Australia is ideally placed to lead the world in nurturing relationships between the major religious faiths, especially Christianity and Islam, according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) Professor of Theology, Reverend James Haire.

 

Reverend Professor James Haire is the Executive Director of CSU’s Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, and one of the world’s leading scholars and promoters of interfaith dialogue. He will deliver the public lecture Can the two live in peace – Islam and Christianity at the CSU Orange Campus Community Day this Saturday 9 September.

 

Professor Haire believes our relations with Islam, both within Australian society and within Indonesia (the largest Muslim country in the world) is one of the most important issues now facing Australia.

 

“Most of Islam is moderate and most Muslims want to live in liberal democracies. It is also essential that Muslims living in Australia have a sense of ownership and pride in Australia and understand why we operate the way we do and why we are an egalitarian society,” Professor Haire warned.

 

Reverend Professor James Haire is perhaps one of the best qualified people in Australia to lead this dialogue with Islam. For 13 years between 1972 and 1985 he served in Indonesia as a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. During that time he also acted as Principal of Indonesia’s Halmahera Theological College, and was Professor of Theology at the Christian University of Indonesia. 

 

James Haire’s understanding of Muslim-Christian relations and friendships with Muslim leaders, particularly former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, were critical factors in the successful peace negotiations which he led between Christians and Muslims in Indonesia between 2001 and 2005.

 

Last year he was appointed to the executive of the Christian Conference of Asia which is a regional ecumenical body comprising churches within Asia and Australia.

 

James Haire is also CSU Professor of Theology and Director of the University’s Public and Contextual Theology Strategic Research Centre, based in Canberra. He was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters (DLitt) in July 2006 from the University of Ulster in recognition of his contribution to interfaith understanding, and was made a member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2006 announced on 12 June.