Editor at Large When the new American president finally made his much anticipated speech and reached out to the Muslim world, Barack Obama did well. He spoke without bluster, seeking a deep and long lasting understanding, calmly making clear that “America’s relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be just based on opposition to terrorism”. Obama made clear …

BEIRUT, Lebanon, MARCH 5, 2009 (Zenit.org) – Father Samir Khalil Samir, a native of Egypt and longtime resident of the Middle East, says he does not fear Muslims. Knowing their faith and knowing the Gospel, the Gospel cannot fear the Koran, in his expert opinion. The Jesuit priest teaches Catholic theology and Islamic studies at St. Joseph University in Beirut, …

After three days of intense dialogue on topics ranging from human development to arts and culture to security, the Sixth US-Islamic World Forum yesterday ended on a high-note on the back of political change in the US and signs of acceptability being shown by the Muslim world. Insistence on “deeds” now, rather than continued dialogue was also echoed by participants …

“Pluralism & Religion in America” Of all the biblical words I carry closest to my own heart, the most important is the succinct teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. “What is the greatest commandment?” he’s asked. Jesus answers without hesitation, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord with …

AMMAN // Pope Benedict’s scheduled visit in May is already stirring excitement in Jordan, where it is hoped his tour will give a boost to Jordan’s Christian pilgrimage sites and promote interfaith dialogue. “We are happy that he is visiting Jordan, particularly that it is the first stop of the Holy Land tour,” Rifaat Bader, a Catholic priest and spokesman …

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org) – Benedict XVI is affirming that Christians add a richness to Muslim-majority countries. The Pope said this in a message written on his behalf by his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and sent to a conference Monday sponsored by the Community of Sant’Egidio. The conference was on “The Value of the Churches in …

The following is a guest contribution. Reuters is not responsible for the content and the views expressed are the authors’ alone. Libyan theologian Aref Ali Nayed is a senior advisor to the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme and a leading signatory of A Common Word. By Aref Ali Nayed Being held in the early days of the Obama presidency, this year’s U.S.-Muslim …

Depending on who you listen to, the Common Word is an extraordinary opportunity, a watershed event that promises to counter threats of a “clash of civilizations,” or yet another interfaith dialogue in which narrow groups argue about the meaning of life and how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. All of those views were expressed at …

The Arab League Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. In the opening scene of The Godfather, set in the late summer of 1945, Don Vito Corleone’s daughter Connie weds, as Harry Truman nukes Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In order to shield himself from the law, Don Corleone, named after Don Drysdale, delivers his “hit” orders through his …

The Baptist World Alliance has responded to a Muslim letter that appeals for Christians and Muslims to cooperate in engendering peace and religious freedom. Well-Being Australia chairman Mark Tronson, cricket chaplain of 25 years and Baptist minister of 31 years, has identified the critical sentence in the Baptist response. Entitled “A Common Word Between Us and You”, the original letter …

Here’s the text of Rev. Sharon Watkin’s sermon on the “Harmonies of Liberty.” It was released by the National Cathedral and Watkins didn’t stray far from it, according to reporters in the White House pool. After drawing some applause for highlighting her greeting to President Obama, she began: What an inaugural celebration you have hosted! Train ride, opening concert, service …

I ran into Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, one of American’s Islam’s foremost scholars, at the Presidential Prayer Service on Wednesday. His first words to me were, “This President is reaching out to us. It’s good for the Muslim world to hear that.” “And good for America to hear it, too” I responded. Not only was Obama the first President to mention …

Vatican representatives and Muslim thinkers will meet in Rome next March to hammer out a few guidelines for dialogue between Christians and Muslims. There is a risk of hollowness or falsity if the dialogue addresses theology alone, and not the concrete problems of the two communities. Beirut (AsiaNews) – The masterful lecture by the pope in Regensburg, so widely criticised …

Washington, D.C. (BWA)–The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has issued a formal response to “A Common Word Between Us and You,” a letter written by 138 Muslim leaders and scholars that appealed for Christians and Muslims to cooperate in engendering peace and religious freedom. Upon receipt of the letter, which was dated October 13, 2007, and sent to 27 named world …

