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I'm Krista Tippett, in a world in which religious differences implicated in violence,

how is it possible to love one's own tradition and honor the faith of others?

From American public media, this is speaking of faith, public radio's conversation about belief, meaning ethics and ideas.

Today, religion and our world in crisis, a special broadcast of a live conversation

at the Skurbal Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

I spoke with two men steeped in the ancient and modern dynamics of their faiths.

Harold Shoelweiss is senior rabbi and spiritual leader of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California,

and the author of many books, including Evil and the Morality of God, and finding each other in Judaism.

Khaled Abu al-Fadal is a professor of law at UCLA and a renowned scholar of Islam.

His most recent book is Islam and the Challenge of Democracy.

As always on speaking of faith, in this live discussion, neither guest was asked to pronounce on behalf of his religion for all Jews or all Muslims.

Each spoke in the first person at the intersection of theology and his particular human experiences.

I began by turning to Khaled Abu al-Fadal.

In the years following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Egyptian-born Abu al-Fadal has been hailed as one of the most daring contemporary Muslim voices.

He has spoken out at personal risk, criticizing expressions of his own tradition that offend his understanding of Islamic faith.

I wanted to draw him out on the Islamic ideas and values that give him sustenance and hope.

Abu al-Fadal says Islam can reclaim the best of its own tradition and work to support peace and tolerance by recovering a core moral value often overlooked in political discussions.

The key to the future of Islam, he says, lies in recovering its core moral value of beauty.

I asked Khaled Abu al-Fadal what he means by that and why it matters in a world in crisis.

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