Tried and found difficult

Confused by religion? Recent events have made us all too aware of how little we know about the practice of faith in this country. I now feel an obligation to better understand what a Muslim believes, how they practice their religion and the divisions within it.
I have been a lifelong Christian. I was taught the basics of my faith as a child - but it was a penetecostal version of the Christian faith. In the late 70s and early 80s I helped to form a "house church" - a "Christian Fellowship". We were free from the previous rigours of our denominations, met in homes and community halls and many said we had simply created another denomination with its own practices. They may have been right. I now belong to an Anglican Church in York but my theology is the result of my journey so far and it changes frequently.
The journey through my own faith is often compex, subjective and I confess indifferent. But I reckon most people who know me would say I was serious about my beliefs. All the same, living by a faith isn't always easy. In fact I think it was GK Chesterton who said in response to someone who said that Christian faith had been tried and found wanting that in his experience the Christian faith had been tried and found difficult.
So it would be fair to assume that those who practice other faiths find it equally difficult and confusing. I'm thinking here about an intellectual understanding of it. Thankfully many of the practices have been reduced to straightforward religion. Doing my duty, attending worship and maintaining a devotional life of prayer and bible study. But when I do sit down with a Muslim what will I tell him about my faith and what could he tell me of his that would improve our mutual understanding? And will we still believe the same things next year. Will I be able to tell if his views are extreme? I know there were times when my Christian views could have been descibed as bit "way out".
I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. Recent events tell me that we should do it more often and more urgently. But a few trite smiles and nods towards each other's agreement to differ are not going to suffice. The route of engagement will be demanding. Perhaps we would all understand our own faith a little more too as a result.