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — The Baptist World Alliance has issued its formal response to a 2007 letter, written to Christians by 138 Muslim leaders, describing love for God and love for neighbor as common ground between the two faiths. BWA leaders agreed that the double love for God and neighbor “lies at the heart of the message of Jesus …

A service of dedication for the new Baptism Center in Jordan will be carried out by leaders of a prominent Baptist organization at its official opening on March 20, 2009. The Center is located on the bank of the River Jordan on land closely approximate to the region known as Bethany beyond Jordan, where it is believed that John the …

Catholic seminaries and Islamic schools appear unaware of the importance of the important steps taken by Benedict XVI and Muslim scholars with “The Common Word.” At risk, therefore, is their co-existence in an era of globalized religion. The joint paper that came out of the Catholic-Muslim Forum held last November in the Vatican is unknown in India. Indian seminaries and …

Leaders of the Catholic and Islamic religions have been meeting to discuss ways to improve relations between them and to discuss issues that unite or divide them. Meetings have been held at the Vatican and included an audience with Pope Benedict. The Islamic leaders had met previously in the United States with Protestant and Anglican church officials. Before the meetings …

ISLAMIC and Christian leaders and scholars condemned religious viol­ence in a communiqué issued on Wednesday at Lambeth Palace, at the end of a three-day conference to mark the first anniversary of the Muslim letter “A Common Word”. In a two-page text, 17 religious leaders and scholars from Europe and the Middle East say they are “deeply troubled” by the threats …

Editor’s Note: The author will moderate a discussion with three Jesuit panelists on the topic “Muslims and Christians: Where Do We Stand?” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, at The Bunn Intercultural Center Auditorium, Georgetown University. Establishing religious and cultural accord is difficult anywhere in the world. This is especially true for the long and checkered relationship between Islam and …

As Christians throughout the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, European Catholics face an internal battle over the essence of their faith. On one side stand high-ranking prelates and professional theologians, including some in the Vatican. Opposing them is a prominent convert who seems to know more about their own theology than they do. The conflict revolves …

On October 13, 2007, 138 Muslim scholars and clerics, representing every major school of Islamic thought, issued a declaration entitled “A Common Word between Us and You,” challenging Christians to come together with them in dialogue. The phrase “common word” comes from the Qur’an where Allah declares: “O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and …

Vatican City, Nov 6, 2008 / 02:38 pm (CNA) – At the conclusion of the Catholic-Muslim Forum which took place at the Vatican, the participants issued a joint statement underscoring, among other themes, the importance of the defense of life as a gift from God to each person, religious freedom and the promotion of common moral values. The text states …

Catholic and Muslim leaders at landmark talks at the Vatican declared their determination to defend religious freedom, combat terrorism, and uphold the rights of women. Nearly 60 Christian and Muslim leaders rounded up three days of meetings on Thursday with a joint declaration in which they affirmed “God’s creation of humanity has two great aspects, the male and female human …

For two days this week, 50 leading Catholic and Muslim scholars from Europe, the Middle East and America sat behind closed doors in an anonymous-looking Vatican-owned building in the street leading up to St Peter’s Basilica, mulling over what divides and what unites their two faiths. Together, Muslim and Christian believers account for almost half the world’s population. The members …

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 9, 2008 (Zenit.org) – The first seminar of the Muslim-Catholic Forum was “a significant step forward in dialogue,” says a Vatican spokesman. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, made this claim on the last episode of “Octava Dies,” a weekly program of the Vatican Television Center. The three-day Catholic-Muslim meeting ended Thursday …

DUBAI (Reuters, AlArabiya.net) There are now so many efforts to improve relations between Christians and Muslims that they risk overlapping and creating confusion, the Vatican’s top official for interfaith contacts said just days before a United Nations interfaith conference organized by the Saudi king was to start in New York. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious …

