I don’t appreciate it when people label me. I feel constrained by the limits that labels force on me. There is truth to the quote attributed to Soren Kierkegaard, that “once you label me, you negate me.”
Born in the small city of Tel Mahre in Syria, Dionysius (d. 845) was elected patriarch of Antioch, the see of the Syrian Orthodox Church, in 818, a position he served in until his death. Syria had already been absorbed into the expanding Muslim empire, which resulted in bad blood between Christians and Muslims. Most of Dionysius’ colleagues in the Syrian Orthodox Church regarded Muslims with hostility and disdain. He resolved to stop the bleeding by traveling to Baghdad to seek an audience with the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun, chief ruler of the Islamic world. Dionysius introduced himself as a fellow imam, which caught the Islamic leader off guard. Dionysius had done his homework. He was intimately acquainted with the Islamic religion and well versed in Arabic. He sought to find areas of commonality and agreement with al-Ma’mun.
Was it an overreach for Dionysius to call himself an imam? An imam in the classic sense refers to someone who leads prayers in a mosque. Dionysius redeployed Islamic language to describe his similar role in leading prayers for his community. His calculated move paid off. Al-Ma’mun made good on his promise to ensure peace and uphold justice for Christians living in his empire. It was a high-water mark in Muslim-Christian relations.
The story of Dionysius would make a good case study today. Eschew the labels and forgo the stereotypes. Practice civility and love your neighbor. Know what your neighbors believe and seek consensus whenever possible.