The book Alike in Creation: A Comparative Study of the Rights of the Religious Other in Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism is an interfaith collaboration by authors from Iran, Italy, Malta, Russia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, and Thailand.
This unique volume was authored through the efforts of scholars from various religions, adopting an approach of “simultaneous co-authorship.” In this work, rather than writing “about the other,” the authors sat at a shared table to write “with one another” in an effort of interfaith collaboration for global peace.
The authors of this work, who compiled its various chapters by drawing upon their respective religious traditions, comprise a group of international academic scholars. This panel includes Professor Joseph Ellul, a Maltese priest and philosopher from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome; Dr. Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi and a prominent human rights activist; Dr. Mujeeb Ahmad, a professor at the International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan; Dr. Ilia Veviurko, Associate Professor at Moscow State University; Dr. Farha Iman, an Indian researcher and founder of the Sarva Dharma Samvaad organization; Dr. Vladimir Nikolaevich Rogatin, Head of the Islamic Studies Department at the Kazan Theological Seminary; Dr. Prasert Suksaskawin, Dean of the Faculty of Public Administration at Siam University, Thailand; Dr. Mohammad Sahhaf Kashani, Head of the Theology Department at the Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy (ISCA); and Dr. Seyyed Mostafa Daryabari, Cultural Counselor of Iran in South Africa.
This work is a selection from the proceedings of the “International Conference on Comparative Studies of Ethics in Islam and Christianity,” hosted by the Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy of Iran. It owes its academic rigor to the unprecedented participation of an extensive network of global universities and research centers. The involvement of institutions such as the Kazan Orthodox Theological Seminary from Russia, the Gandhi Development Trust from South Africa, and Siam University from Thailand, alongside the International Institute for Islamic-Christian Dialogue and the International Institute of Asr-e Zohour-e Aftab from Iran, as well as prestigious centers from India, Pakistan, and Italy, has transformed this publication into a distinguished international endeavor. Characterized by the strategic interfaith collaboration of multiple countries and academic institutions, the book seeks to bridge rationality and spirituality on a global scale.
The unveiling of this work in Kazan—a crossroads of civilizations—signifies a historical transition from the stage of mere dialogue to “co-authorship,” reflecting the attainment of theological maturity in interfaith collaboration.
The reception of this event in Russia underscored the strategic importance of this project in reinforcing traditional ethical values and elite diplomacy between Iran and Russia. This initiative has conveyed a message of peace and coexistence through academic interfaith collaboration—stemming from the cooperation between the academic centers of Qom and Kazan—to the international community, presenting it as an effective paradigm for resolving global crises.