MANILA (UCAN) – The participation of a Filipina Muslim in the recent major interreligious seminar in Rome is an opportunity to stop violence in the southern Philippines as well as a breakthrough for Muslim women in general. This is how Father Eliseo Mercado Jr., an expert on Islam, regards Amina Rasul-Bernardo, lead convener of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID). …

Last week Pope Benedict XVI met with a delegation of signatories to the Common Word, a document that seems to have taken the world by surprise. The dialogue that contributed to the Common Word was initiated in the aftermath of Pope Benedict’s statements on Islam in Regensburg, Germany and has transformed that negative episode in Christian–Muslim relations into a positive …

Last week, it was the head of Roman Catholicism playing host to three days of discussion between Islamic and Catholic scholars in the marble halls of the Vatican. This week, it was Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah at the United Nations in New York, continuing his campaign to promote religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. At the heart of all this ecumenical …

POPE Benedict XVI has cast doubt on the possibility of interfaith dialogue. However, he called for more discussion of the practical consequences of religious differences. The pope’s comments came in a letter he wrote to Marcello Pera, an Italian center-right politician and scholar whose forthcoming book, “Why We Must Call Ourselves Christian,” argues that Europe should stay true to its …

PARIS — A senior Vatican cardinal has thanked Muslims for bringing religion back into the public life in Europe, stressing the need for dialogue between followers of different faiths. “It’s thanks to the Muslims,” Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Catholic Church’s department for interfaith contacts, said in a speech printed in the Vatican’s official daily L’Osservatore Romano, reported Reuters …

Speakers at a seminar said message of Islam and Christianity is peace and justice is needed for establishing peace and harmony in the world. Chittagong Catholic Diocesan Dialogue and Social Commission organised the seminar on “Ground of relationship among Muslims and Christians: Love of one God and Love to the Neighbours” at Caritas Regional Training Centre on Saturday. Bishop of …

Earlier this month a rather historic gathering of Roman Catholic and Muslim leaders took place at the Vatican. It was the first meeting of the newly formed Catholic-Muslim Forum. The Forum participants, 28 Muslim and 28 Catholic representatives, met at the Vatican Nov. 4-6 to discuss the first topic of their newly established dialogue, “Love of God, Love of Neighbor.” …

VATICAN CITY (Agencies) Pope Benedict XVI received a Muslim delegation on Wednesday that participated in a seminar focused on steering young people away from “religious radicalism.” The theme of the talks, involving the Catholic church and the Libya-based World Islamic Call Society, was “Responsibilities of Religious Leaders in Times of Crisis”. “Religious leaders have a special responsibility toward youth, who …

VATICAN CITY, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Roman Catholic and Muslim leaders vowed on Wednesday to jointly combat religious extremism that can push younger followers to violence. “Religious leaders have a special responsibility toward youth, who require particular attention so that they do not fall victim to religious fanaticism and radicalism,” said a joint statement, issued after three days of talks …

VATICAN CITY: A Muslim delegation will have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI this week after taking part in a seminar on religious leadership in times of crisis, the Vatican said Monday. Members of the World Islamic Call Society, headquartered in Libya, are visiting the Vatican for the 11th time since 1976 and will see the pope on Wednesday, the …

In November 2007, 138 Muslim scholars and clerics presented a declaration of common ground between Christianity and Islam, called “A Common Word Between Us and You,” hoping to create a basis for future dialog. At the declaration’s “official” website (www.acommonword.com), a summary states, “Whilst Islam and Christianity are obviously different religions—and whilst there is no minimising some of their formal …

Vatican City, 15 Dec. (AKI) – The 11th annual inter-faith dialogue conference organised between the Vatican and the Libyan-based World Islamic Call Society got under way in Rome on Monday. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Responsibility of leaders in times of crisis’. Catholic and Muslim scholars are attending the gathering, which is is taking place until Wednesday A …

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican last month opened historic interfaith talks with top Muslim leaders, two years after Pope Benedict XVI sparked outrage among Muslims for a speech seen as linking Islam with violence. The Holy See’s first-ever Catholic-Muslim forum opened “a new chapter in the long history” of dialogue between the two faiths, the head of the 29-member Catholic …

