World-leading experts challenge the "outdated paradigm" of The West v Islam

Heythrop College's Centre for Eastern Christianity has brought together a number of world-leading experts on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations from Anglican, Orthodox, Protestant  and Latin and Eastern Catholic churches to explore the fast-changing relationship between Islam and Christianity.

Director of the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Dr Anthony O'Mahony, opened the two-day conference - "Eastern and Western Christian thoughts on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations" - on 7-8 March and was joined by Heythrop colleagues Dr Peter Petkoff, Stefanie Hugh-Donavan, Ariana Patey and Fr. Rocco Viviano SX. Also in attendance were experts from the universities of Oxford, Bath, Exeter and Kent, the University of Athens, Greece, and John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.

Dr O'Mahony said the conference reflected the Centre for Eastern Christianity's thinking that The West v Islam was an "outdated paradigm" and that the global significance of this should be recognised on a political and social scale.

"The relationship between Eastern and Western Christianity is a globally significant one - and the 'divide' is not as clear-cut as even 10 years ago, with geographical boundaries now blurred," Dr O'Mahony said. "Christianity is a global tradition. For example, China is now the sixth largest community of Christians in the world with up to 100 million people. Together Christians (c. 2.3 billion and Muslims 1.6 billion) make up over half of the global population - so what they think and say about each other has a global dimension of great significance. 60% of all Muslims live in Asia and only 20% in the Middle East, yet the Middle East remains profoundly influential in shaping Islamic identity, and its relations with Judaism and Islam."

New patterns of Christian encounter with Islam are emerging - and the current crisis in political authority in the Middle East is highlighting a new relationship between Christians and Muslims, Dr O'Mahony said. "Today large numbers of Middle Eastern Christians and Muslims are moving to the West. Another emerging perspective is Europe which as a political and geographical expression is moving eastwards, bringing in large numbers of Eastern Christians into the EU, and a future marker of the continent's religious identity will be expressed in the relationship between Western and Eastern Christianity. This relationship will also help determine relations between Christians and Muslims in Europe today and beyond with its neighbours such as Turkey."

The Centre's next conference, "Church and State Relations between Europe, the Middle East and Jerusalem", is on 14-16 July 2011.