Never Confuse Religion and Faith with Fanaticism and Extremism
ADIC is building relationships with leaders of the Jewish faith
Cairo - Al Azhar Al Sharif - March 1999
Rabbi Samuel Sirat — former Chief Rabbi of France and Vice President of the Conference of European Rabbis and a member of the Board of Directors of ADIC — met with His Eminence Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawy on March 7, 1999, to discuss cooperation among the monotheistic religions.
During the meeting, Rabbi Sirat expressed that each of the three monotheistic religions has a responsibility to help to correct any situation where the image of any of the religions is distorted or misrepresented to the public or through the media. Rabbi Sirat agrees fully with the Grand Imam that the real message of religions is to realize peace and to oppose injustice. Rabbi Sirat stressed that people should never confuse religion and faith with fanaticism and extremism. He concluded that Abraham was and still is the real link among the three religions.
Rabbi Sirat was one of the visionaries who helped realize the success of the Sorbonne conference in 1994 with Cardinal Franz Konig, member of the Sacred College at the Vatican, and Dr. Mahmoud Zagzoug, dean of the Theology Department of al-Azhar and Egyptian Minister of Religious Affairs.
In May 1994, the Grand Imam sent Rabbi Sirat a message of encouragement for his work as one of the main organizers of a conference in Ifran, Morocco that focused on peace among the three religions.