Interreligious Dialogue in Contemporary EraListen, O Drop, give yourself up without regret, and in exchange,gain the Ocean. Listen, O Drop, bestow upon yourself this honorand in the arms of the Sea be secure.Who, indeed, should be sofortunate, an Ocean wooing a drop!" Rumi

Modern technology continually brings all the inhabitants of the world closertogether. The emergence of a global society is assertively driving our world towardone of mutual exchange and cultural dialogue, both to resolve existing conflicts andto help prevent future ones. Our interconnected, shrinking world and the fact ofreligious pluralism have awoken a more global ecumenical consciousness andalerted world inhabitants to the need for religious dialogue. Such a dialogue aimsto increase mutual understanding and respect, not only among those with differentpolitical convictions, social positions and economic power, but also among peopleof different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Dialogue is not onlyconversation (dialogue of ideas) but is also an encounter between people (dialogueof life). It depends on mutual trust, demands respect for the identity and integrity ofthe other, and requires willingness to question one’s own self-understanding as wellas an openness to understand others on their own terms. Reflection on the essenceof religion, which is the unbreakable bond uniting all great revealed religions, haslong been a subject for discussion and debate by thinkers belonging to differentworld-religions.Followers of religions comprise nearly majority of the world’s population. Thenature of the relationship of them is of considerable significance for the welfare ofthe whole human family. This paper attempts to study the nature, aim, necessityand characteristics of an authentic inter- religious dialogue, especially from theIslamic point of view.