wfn.org | WCC & Iranian Muslim Scholars

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World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
21 November 1996

WCC AND IRANIAN MUSLIM SCHOLARS TO MEET

Thirteen representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC)
will join Muslim scholars in Teheran, Iran, from 22-25 November
for a colloquium on the theme of The Role of Religion in the
Contemporary World.

Sub-themes will deal with religion and human rights, major moral
questions, peace, justice and ecology.

The first session is expected to be open to the public.  Local
arrangements are being handled by the Organisation for Islamic
Culture and Communications.

The Teheran colloquium is the latest in a series of
Christian-Muslim encounters between the WCC and Iranian Islamic
spiritual leaders.

The process began nearly two years ago when a representative of
the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance extended an
invitation to WCC General Secretary, Dr Konrad Raiser, to join
Iranian scholars in dialogue.

The representative visited the WCC to become acquainted with the
Council and to seek its help in promoting Christian-Muslim
relations.

After receiving encouragement from its member churches in Iran,
the WCC sent two of its staff to Teheran in April 1995 for
further discussions.  During that visit, the delegation was able
to meet WCC member church leaders for the first time since 1979. 

With Iranian member church support, it was agreed to pursue the
dialogue and a first round of discussions was held last December
in Geneva.  Among its conclusions was the decision to organize a
second colloquium in Teheran, and that it should include
representatives of WCC member churches in Iran (Armenian
Orthodox, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Church of Iran).

Interfaith dialogue is an important dimension of the work of the
WCC.  In this case, it occurs against a background in Iran which
has seen the assassinations of several Protestant pastors in
recent years.

These tragic incidents have been the subject of conversation
between the WCC and its Iranian counterparts.  Both have
expressed the hope that these dialogues can help create a greater
climate of tolerance, understanding and cooperation among people
of different faiths in Iranian society and beyond.  It is in this
spirit that the WCC group goes to Teheran.

WCC representatives: Dr Charles Amjod Ali (Pakistan); Rev. Dr
Jean-Claude Basset (Switzerland); Dr Dale Bishop (USA); Rev.
Dwain Epps (USA-Staff); Bishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon (Nigeria); Ms
Genevi?ve Jacques (France-Staff); Rev. Dr Riad Jarjour (Cyprus);
Rev. Dr Victor Makari (USA); Dr Tarek Mitri (Lebanon-Staff); Dr
Constantin Patelos (Greece); Rev. Dr Andr? Ritter (Germany); Ms
Teny Simonian (Great Britain-Staff); Fr Philip Zighulin (Russia).

The WCC staff members listed above and Jean-Claude Basset will
give a press conference (in English only) in Salle IV at the
Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, on Monday 2 December at 1400hrs.

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now
330, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually
all Christian traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a
member church but works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest
governing body is the Assembly, which meets approximately every
seven years.  The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office
Tel:  (41.22) 791.61.52/51
Fax:  (41.22) 798 13 46
E-Mail: jwn@wcc-coe.org

P.O. Box 2100
CH-1211 Geneva 2