Sara Parvis and Fatemah Araghi

Dr Sara Parvis is a senior lecturer in Patristics at the University of Edinburgh, and Fatemah Araghi is an architect and community activist in Glasgow. They came together to discuss the section on women in the Document on Human Fraternity which was signed by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, on 4th February, 2019. The document promotes a culture of peace and mutual respect. We are being called, the pope said, to a new way of being together; we need to enter as one family into an ‘ark of fraternity’ that can sail the stormy seas of the world. This will involve freeing women from ‘historical and social conditioning that runs contrary to the principles of their faith and dignity’. How significant is this statement? It is significant, said Sara, because it acknowledges the historical and social conditioning of women.

The dialogue was organised by Ahl al-Bait Scotland and the Scottish Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Interreligious Dialogue.