Alan Berger: Trialogue and Terror
Disappointment, hope, and rage permeate the pages of Trialogue and Terror. However, in spite of obvious diversity and even outright disagreement, one thing that comes through loud and clear is that many devout and reflective people from all three traditions continue to affirm the essentiality of interreligious dialogue in general and Jewish-Christian-Muslim trialogue in particular. This reader can hardly avoid an idea that such would be the obvious conclusion of contributors in a book on interreligious dialogue and Abrahamic trialogue. While I am in complete agreement, I cannot but wonder whether this affirmation matches the majority opinion in any of the respective religious traditions. I suspect it does not—at least, not yet. Nevertheless, I am encouraged in an optimism that commitment to dialogue (and trialogue) will eventually finds its place within the rank and file of not only scholars and advocates but also everyday religious practitioners across the spectrum. If that optimism is ever realized, it will likely be due, in large part, to the courageous work of interreligious dialogue participants such as we see exemplified in the text under review here. In my opinion, a post-9/11 failure to engage religious others in the hard, honest work of interreligious dialogue is tantamount to a global death wish.
Reviewed by Tony Richie
Publisher’s page: wipfandstock.com/store/Trialogue_and_Terror_Judaism_Christianity_and_Islam_after_911
Category: Living the Faith, Winter 2014
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