Muslim scholars reach out to Pope

[Henny]

Muslim scholars reach out to Pope
More than 130 Muslim scholars have written to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders urging greater understanding between the two faiths.
The letter says that world peace could depend on improved relations between Muslims and Christians.

It identifies the principles of accepting only one god and living in peace with one's neighbours as common ground between the two religions.

It also insists that Christians and Muslims worship the same god.

The letter comes on the anniversary of an open letter issued to the Pope last year from 38 top Muslim clerics, after he made a controversial speech on Islam.

Pope Benedict sparked an uproar in September last year by quoting a medieval text which linked Islam to violence.

The letter coincides with the Eid al-Fitr celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan.

Koran and Bible

It was also sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the heads of the Lutheran, Methodist and Baptist churches, the Orthodox Church's Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and other Orthodox Patriarchs.

The letter, entitled A Common Word Between Us and You, compares passages in the Koran and the Bible, concluding that both emphasise "the primacy of total love and devotion to God", and the love of the neighbour.

With Muslims and Christians making up more than half the world's population, the letter goes on, the relationship between the two religious communities is "the most important factor in contributing to meaningful peace around the world".

"As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them - so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes," the letter says.

It adds: "To those who nevertheless relish conflict and destruction for their own sake or reckon that ultimately they stand to gain through them, we say our very eternal souls are all also at stake if we fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony."

One of the signatories, Dr Aref Ali Nayed, a senior adviser at the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme at Cambridge University, told the BBC that the document should be seen as a landmark.

"There are Sunnis, Shias, Ibadis and even the... Ismailian and Jaafari schools, so it's a consensus," he said.

Professor David Ford, director of the programme, said the letter was unprecedented.

"If sufficient people and groups heed this statement and act on it then the atmosphere will be changed into one in which violent extremists cannot flourish," he said in a statement.

The letter was signed by prominent Muslim leaders, politicians and academics, including the Grand Muftis of Bosnia and Hercegovina, Russia, Croatia, Kosovo and Syria, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the former Grand Mufti of Egypt and the founder of the Ulema Organisation in Iraq.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7038992.stm

Published: 2007/10/11 10:49:59 GMT

[Richpo64]

"The Future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians."

Actually the future of the world depends on Muslims cleaning up their own mess. If it wasn't for them, there would be no problem.

[Richpo64]

EGYPT: ISLAMISTS JOIN CASE AGAINST CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY
Former Muslim sues Egypt for right to become Christian.
 

ISTANBUL, October 10 (Compass Direct News) ? Conservative Islamic lawyers came out in support of the Egyptian government last week at the opening court hearing of a Muslim convert to Christianity.


In a move that has caused national uproar, former Muslim Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy is suing Egypt to change the religion listed on his identification papers to Christianity.


Islamist lawyers associated with radical cleric Youssef al-Badry attended the October 2 hearing in Cairo and legally joined the case on the government?s side, Hegazy told Compass.


Hegazy?s lawyers confirmed that Magdy al-Anany and at least three other fundamentalist Muslim attorneys filed to support the government.


Al-Badry was one of several clerics who called for Hegazy?s death in Egypt?s national media, following the announcement of the case in early August. The radical Islamist also filed charges of inciting sectarian strife against Hegazy?s original lawyer, Mamdouh Nakhla.


Under public criticism and death threats, Nakhla withdrew from Hegazy?s case days after it became public. Fanatics began harassing Hegazy and his pregnant wife, also a former Muslim, with angry telephone calls, forcing the couple into hiding.


?It?s quite sensitive,? Hegazy?s new lawyer, Rawda Ahmad, told Compass through a translator. ?It would be the first time that someone who converted to Christianity would be able to change his ID card.?


Though Egyptian law does not forbid conversion from Islam to Christianity, it provides no legal means to make the change. Converts to Christianity usually hide their identity to avoid torture and forced recantation at the hands of family members and security police.


?I?m full of heartache that in my own country, society has been radicalized to such an extent that I can?t have the right to convert,? Hegazy told Compass this week.


Hegazy and his wife Zeinab hope that their first child, due in January, will be born with Christian papers. Forced to hold an Islamic wedding ceremony because of their legal status as Muslims, Hegazy and his wife know that a Christian ID card would allow their child to take Christian religion classes in school, marry in a church and openly attend services without fear of harassment.


For the moment, threats from Muslim fanatics have forced the couple to stay in hiding, with Hegazy not even able to attend his own hearing last week.


The convert told Compass that he and his wife were healthy but frustrated with having to stay indoors.


?It?s like we are in prison and have no way out,? the Christian said.


Hegazy said that he did not believe police were aware of his location. He told Compass that officials had detained a number of converts in the past two months, interrogating them about his whereabouts.


Egyptian media have criticized Hegazy in recent months, claiming that his conversion was motivated by money, blackmail, and foreign forces hoping to destabilize Egypt.


?The pro-government media is ferociously standing against Hegazy,? a representative for the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said today. ?This has definitely had a negative affect on his case, causing it to take a more politicized turn.?


By contrast, last week?s hearing received no coverage in the Egyptian press.


The administrative court hearing in Cairo?s al-Doqi district was brief. Judge Muhammad Husseini adjourned the case until November 13, giving Hegazy?s new lawyers time to legally take over from their predecessor.


Ahmad and Gamal Eid of ANHRI must either obtain official permission from Hegazy to represent his case or file a new complaint, an ANHRI spokesperson said.


In April, judge Husseini rejected the case of 45 Christian converts to Islam who wished to return to Christianity. Their appeal is pending.


