Abstract

This chapter explores the mutual exchange of the 1219 encounter between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil as a model for present-day cooperation between Christians and Muslims on ecological issues. The author first critically analyzes select sources from Vatican II, the meeting between Francis and al-Kāmil, and statements by Pope Francis—especially Evangelii Gaudium—showing the links between spirituality, poverty, and violence. The essay exposes how these linkages are made relevant for ordinary people through the praxis of dialogue and proposes not only that the encounter between Francis and the Sultan is a powerful model for present-day Christian-Muslim cooperation on earth care issues, but that these traditions possess a strong conceptual convergence on which to base that cooperation.