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 two-pronged
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 is a conversing with

other civilizations.

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 the dialogue among civilization is

tolerance.
 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 al-Quran .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.