Addressing Intolerance in Religious Education

Project Aladdin’s “Know the Religion of Thy Neighbor” is an award-winning book and the fruit of a five-year collaboration of senior religious figures from Judaism, Christianity and Islam sitting on Aladdin’s Higher Interfaith Committee. A textbook for young theologians, the book seeks to counter the myths, stereotypes and intolerance that prevail in certain spheres of religious education. The central premise of the book is the need to know and understand the other Abrahamic religions, and to consider the differences that set religions apart as legitimate. Young imams, priests and rabbis generally learn about the other two religions only from the prism of their own traditions. This can lead to rejection and even delegitimization of the other religions, paving the way for hate and violence. “Know the Religion of Thy Neighbor” was produced under the patronage of UNESCO and won the “European Spirituality Book of the Year” prize in 2019. It has received the support of the Vatican and many prominent religious leaders from Judaism and Islam.