MAJOR GLOBAL INTER-FAITH INITIATIVE

CHRISTIAN MUSLIM DIALOGUE

‘A COMMON WORD’ CONTINUES 
A RESPONSE BY ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY DR. ROWAN WILLIAMS 
Dr. Rowan Williams has released a response to the 138 Muslim scholars “A Common Word Between Us and You” document. In this scholarly and carefully worded response Dr Williams focuses on five areas of potential common ground for further discussion; 

1. The love and praise of God 2. The commitment to a love of neighbour 3. A desire to ground our discussions in our Scriptures 4. A commitment to relate to each other from the heart of our faith lives 5. An appreciation of the recognition of the differences between Christians and Muslims that do not conflict with the shared commitment to love god and neighbour. 

Coming in the days before the Lambeth Conference, the Archbishop’s paper will, no doubt, be pored over by members of the Anglican Communion. It is appropriate that all Christians as well as all those interested and committed to deepening inter-faith dialogue, understanding and co-operation should also take the matter seriously. The original intention of the Muslim scholars was to build bridges of understanding that should lead to a lessening of inter-religious tension in the world.

Download Archbishop’s Response Document: A Common Word for the Common Good

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LOCAL CONTRIBUTION TO THIS GLOBAL INITIATIVE:

LARGE AUDIENCE FOR 'THE IMAM AND THE BISHOP' DIALOGUE

A large and engaged audience gathered at St John's Church on Wednesday evening to hear Shaykh Imam Ibrahim Mogra and the Rt. Rev. Brian Smith the Bishop of Edinburgh in a meeting of hearts and minds.

The Imam who is the Chairman of the Inter-Faith Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain presented the 'Call' from Muslim Leaders to Christian Leaders for a deepening of relationship, dialogue and co-operation. The Bishop responded in a deeply considered, passionate and very postive way.

The Bishop of Edinburgh's written response to the 'Call' from Muslim Leaders in full downloadable ... here

http://www.acommonword.com/ to see the document from the Muslim Scholars

Bishop Brian Smith, Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh said: ‘Muslim leadership throughout the world has recently made an unprecedented and united call for a meeting of minds, and a working together for peace, with Christian leaders throughout the world. This must be celebrated and taken to heart.’

Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Chair of the Inter-Faith Relations Committee of the Muslim Council of Britian said: ‘Contemporary challenges now make it even more critical for the diverse communities of our nation to meet and talk. Those who have done so have been pleasantly surprised to find that we all share so much more in common. We must encourage everyone to take this journey of discovery to better educate ourselves about others. Better understanding always leads to respect and to peaceful co-existence. Our fragile and troubled world has never been more in need of this."

Victor Spence, General Secretary of The Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association said:
‘The recent letter from the 138 Muslim Scholars to Christian Leaders has certainly initiated a significant amount of discussion locally and globally. The Bishop of Edinburgh is demonstrating his commitment to further developing good inter-faith relations and in particular continuing the dialogue with Muslims. I believe this will be the first of many engagements between Christians and Muslims in Edinburgh and more widely in Scotland. It now seems likely that there will soon be a joint statement from Christian Leaders of Edinbugh in response to the 'call' from Muslim Leaders.’

EVENTS:

There will be a small group meeting on 28th January to discuss further developments and local initiatives in respect to further Muslim Christian Dialogue in Edinburgh and Scotland.

For further details: info@eifa.org.uk