the

dialogue.
However, we should distinguish between negative
tolerance and positive cooperation. The former is a
modern concept and the latter is a proposal put
forward by Eastern religions and philosophies.
For dialogue to become universally accepted as a
new paradigm, it must be able to elevate its level
from negative tolerance to positive mass
cooperation.
(eg.
Mass
participation
in
humanitarian activities) as said in verse of alQuran .And cooperate in goodness and piety .

 It is not enough to tolerate others, but one

must work with others.
The human world should be shaped by the
massive cooperation of all human beings.
This cooperation is not merely of an
economic and political nature. In order to
bring the hearts of human beings closer
together, we must also thinks of the ways to
bridge the gap between peoples minds.

 To brings hearts together, it is necessary for

minds to be brought closer together, and
this will not be achieved unless great
thinkers of the world make a special effort
to understand the main concepts in the
thoughts
of
others
and
then
to
communicate these to their own people.
The basic concept related to the heart and
to the mind everyone should express what
they think of the meaning of life, the
meaning of happiness and the meaning of
death.

 The global scenario of the twentieth century,

has been a joint product of the ideas of
philosophers and the acts of statesmen
(politicians).
It would not possible to put an end to the
bloody and terrifying events of the century
without a basic change in political thinking
and also without changing the present state
of international relations, replacing it with a
new paradigm such as the dialogue among
cultures and civilizations.