Reza Shah-Kazemi contributes a wonderful talk and essay to the reflections that made up the Paths Conference and the book. His talk, The Metaphysics of Interfaith Dialogue, cited Quranic verses and Sufi commentaries in developing the point that the very foundation of Islam, the Quran itself, encourages tolerance toward and meaningful dialogue with pious believers of other faiths. The final sentences of his essay summarize very well the ground covered by his talk, of which our short clip is a representative section on dialogue:

"As we have seen, there is ample evidence in the Quranic text itself, and in the compelling commentaries on these verses by those most steeped in the spiritual tradition of Islam, to demonstrate that the Quran not only provides us with a universal view of religion, and thus with the means to contemplate all revealed religions as 'signs' (ayat) of God, but also opens up paths of creative, constructive dialogue between the faithful of all the different religious communities, despite their divergent belief-systems. It provides us with the basis for dialogue and mutual enrichment on aspects of religious life and thought that go beyond the outward forms of belief, yielding fruit in the fertile fields of metaphysical insight, immutable values, contemplative inspiration, and spiritual realization."