A Common Word

[Cordoba]

Greetings to all

(A Common Word Between Us and You) is a new initiative launched a few days ago by 138 Muslim scholars, clerics and intellectuals who have unanimously come together for the first time since the days of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to declare the common ground between Christianity and Islam.

Like the Open Letter, the signatories to this message come from every denomination and school of thought in Islam. Every major Islamic country or region in the world is represented in this message, which is addressed to the leaders of all the world’s churches, and indeed to all Christians everywhere.

For more background, here is their web site:

The Official Website of A Common Word

Peace and all the best

 

[Cordoba]

BBC Analysis of the 29-Page Letter

A) Profile of Muslim Scholars

"Looking down the list of signatories, there is one person after another with large followings, often numbered in millions," said David Ford, professor of divinity at Cambridge University. "The fact that they've signed it means it will be taken seriously at the grass roots."

B) Searching for Common Grounds

The letter contains a clearly written account of the passages in the Koran and the Bible that illustrate close similarities in the most fundamental doctrine of Christianity and Islam.
For example each of them insists that followers worship only one God, and requires them to love their neighbours as themselves. Other passages strike a note of conciliation, even humility. For example, there is the Koran's acknowledgement that the truths revealed to the Prophet Muhammad - the founder of Islam - had already been shown to the prophets of the Old Testament (the Jewish Torah) and the New Testament, including, of course, Jesus himself.

C) Mutual Respect

The document also picks out the verses in the Koran which tell Muslims that they should treat the followers of these Jewish and Christian prophets with particular friendship and respect.

D) The International Voice of Mainstream Islam

But the real significance of this gesture, is that it is the first act of a group that intends to become the "international voice" of mainstream Islam, missing for so long.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7040774.stm

This page gives a full list of the 138 scholars,

The Official Website of A Common Word

and a summarized version of the letter is on this page:

http://www.acommonword.com/index.php?lang=en&page=option1

Peace and all the best

 

[Cordoba]

Anglicans Welcome Letter From Muslims

(The Associated Press - 12 October 2007)

LONDON (AP) — The leader of the world's Anglicans on Thursday welcomed a letter from Islamic scholars and leaders urging Christians and Muslims to develop their common ground of belief in one God.

The letter carried 138 signatures, including those of Muslim leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Europe and the United States.

"The theological basis of the letter and its call to 'vie with each other only in righteousness and good works; to respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual good will,' are indicative of the kind of relationship for which we yearn in all parts of the world, and especially where Christians and Muslims live together," Archbishop Rowan Williams said. ...


The Anglican bishop of London, Richard Chartres, also welcomed the letter.

"This is substantial letter which speaks of the unity of God from a Muslim perspective," Chartres said. "It demands a substantial response which approaches the same theme from a Christian perspective."

http://www.acommonword.com/index.php?page=media&item=28

 

[Cordoba]

Vatican cardinal praises letter from Muslim scholars to Christian leaders

International Herald Tribune, France.

VATICAN CITY: A recent letter from Muslim scholars to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders is a "very encouraging sign," a top Vatican cardinal said Friday.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who heads the pontifical council for inter-religious dialogue, described the letter, signed by 138 scholars, as "very interesting," because it "comes from both Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims."

The letter urges Christian and Muslims to develop their common ground of belief in one God. Among those signing were Muslim leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Europe and the United States.

"I would say that this represents a very encouraging sign because it shows that good will and dialogue are capable of overcoming prejudices," Tauran said.


http://www.acommonword.com/index.php?page=media&item=33

 

[Cordoba]

Arab News

Editorial: Bridges of Understanding

Muslim-Christian dialogue, which has dozens of organizations and institutions to promote it, has unfortunately tended to flourish behind the doors of academe or on a personal basis between clerics. This letter, by contrast, has the potential to create a new spirit of cooperation and harmony between Muslims and Christians to replace the ignorance and suspicion that over the centuries pushed followers of both faiths ever further apart. ...

The signatories come from all Islamic traditions and schools, not just Sunni, and from every corner of the globe. Here is the Ummah, the Muslim community worldwide, speaking out as with one voice, a voice that is mainstream, that believes in peace, that is concerned about the future of all of us on this planet,


http://www.acommonword.com/index.php?page=media&item=32