Many non-religious people in the West tend to believe religious people are irrational. Their view of religious Muslims is often even less favorable. They are, unjustly, often associated with religious extremism. Ignorance of the great diversity that we find in all religions as well as their similarities has created unfounded prejudices and fear for Muslims in general in particular.

I attended the Egyptian Moral Rearmament Association (EMRA) conference in November 2019 and found a group of believing Muslims and Christians who focused on what bound them together. This was moving, in particular in the light of so much negative media reporting. It took a while before these notes were ready for publication in Arab-West Report, but they have lost nothing of their value.

The origins of EMRA are in the Second World War. The founders established a movement that sought an end to war. The activities of the first decades of their existence were informal. It was only in March 1988 that they were registered at the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

In Egypt, most people are religious. Both Muslims and Christians resort to prayer in good times and in bad, in joy and at need. The members of EMRA are not different.

I made extensive notes and after the conference interviewed some of the major actors: Gretel Trog (b.1928), devoted Swiss Evangelical Christian, and Dr. Nagia Abdelmoghney Said [Nājiyya ʿAbd al-Mughnī Saʿīd], devoted Egyptian Muslima, both Initiatives of Change members from its first hour. If one would think that because of her age Gretel Trog would be looking towards the past, one would be mistaken. In her talks, she is aware of the past but is fully focused on the future for generations to come.

“If you want to change the world, you have to start with yourself,” said Gretel Trog quoting Dr. Frank Buchman, founder of the Moral Rearmament Association with chapters around the world, most of whom later changed their names to Initiatives of Change. Faith, Gretel Trog says, is “about a personal friendship with God.” She also said, “Dare to be a Daniel. Dare to stand alone dare to have a purpose firm message. Dare to make it known.” The prophet Daniel was virtually alone when he witnessed his faith in King Nebuchadnezzar.

The EMRA invited Seleem Wassef [Salīm Wāṣif], head of the Dialogue Department of the Anglican Diocese in Egypt between 1999 and 2019, and since 2020, he has been their consultant for Christian-Muslim dialogue for their 30^th anniversary conference on November 29 and 30, 2019 – and I saw a side of Salīm Waṣīf that I did not know. He quoted liberally from Qur’an and Hadith while EMRA deputy chair Dr. Nājiyya ʿAbd al-Mughnī quoted from Christian scriptures. This intercultural and intertextual facility shows respect and understanding of each other’s faith traditions.

Salīm Waṣīf speaks about the need for “ethical honesty and true desire to reach God. When we do this, God will reveal Himself to us as human beings.” This means “We should not judge others and speak falsely about their books. See how the Qur’an refers to the Torah with respect.”

During the conference but also during the talks later with Salīm Waṣīf, Gretel Trog and Dr. Nājiyya ʿAbd al-Mughnī, I made notes and recorded some of the most salient statements. For example, today Muslims in Egypt claim that Muslim women cannot marry a non-Muslim man but this was very different in the 1940s and 1950s. This text is worth reading because it presents points of views that are rarely reported but that also can be found in Egypt.

This text has been seen and approved by Mr. Salīm Waṣīf, Dr. Nājiyya, Ms. Gretel Trog and Mr. Mohammed Hassouna [Muḥammad Ḥassūna]. We could not reach Samir Dumani [Samīr Dūmānī] for a response. It is due to these requests for responses that the publication of this text took much more time than expected. The text, nevertheless, remains highly valuable today.