Introduction The spread of religions from one part of the world to the other has led, from times immemorial, to coexistence and dialogue between the followers of a 368 IMTIYAZ YUSUF large number of different religions. Perhaps the main difference between the past and the present is that while in the past this phenomenon was not called ‘dialogue,’ it is called so in our time and is consciously pursued. In the past this phenomenon consisted of interaction between religions that gave rise to parallel ideas and institutions in different religious traditions. This at times resulted in various forms of religious syncretism. No doubt the purists objected to this in the past as do their namesakes today.

Since Buddha and Buddhism do not seem to be much concerned with the concept of theos (God), some people tend to believe that Buddhism is merely a philosophy rather than a religion. However, the worldwide practice of Buddhism shows that it certainly is a religion, albeit a religion with a philosophical bent. In fact any judgment on this issue depends on how we define religion. As for us, we adopt the following definition of religion and consistently adhere to it throughout this paper: “Religion is the varied, symbolic expression of, and appropriate response to that which people deliberately affirm as being of unrestricted value for them.”1 According to this definition, Islam, Buddhism and all major world religions legitimately fall into the category of religion.

Islam and Buddhism have engaged in a religious interchange in the course of their encounters in Central, South and Southeast Asia. Their early encounters were followed, in some instances, by conversion of Buddhists to Islam as happened in Central and maritime Southeast Asia. Yet there were also other regions where Buddhism and Islam continued to exist side by side for long as happened in India and also mainland Southeast Asia.

The point being made here is that there is a long record of Muslim- Buddhist dialogue, though this is at the present either non-existent or rare. This, in our view, is largely due to the strong trend of reified interpretations of religion in the contemporary world. This in turn is the outcome of ignoring or overlooking the interchanges that took place between these religions in the past, be they between region-based religions such as between Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism in South Asia or between Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Middle East, or between Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam in the Age of the Silk Road (4 BCE–1400 CE) and the Age of Commerce (1450–1680 CE) in different regions of the world.

Muslims often employ the Qur’┐nic expression ummatan wasa═an (the Middle Nation) to characterize their religion and community. The expression suggests that Islam is a moderate religion and that Muslims are required to be a middle or moderate nation. In practice, Muslims conduct their daily life taking the Prophet Mu╒ammad (peace be on him) as a paragon of moderation.

Similarly, the Buddhist expression majjhima-patipada refers to the notion that Buddhism represents the Middle Way.

This paper attempts to study the concepts of ummatan wasa═an (the Middle Nation) in Islam and majjhima-patipada (the Middle Way) in Buddhism, arguing that these concepts can serve as a model worthy of emulation by Muslims (or other monotheists) and Buddhists in their respective majority or mixed societies. It also seeks to make this study the starting-point of a socio-religious interchange and dialogue between Islam and Buddhism.

The paper thus aims to contribute to reviving the Muslim-Buddhist dialogue in contemporary times in the aftermath of Western colonialization and the subsequent surge of Asian and African nationalistic sentiments.

Buddhism and Islam in History

Though Islam and Buddhism differ doctrinally, they came into contact first in Central Asia,2 and later in South Asia and Southeast Asia.3 There is indeed a long history of relations between Islam and Buddhism.4 The religious encounter between Islam and Buddhism is as old as Islam itself.5 The first encounter between Islam and the Buddhist community, took place in the middle of the 7th century in East Persia, Transoxiana, Afghanistan and Sindh.6 Historical evidences indicate that the early Muslims extended the Qur’┐nic category of Ahl al-Kit┐b (People of the Book or revealed religion) to Hindus and Buddhists.7