The president of the Islamic Center of Virginia and the representative of a foundation supporting international Christian evangelical efforts sat side by side for six hours of honest conversation at the start of a new dialogue initiative sponsored by Hope in the Cities and Agenda for Reconciliation USA on May 22 in Richmond, Virginia.

Seven Muslims and six Christians, including conservative evangelicals, took part in the dialogue. "Can inter-faith dialogue, without compromising core principles, really lead to a world that works?" asked one participant. "How can we show that a faith-filled community is not necessarily a constrained community?" asked another.

The dialogue was marked by surprising openness from the start. Differences were acknowledged. "If I did not believe Islam was the best religion I would not be a Muslim." Christians voiced similar sentiments. Yet both groups were pleasantly surprised to discover that the other group was not monolithic in its views. "This is my first time sitting with evangelicals who don't all support Jerry Falwell," said one Muslim.

Both groups expressed concern at a secularism which excludes faith from public places and imposes values contrary to faith traditions. But, while deeply concerned at the impact of moral laxity of popular culture on their families, Muslims said they were amazed and challenged by American Christians' engagement on issues of social justice.

Surprising discoveries were made. The director of Student Life at Baptist Theological Seminary was astonished to find that he was a neighbor of one of the Muslims. He and others acknowledged the complete lack of contact with the other faith group and pledged to reach out more. The Muslims represented diverse backgrounds, including Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, as well as native-born black and white Americans. The son of one of the Christian participants had just returned from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Conversations ranged over religious schools, freedom of the media, treatment of women and insensitive use of language. One evangelical Christian described how his grandparents had been missionaries in Brazil, losing one child to disease, and contending with 30 ft pythons in their garden. "While some things were not done right, we should not put ourselves on a guilt trip. There are a lot of schools and hospitals out there that would not be there but for the work of the missionaries." Several Muslims expressed appreciation for the education they had received in Catholic schools.

A powerful moment occurred when each group met privately to consider the question, "Both Islam and Christianity have great traditions of peace building. What have we, in our group done, currently or historically, that undermines this tradition?" Besides the legacy of the crusade and colonialism, Christians admitted that they had not recognized that Islam could be an ally in fighting social and moral ills, or attempted to build personal relationships with Muslims. Muslims acknowledged they had isolated and secluded themselves from involvement with the wider community and had been silent on human rights violations.

Both groups agreed to support each other in the need to speak out against stereotyping and acts of violence. That very day, a letter by Malik Khan, president of the Islamic Center of Virginia, appeared prominently in the Richmond Times-Dispatch denouncing the brutal killing of Nick Berg and all other atrocities.

One Christian Islamic scholar told the Muslims, "Send us your problem Christians - let's work on them together!" An Iranian-born technologist remarked, "Only in America could a dialogue like this take place."