Father Thomas Michel, Secretary of the Jesuit Secretariat for Interreligious Dialogue in Rome since 1996 and Ecumenical Secretary for the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences since 1994, discusses recent developments in Christian-Muslim relations from a Catholic point of view. He draws upon his long experience in Indonesia, Turkey, and Iran, to identify the possibilities and problems encountered in interfaith dialogue.

Fr. Michel took vows in the Society of Jesus in 1971 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and, after undertaking Islamic studies in Egypt and Lebanon, received a Ph.D. in Islamic Thought from the University of Chicago in 1978. Three years later he was appointed to the Asia Desk of the Vatican Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and, in 1988, became the director of Islamic Office of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue where he served for 13 years. In 2000, he delivered the D’Arcy Lectures at Oxford University in Oxford, England, on Christian-Muslim relations. Fr. Michel serves on the Academic Council of the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He sits on the International Advisory Board of the Khalidi Library, Jerusalem, and the Editorial Board of the journal Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations in Birmingham, UK.