The first meeting at the Vatican of a Roman Catholic-Muslim Forum has affirmed the right of individuals and communities to practice their religion in private and in public, while also rejecting terrorism in the name of religion. “Genuine love of neighbor implies respect of the person and her or his choices in matters of conscience and religion,” stated the 48 …

PARIS (Reuters) – A senior Vatican cardinal has thanked Muslims for bringing God back into the public sphere in Europe and said believers of different faiths had no option but to engage in interreligious dialogue. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Catholic Church’s department for interfaith contacts, said religion was now talked and written about more than ever before in …

By Spengler On the face of it, Pope Benedict XVI seems to have handed an enormous propaganda victory to the Muslim scholars who met with Catholic leaders in Rome on November 4-7. Victories of this sort, though, are deceptive. Leonid Brezhnev left the 1975 Helsinki meetings on European security cooperation convinced that he had won an enormous concession – final …

For Freedom of Faith The beginning of November saw the first Catholic-Muslim Forum held in the Vatican – which came about on a Muslim initiative. One of the participants was the Jesuit and professor of Islam Studies, Christian Troll. In an interview with Lewis Gropp, he talks about freedom of religion in Europe and Islamic countries, and the challenges of …

The Vatican has said that a statement by Pope Benedict XVI on the “impossibility” of religious dialogue has been misinterpreted, and does “not put in doubt the Pope’s inter-religious commitment.” In a preface to a book by Marcello Pera, a centre-Right Italian senator, entitled Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians, the Pope says the book “explains clearly that an inter-religious …

ROME — In comments on Sunday that could have broad implications in a period of intense religious conflict, Pope Benedict XVI cast doubt on the possibility of interfaith dialogue but called for more discussion of the practical consequences of religious differences. The pope’s comments came in a letter he wrote to Marcello Pera, an Italian center-right politician and scholar whose …

Agreement to disagree on religious freedom. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is first of a three-part series. This month’s much-anticipated, high-level Catholic-Muslim forum at the Vatican brings to mind a 2003 encounter between my longtime friend and colleague, Nina Shea, a frequent National Review Online contributor, and Faisal Ahmed Shinwari, then-chief justice of Afghanistan’s brand-new supreme court (see here and here on …

Roma, 24 Nov. (AKI) – Pope Benedict XVI’s praise for a new book which argues Europe should stay true to its Christian roots should not be misinterpreted, the head of the association of Italian Muslims, Ahmad Gianpiero Vincenzo, told Adnkronos International (AKI). In comments made in the preface to Italian center-right politician Marcello Pera’s forthcoming book ‘Why We Must Call …

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Jewish and Muslim leaders on Monday cautiously praised recent remarks by Pope Benedict XVI, who said that dialogue among faiths should be pursued even though it is impossible on strictly religious issues. The comments in an open letter published Sunday in Italy’s leading daily, Corriere della Sera, marked the latest statement by Benedict on the subject. …

PARIS (Reuters) – Christian-Muslim contacts are multiplying around the world as networks of religious officials and scholars confer in parallel to improve ties between the world’s two largest faiths, a leading Muslim participant says. Aref Ali Nayed of the Common Word dialogue drive launched by 138 Islamic scholars said the Internet was making contacts among experts quicker and easier while …

Last year 138 Muslim leaders released A Common Word Between Us and You, a promising statement to the Christian world stressing common ground between the two great missionary faiths. Christians responded publicly by gathering with Muslims and Jews at Yale University this past July for dialogue, a good part of which was devoted to affirming the similarities between the great …

ROME: In comments that could have broad implications in a period of religious conflict, Pope Benedict XVI appeared to cast doubt on the possibilities of interfaith dialogue but called for more discussion of the practical consequences of religious differences. The pope made his comments in a letter to Marcello Pera, an Italian politician and scholar whose forthcoming book, “Why We Must …