Tag: Interfaith

“I am happy with this letter, which is considered as an unprecedented step to bring the Islamic and Christian faiths and civilisations closer.” Speaking at a press conference held Monday at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation, Dr Habib Ali Al Jafri, Muslim propagator, said Muslims and Christians make up 55 per cent of the world’s population, and this new closeness serves as the first firm step towards returning to peace, brotherhood and harmony between people.

Several weeks ago, 138 Muslim scholars, sent a lengthy letter entitled ‘A Common Word Between Us and You,’ to Pope Benedict and other Christian leaders. Last week, numerous American Christian scholars responded positively with a letter of their own. In these clips from Voice of America and National Public Radio, Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chane and his friend Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, take the converstion further.

Christian scholars, religious leaders and laity are reaching to Muslims to create a dialog based on what the two faiths share in the hope of

Earlier this week the Pope met with the King of Saudi Arabia. Their conversation included discussion about the treatment and tolerance of Christian people living in Saudia Arabia. The issue is one of increasing importance because it is thought that Christians will soon become the majority in at least one arabian state, and are increasingly present in Saudi Arabia as well.

Bishop Tutu greeted and blessed the gathering, saying, “God looking down at this assemblage smiles on you.” He was accompanied by Bishop M. Thomas Shaw of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, a frequent advocate for Palestinians, who called the gathering a “magnificent conference.”

In 1988, the Episcopal Church endorsed a new set of guidelines governing Christian-Jewish relations. Supersessionism’s repercussions, the guidelines read, had been “fateful.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury has responded quickly and positively to an open letter from moderate Muslim leaders saying that it is a call to righteousness

Reuters is reporting on an “unprecedented” letter, signed by 138 Muslim scholars, sent to Pope Benedict, leaders of Orthodox Christian churches, Anglican leader Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the heads of the world alliances of the Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist and Reformed churches.

There is an assumption by commentators on the right and the left that as far as religion goes, it is liberals who work–and care to work–across faith lines. Interfaith activity is understood as a politically and theologically liberal enterprise. As Mark Weiner of the Interfaith Center of New York observes, with the right approach, even conservative religious leaders can find a home in interfaith dialogue.