Muslim and Christian Religious Leaders Rally Together to Support Christians in Middle East
Religious
leaders from Christian and Muslim communities in the Middle East will
gather in Athens in September to discuss plans to better support the
citizenship rights of Christian, other religious and ethnic groups in
Iraq and Syria.
The meeting, which will take place from 2 to 3 September,
is a joint initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
and the Vienna-based KAICIID Dialogue Centre, with the support of the
Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meeting will bring
together Christian and Muslim religious leaders from across the Middle
East, including representatives from the Armenian, Catholic,
Evangelical, Rum (Greek) Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Sunni, Shi'a and
Druze communities.
His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel, who is a
member of the KAICIID Board of Directors, said the meeting will give
Muslim and Christian religious leaders the chance to intensify their
joint work to address the critical situation facing Christians, and
other minority groups, in Iraq and Syria, where violence and political
upheaval have placed long-established communities in jeopardy.
"Christian
communities are integral parts of the diverse societies of the Middle
East. It is essential for religious leaders from all faiths and
denominations to speak with one voice, and address this current crisis
to preserve the endangered communities. Christian communities have lived
in this region for over 2,000 years and contribute to all aspects of
Middle Eastern societies. Their loss would be a catastrophe for
coexistence and the region as a whole," he said.
The meeting will
underline the role of religious leaders as active peacemakers, rather
than passive observers of religious co-existence and conflict. The
leaders will take stock of the existing situation, map out requirements,
share best practices and develop concrete follow-up measures that can
be implemented at the regional level.
Plans include establishing a
task force of high-level religious leaders to engage policy makers in
the region to address the security and needs of Christian and other
religious minorities and ethnic groups in the region.
The meeting
will also consider plans for supporting interreligious education to
foster tolerance, promote pluralism and preserve diversity. At the local
level, joint community development projects to help different
communities cooperate and build trust will be discussed.
The
meeting is part of the "Dialogue between Christians and Muslims" that
the Ecumenical Patriarchate initiated, in partnership with relevant
Islamic organizations, as a means to use interreligious dialogue to
facilitate peace and reconciliation. The meeting is also convened under
KAICIID's "United against Violence in the Name of Religion (UVNR)"
initiative, which seeks to foster cooperation between religious
institutions and governments to counter extremism, particularly in Syria
and Iraq. The UVNR initiative was launched at a meeting in Vienna in
November, 2014, where leaders of Muslim, Christian, and other religious
and ethnic communities from Iraq, Syria and the larger Middle East
region jointly issued the Vienna Declaration, which denounced violence
in the name of religion.
Since then, the initiative has continued
to grow. KAICIID with partners such as UNESCO, the UN Office for the
Prevention of Genocide and ISESCO, as well as NGOs are implementing
these recommendations.
Metropolitan Emmanuel said that too often
conflicts in the Middle East are associated with, or portrayed solely
as, sectarian divisions with the various factions purporting to act in
the name of religion. No terrorist organization represents religions,
nor should religion be associated with terrorism. Any attack in the name
of religion is an attack on all religions.
He added that the
event underlines the Ecumenical Patriarchate's and KAICIID's mission to
provide platforms where religious leaders can take an important role in
crisis management and conflict resolution.
ABOUT KAICIID: The
KAICIID Dialogue Centre is an intergovernmental organization that uses
dialogue to build peace in conflict situations, and to enhance
understanding and cooperation between people of different cultures and
followers of different religions. The Centre's mission is to promote
dialogue as a way to bridge animosities, reduce fear and instill mutual
respect. The founding states of the Centre are the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, the Republic of Austria and the Kingdom of Spain. The Holy See
is the Founding Observer. Prominent representatives from five major
world religions make up the nine-member Board of Directors. The Board
designs and supervises the Centre's programs, ensuring its credibility
across many religious communities.
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