wfn.org | WCC Christian - Muslim consultation expresses joint commitment to justice and overcoming vio

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Update 02-32
For Immediate Use
20 October 2002

WCC Christian - Muslim consultation expresses joint commitment to justice and
overcoming violence

Cf WCC Press Release, Up-02-26 of 8 October 2002

"We condemn the exploitation of religious sentiment and the distortion of the
teachings of our two faiths," says a report from an international
consultation of representatives of Christian and Muslim organizations,
scholars and activists who met 16-18 October in Geneva.

The consultation, hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), brought
together 40 participants for "a critical examination of the present state of
relations between their respective communities and an assessment of what has
been achieved". The event was co-chaired by Dr Mohamed S. El-Awa, an author
and lawyer from Egypt, and the moderator of the WCC Central Committee, H.H.
Aram I, Catholicos of the See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

 "Because of the globalization of information... events where Muslim and
Christians are perceived to be in conflict are translated to other parts of
the world, where they often contribute to the worsening of unrelated
situations," the report points out. This happened, it suggests, after  the
"terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, the threats of war
against Iraq, and the pain and suffering in Palestine".

The consultation identified some priorities for joint efforts in the next
five years, particularly in education "by and for our communities as a key
arena in which to create the trust and mutual understanding which are
essential to resist attempts to exploit religious differences for destructive
ends".

At the end of their discussions, participants expressed their joint
commitment to search for justice, prevent conflict and overcome violence.
They called on political leaders "to resist the temptation to resort to
simplistic and populist assignations of blame and demonization of whole
communities". Religious leaders, they said, should "draw attention to the
social, economic and other injustices which influence their environment, and
resist the exploitation of these injustices to rouse religious hatreds".

According to the WCC staff person for Christian-Muslim dialogue Dr Tarek
Mitri, "the consultation did not shy away from sensitive, and divisive,
issues". Building on previous dialogue efforts, "it made significant progress
in developing a common, and rather elaborate, approach	to related questions
of citizenship and human rights as well as to those of injustice and
violence." For Mitri, the message of the consultation was "to move beyond
classical dialogue".   

The consultation report is available on the WCC website at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/octconsul-rep.html 

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office, tel: +41
(0)22 791 64 21

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, 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, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel: (41 22) 791 6153 / 791 6421
Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
E-mail: media@wcc-coe.org 
Web: www.wcc-coe.org 

PO Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland