Abstract

Interreligious and intercultural dialogue between Arabs, Muslims and Jews, in the context of formal dialogue groups, is a fairly recent phenomenon. In Montreal, for instance, interreligious dialogue between Christians and Jews is over fifty years old, while Muslim-Jewish interreligious dialogue has been taking place for less than a decade, and Arab-Jewish dialogue has been occurring only for the past five years or so. At present, Montreal is home to several such dialogue groups, three of which are examined in this thesis, in an effort to determine: why these groups were initiated; the motives, priorities and goals of leaders and participants; the experiences of participants, and the impact, if any, that the dialogue groups have had on participants and the involved communities. This thesis also investigates the connection between religion and dialogue, in terms of group programming and participants' experience and perspectives, and the relationship between dialogue and political/social activism. Data collected through interviews with dialogue leaders, participants and critics is analyzed with respect to dialogue theory. Finally, an analysis on the role of dialogue in promoting coexistence and conflict resolution is presented.