The Sultan and the Saint

“The best way we have found to build bridges between diverse religious communities is through interfaith cooperation: working together across lines of faith to serve the common good.”

-Eboo Patel, Going Public with Faith , Founder of Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago

This program is retiring June 30, 2019. Sign up today for 12 months of access and support.

So what can we do?

The Sultan and the Saint program seeks to bring Muslims and Christians together in dialogue. By fostering active listening and respectful sharing, it aims to cultivate mutual understanding and appreciation of what these faith traditions hold in common, as well as the ways in which they differ. By nurturing relationships across religious boundaries, we hope that together participants will model interfaith cooperation as they live out a central tenet of both faiths: to love God and to love our neighbor.

The program addresses the following themes:

exploring the commonalties and differences between the two faiths
considering praying together as one community
understanding the historical and present relationships between Christians and Muslims
learning about the social justice traditions in Christianity and Islam

This JustFaith Ministries program was written in collaboration and consultation with Christian and Muslim scholars and with contributions from experts in interreligious dialogue.

Program Overview

Groups are co-facilitated by one or two participants.

Sessions

The Sultan and the Saint consists of eight 2 ½-hour sessions. All sessions include prayer, dialogue, active listening, and relationship-building. Some sessions may include videos and/or a guest speaker.

Participation

JustFaith Ministries recommends that a group be approximately eight to fifteen people.

Resources

Participants deepen their understanding through in-depth reading and viewing videos and online materials. The most essential resource is the community formed through the process.

Immersion Experience

During the process participants will also visit Christian and Muslim places of worship and will work towards engaging in a culminating activity together.

The Sultan and the Saint Overview, Sample and Flyer The Sultan and the Saint Promotion Kit

“At the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, we envision families, communities, and nations that thrive in peaceful co-resistance and collaboration–contesting their differences in good faith, and cooperating often in socially responsible ways... To this end FRD provides and encourages programs for persons of conviction, to honorably engage others of different beliefs in trust-building conversations and activities.”

“Christians and Muslims constitute more than one-half of the world’s population. The story of the interaction between Saint Francis and Sultan al-Kamil illustrates that even at the time of the most bitter antagonism between the armies of European Christians and Middle-Eastern Muslims, truly spiritual leaders on both sides recognized the commonality between their deepest beliefs and most cherished religious practices. Today, when Islamophobia has reached an unprecedented escalation in the U.S., it is urgent that spiritual seekers, especially from the Abrahamic faiths, step forward to initiate an interreligious dialogue which seeks to build a knowledge-based foundation that can promote understanding and cooperation amongst Jews, Christians and Muslims in today’s sharply-divided world. ”

“Our Catholic Parish Immaculate Heart of Mary in Cincinnati has been involved with two Muslim families through Catholic Charities and so when our Justfaith team saw The Sultan and the Saint we felt we needed to do this program. Clifton Mosque members joined us and we now have a group, Widening the Circle, to continue our friendships. We learned so much about our faiths’ similarities. ”

PROGRAM PRICING

Affordable Pricing for Groups

Churches, Parishes, Organizations

$175

Program Includes:

Comprehensive materials for each session
Facilitation scripts and guidance
Immersion guidance
Direct access to program staff for support
Additional resources – Group materials $64 plus $15 per participant
All other materials are web-based

The Sultan and the Saint 2018-19
$175

This program is retiring June 30, 2019. Sign up today for 12 months of access and support.

Have Other Questions?

Email us here

Pope Francis, 11/3/2016, address to representatives of different religions

“May there… be fostered everywhere the peaceful encounter of believers and genuine religious freedom. Here, our responsibility before God, humanity and the future is great; it calls for unremitting effort, without dissimulation. It is a call that challenges us, a path to be taken together, for the good of all, and with hope. May the religions be wombs of life, bearing the merciful love of God to a wounded and needy humanity; may they be doors of hope helping to penetrate the walls erected by pride and fear.”