- 1
- 2
Giving Peace a Chance
Early responses indicate that Christian leaders are welcoming the "Common Word" with open arms. In Britain the bishop of London told NEWSWEEK that the letter would "invite" young people to view the world as "a place where dialogue is possible, instead of a place full of threats." America's evangelical Christian leaders are being similarly positive. Rod Parsley, senior pastor of the World Harvest Church in Ohio, says, "My prayer is that this letter begins a dialogue that results in Muslims and Christians uniting around the love we have for each other as God's children."
Even with such endorsements, the question remains: Will the letter have any practical impact? Could it possibly help reduce the incidence of violent extremism and terrorism? Experts hope that because the letter's authors have millions of followers in both the Muslim and Christian worlds the answer is a (very qualified) yes. "Given that there's no simple one-off solution to terrorism," says Cambridge's Ford, "this letter does have all the elements necessary to move in that direction." Among those elements are the authors' solidarity on the subject of nonviolence and their clear plea for greater understanding between followers of the two faiths.
Jordan's Royal Institute sees the letter as the first step in a long process of opening up peaceful dialogue between Muslims and other religions around the world. A letter to the Jews is already in the works; the seeds of the next effort are evident in the current letter's quotations not only from the New Testament but also from the Torah. Eventually, says Nayed, the Muslim signatories plan to write a missive to the secular community. "The world is a garden," says Nayed. "We can focus on the weeds or we can focus on the fruit. And we are choosing to focus on the fruit."
© 2007
- 1
- 2
Loading Menu
Member Comments
Posted By: burbank @ 03/11/2008 3:00:22 AM
Comment: In the letter "A World Between Us And You", the cleric's say "As Muslims, we say to Christians we are not against them and that Islam is not against them-so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, or oppress them and drive them out of their homes". Which is precisely what Muslim's and their religion have been doing to Christians and Jews for over 1400 years and continues to this day. Modern day Lebanon is just one example. If Muslim's wish to engage in a positive dialogue with Christians, then they need to look at the basic tennets of their religion, which states that only Islam is the one true faith to the exclusion of all other's. And they will put to the sword those who do not conform to their ideology; or be allowed to live under Muslim rule as second class citizens. This denegration of other faiths as explained to believers by the Prophet himself warrants a critical examination of the Quran by Islamic scholars and only by this examination can Islam be reformed. And when that happens, Dar al Harab and Dar al Islam will finally be able to live in peace.
Posted By: lilevelynm @ 02/07/2008 3:25:12 PM
Comment: I don't understand why there complaints about this.. For starters it is a wonderful thing that the Muslim's have made an effort to extend the proverbial "olive branch" to the Christians. Just because you aren't waging a holy war on one another doesn't mean that you can't agree to treat one another with civility and have respect for each other's views. Besides, it's a good thing that they are making efforts to agree and spark feelings of unity if not brotherhood amongst other religions. Further still, it can be a useful tool in encouraging Christians and Muslims to learn more and appreciate each other's beliefs, rather than blast them. Just a thought......
Posted By: nawawimohamad @ 12/25/2007 9:00:09 PM
Comment: The only Christian that wages war on the Muslims at this moment is George W. Bush and with no rational reason, infact he LIED! Olmert is waging war against the Palestinians(includes both Muslims and Christians). So there is no point for the Muslim clerics, the Pope and other heads of religions to sit down to discuss what? They are not at war with each other. On second thought, Bush is also waging war on every nation and even the Vatican if the Vatican is against him. But unfortunately who ever wins the US presidential election, the same thing will happen. One can just imagine if an American were to be elected Pope!