The Interface Between Research and Dialogue

In Africa as elsewhere, many scholars of religion are both involved in the study of religions and engaged in the field of dialogue. But how about the relationship between these two domains? Does the engagement in dialogue illegitimately interfere with the commitment to sound research? Should the study of religions be bound to a scientific ethos which furthers the principle of dialogue - or would this turn Religious Studies into an ideological endeavour? Is dialogue possibly a crucial aspect of a future History of Religions, especially in the context of Christian-Muslim relations in Africa?