The Church of Scotland Moderator, the Rt Rev David Lacy, will share the platform with Dr Salah Beltagui, Scottish Chair of the Muslim Association, at the Church’s celebratory event ‘The Big Saturday’ in Glasgow this weekend.
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The two leaders said in their first ever joint press statement that they would continue to work for a “wider and deeper understanding” between Scotland’s Christian and Muslim communities. This will also be the theme of their joint platform on Saturday.

The Rev Lacy said: “I am delighted to be taking part in this event alongside my Muslim friend. By sharing the stage at a major Christian event, I hope we are underlining the close cooperation which we are building between our communities, and coming to understand each other’s needs and beliefs more clearly.

We are honoured that Dr Beltagui has come to speak to us and know he will receive a warm reception.”

Dr Beltagui also welcomed the joint platform at this weekend’s event, stressing the common roots of Christianity and Islam: “Despite what may be popularly believed, Muslims and Christians in fact agree on far more than there are differences over. It is this commonality that needs to be stressed, especially in these difficult times.”

He continued by pointing to Christianity and Islam’s shared belief in Abraham, Moses and Jesus and their shared geographical roots in the Arabian peninsula. Dr Beltagui said it was “through dialogues such as this we hope to show that Islam is as anchored to Scotland as Christianity is.”
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The Church of Scotland’s ‘The Big Saturday’ at Glasgow’s SECC expects to attract around 3,000 people looking to find “new ways of being the church in the 21st century”.

The event will also reach out to children through a special children’s concert led by Stephen Fischbacker and Fischy Music under the title ‘Something Fischy is going on!’.

Teenagers will have the opportunity to delve into deeper themes in the ‘Great Generation Zone’ where they can attend workshops on a number of challenging issues including HIV/AIDS and conflict and peace, as well as sessions on creative prayer, games, and drumming and percussion.

Around 40 exhibits from local churches in the Clyde presbyteries will be on display to visitors in the main exhibitions. The displays will show the ways in which these churches have answered to the Church without Walls report of 2001 which urged churches to be “shaped by the Gospel, by the local situation, by the gifts of the people of God and by friendship”.