"Muslim-Christian Cooperation"
Ouest-France, May 29, 1998
Yesterday, the Vatican and the University of al-Azhar in Cairo signed an agreement of co-operation. A Joint Committee will henceforth meet once or twice a year. The major themes of this dialogue are education and the common struggle against violence.
As a result of the strong wishes of Pope Paul VI after the Second Vatican Council, dialogue between the Catholic Church and other religions over the last few years has greatly accelerated. First, there was the inter-religious gathering at Assisi in 1986, and more recently, a greater rapprochement with the Jewish community. Parallel to these efforts, contacts between Rome and the Muslim world continued to intensify. Now, the Vatican engages in dialogue with four major international Islamic organizations, notably the Saudi Arabian World Muslim League.
Already four years …
The agreement signed yesterday at the Vatican between the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and al-Azhar, the most prestigious institution in Sunni Islam, based in Cairo, is another part of this process of rapprochement. Even if, in Rome, one gives no special importance to this agreement, the gesture is very symbolic. Al-Azhar is one of the highest institutions of the Sunni Islamic community. The positions of its imam greatly influence the entire Muslim world. Certainly, Islam is not as centralized as Catholicism, but hundreds of muftis and imams received their education at the University of al-Azhar.
The Agreement signed yesterday lays the foundation for the creation of a Joint Committee that will meet once or twice a year. According to Dr. Ali El Samman, vice-president of the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar for Inter-religious Dialogue, who worked four years to achieve this agreement, this rapprochement will permit, "each of us to work on improving the image of the other."
Notably, on the subject of violence, Catholics and Muslims are in agreement in condemning all forms of terrorism. At the end of Ramadan this year, Cardinal Arinze delivered a message to the Muslims in which he proposed "common engagement" in a "pact for peace" against terrorism. In the same vein, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Tantawy, has already condemned acts of terrorism several times, especially after the attack in Luxor last November.
Education will also be one of the subjects under discussion in the Joint Committee. A program for examining how each religious community is presented in textbooks is particularly needed. The Committee will count on the influence of the two institutions to fight against "all forms of extremism." Yesterday, the delegation from al-Azhar didn't hide its wish to continue to take common positions on this subject in the future.
This morning, the two delegations were received by John Paul II, who is a fervent defender of this type of dialogue at the Vatican.
Ouest-France, May 29, 1998
Yesterday, the Vatican and the University of al-Azhar in Cairo signed an agreement of co-operation. A Joint Committee will henceforth meet once or twice a year. The major themes of this dialogue are education and the common struggle against violence.
As a result of the strong wishes of Pope Paul VI after the Second Vatican Council, dialogue between the Catholic Church and other religions over the last few years has greatly accelerated. First, there was the inter-religious gathering at Assisi in 1986, and more recently, a greater rapprochement with the Jewish community. Parallel to these efforts, contacts between Rome and the Muslim world continued to intensify. Now, the Vatican engages in dialogue with four major international Islamic organizations, notably the Saudi Arabian World Muslim League.
Already four years …
The agreement signed yesterday at the Vatican between the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and al-Azhar, the most prestigious institution in Sunni Islam, based in Cairo, is another part of this process of rapprochement. Even if, in Rome, one gives no special importance to this agreement, the gesture is very symbolic. Al-Azhar is one of the highest institutions of the Sunni Islamic community. The positions of its imam greatly influence the entire Muslim world. Certainly, Islam is not as centralized as Catholicism, but hundreds of muftis and imams received their education at the University of al-Azhar.
The Agreement signed yesterday lays the foundation for the creation of a Joint Committee that will meet once or twice a year. According to Dr. Ali El Samman, vice-president of the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar for Inter-religious Dialogue, who worked four years to achieve this agreement, this rapprochement will permit, "each of us to work on improving the image of the other."
Notably, on the subject of violence, Catholics and Muslims are in agreement in condemning all forms of terrorism. At the end of Ramadan this year, Cardinal Arinze delivered a message to the Muslims in which he proposed "common engagement" in a "pact for peace" against terrorism. In the same vein, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Tantawy, has already condemned acts of terrorism several times, especially after the attack in Luxor last November.
Education will also be one of the subjects under discussion in the Joint Committee. A program for examining how each religious community is presented in textbooks is particularly needed. The Committee will count on the influence of the two institutions to fight against "all forms of extremism." Yesterday, the delegation from al-Azhar didn't hide its wish to continue to take common positions on this subject in the future.
This morning, the two delegations were received by John Paul II, who is a fervent defender of this type of dialogue at the Vatican.