Dr. Ahmed Akbar at the Festival of Faiths on the importance of understanding Islam.
On October 13, 2007, 138 Muslim authorities representing diverse sectors within the international Islamic community issued A Common Word Between Us and You. This effort is toward understanding and worldwide coordination of peace efforts between two of the three religions of Abraham. Info follows with a Jewish commentary closing the post.
A Common Word Between Us and You : “Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.
The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity.’
Prof. Miroslav Volf (speaking at a conference of Christians and Moslems on A Common Word Between Us and You at Yale University): “Either love or death — when you think about it, this is the challenge that we face today. Let us learn to love all our neighbors and let us do that in the name of our common future and in the name of our one God.”
Yale Center for Faith and Culture: Common Ground “What is so extraordinary about A Common Word Between Us and You is not that its signatories recognize the critical character of the present moment in relations between Muslims and Christians. It is rather a deep insight and courage with which they have identified the common ground between the Muslim and Christian religious communities. What is common between us lies not in something marginal nor in something merely important to each. It lies, rather, in something absolutely central to both: love of God and love of neighbor. Surprisingly for many Christians, your letter considers the dual command of love to be the foundational principle not just of the Christian faith, but of Islam as well. That so much common ground exists – common ground in some of the fundamentals of faith – gives hope that undeniable differences and even the very real external pressures that bear down upon us can not overshadow the common ground upon which we stand together. That this common ground consists in love of God and of neighbor gives hope that deep cooperation between us can be a hallmark of the relations between our two communities.”
A response to A Common Word Between Us by Peter Ochs, Edgar Bronfman Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Virginia and Co-founder of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning”The world, says Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, rests on three things: Hadin, HaEmet, V’Hashalom: on justice, truth, and peace (Pirke Avot, 1:18). God bless “A Common Word” and receive it as a powerful contribution to the peace, truth, and justice that uphold the world. This Word is worthy of the tradition of Aaron, and it enhances and extends the tradition of the sage Hillel, who taught that the “disciples of Aaron love peace and the pursuit of peace, love their fellow creatures and seek to draw them to the study of God’s word” (Pirke Avot, 1:12).
“A Common Word therefore comes as a gift, as well, to those who practice Judaism, for it does honour and service to the One God whom they acknowledge as sole Creator of the Universe and Redeemer of humankind. It draws into fellowship the two other children of Abraham’s faith, thereby extending Abraham’s blessings to all the nations. In this way, A Common Word contributes to and extends the obligatory service of all Jews to repair the world and bring glory to God’s Name.”
