The theme of this year’s Festival of Spirituality of Peace (Edinburgh, August 2010) is “The Golden Rule: can we live by it?”. The Golden Rule (“Treat others as you would like to be treated”) is a very popular theme in interfaith circles. In honour of the occasion, I present this paper that amalgamates three ideas that have been in my mind for some time, represented in its three sections.

The Golden Rule: An Islamic-Dialogic Perspective (PDF)

One thing I wished to do was explore the concept philosophically, albeit in brief. I also set out to discuss what Islam has to say on the principle, in more depth than I have seen written by others. The most interesting part of the paper, however – at least for me – is the application of the Golden Rule to the context of interfaith understanding and dialogue. I hope it stimulates reflection and discussion.

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