Since 2004 several dozen Coptic converts to Islam have won the right to return to Christianity, but Hegazy is the first Muslim-born Egyptian to attempt the legal change.


Taught to Hate Christians

Now 24, Hegazy said he first made the decision to become a Christian when he was 16.


?My father was not a practicing Muslim, but he hated Christians and Jews as he believed Islam taught us to do so,? Hegazy said in a website statement. ?As a child I was taught not to love or respect Christians, but rather treat them harshly because God hates them.?


As a teenager Hegazy enrolled in an institute to train as an Islamic preacher but said he did not like what he learned about Islam?s teaching on women and various subjects.


It was only at the age of 16, when he transferred to a class that had seven Christian students, that he began to think seriously about Christianity.


?It was the first time that I lived close to Christians, and their lives were like lights for me,? Hegazy said. One day he borrowed a Christian book from one of his classmates and read about the conversion of Saul. The story created a desire in him to know more about Christianity.


Hegazy said that he quickly became convinced of the truth of Christianity and wanted to convert.


?Christ appeared to me several times as I kept on reading the Bible,? the convert said. ?My father was very angry [when] he found out that I was going to church and reading Christian material.?


State security police soon arrested the young man and tortured him for three days. Despite using a Coptic Orthodox priest to convince Hegazy to recant, the young convert said that police were unable to persuade him to revert to Islam. He eventually returned home, his father under the illusion that he was once again Muslim.


Hegazy said he continued to be active in his faith, writing and publishing some of his own poetry. Police again arrested the convert in 2002 and held him for 10 weeks at a ?concentration camp,? where he said he met other converts.

Potential Repercussions

The convert is aware that much is riding on his case.


?I put my trust in God, and I feel I need to persevere,? Hegazy said. ?This is my duty to myself, my family, all Muslims who converted to Christianity, and all Christians.?


But while his case may win rights for converts in Egypt, it also has the potential to backfire on Christians.


In order to make his conversion legitimate in the eyes of the state, the Christian may have to produce church documents in court. The repercussions could be dangerous for those involved in his conversion.


?I can only say that I have documents to show that my wife and I were baptized, and I can produce them if necessary in court,? the convert said. He refrained from naming the church that baptized him and provided the documents.


Though no official statistics are available, Copts are estimated to make up between 8 and 15 percent of Egypt?s population. The number of converts to Christianity is unknown.

[Henny]

I got this in my email this morning - it gives a little more background on this letter and how it came to be:

About a month ago during my visit to Jordan I was invited by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, Special Advisor to King Abdullah II of Jordan, to sign, on behalf of CAIR, a letter of inter-religious solidarity that was to be sent to major Christian leaders in the world urging cooperation and inter-faith understanding.

Yesterday that historic 29-page letter titled "A Common Word Between Us and You," was sent to Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and more than 20 other Christian leaders.

This initiative was coordinated by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman, Jordan (http://www.aalalbayt.org/en/index.html). Both Washington Post and Newsweek reported that several Christian leaders welcomed this letter.

The 138 Muslim signatories to this letter believe that meaningful world peace can only happen when members of both faiths work together to advance the cause of the love of God and the love of our neighbor, traditions intrinsic to both Christianity and Islam.

This one-of-a-kind effort demonstrates what mainstream Muslims can achieve by working together to reclaim the true message of Islam, which forever remains a message of love, mercy and peace. We have taken a historic step to assure Christian leaders that we envision a world where leaders of all faiths are working side-by-side to foster harmony and mutual understanding.

It is our hope at CAIR that in the coming days we will take this important initiative to the larger American Muslim community seeking their endorsement and support.  Following which we will send this letter to major Christian leaders in America hoping to spur a new wave of inter-faith dialogue. 

The letter that was sent to Pope Benedict XVI stated in part the following:

?Of God?s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur?an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-Sufficient Besought of all! (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Of the necessity of love for God, God says in the Holy Qur?an: So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil, 73:08). Of the necessity of love for the neighbor, the Prophet Muhammad (SA) said: ?None of you has faith until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself.

?In the New Testament, Jesus Christ u said: ?Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. /  And you shall love the Lord  your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.? This is the first commandment. / And the second, like it, is this: ?You shall love your neighbor as yourself.? There is no other commandment greater than these.? (Mark 12:29-31)

?Love of the neighbor is an essential and integral part of faith in God and love of God because in Islam without love of the neighbor there is no true faith in God and no righteousness. The Prophet Muhammad (SA) said: ?None of you has faith until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.? And: ?None of you has faith until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself.?

?However, empathy and sympathy for the neighbor ?and even formal prayers? are not enough. They must be accompanied by generosity and self-sacrifice.

?Without giving the neighbor what we ourselves love, we do not truly love God or the neighbor.

?Finally, as Muslims, and in obedience to the Holy Qur?an, we ask Christians to come together with us on the common essentials of our two religions ? that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God ? (Aal ?Imran, 3:64).

?Let this common ground be the basis of all future interfaith dialogue between us, for our common ground is that on which hangs all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:40).

?God says in the Holy Qur?an: Say (O Muslims): We believe in God and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered. / And if they believe in the like of that which ye believe, then are they rightly guided. But if they turn away, then are they in schism, and God will suffice thee against them. He is the Hearer, the Knower. (Al-Baqarah, 2:136-137)

?If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace. With the terrible weaponry of the modern world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world?s inhabitants. Thus our common future is at stake. The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake.

?So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill.?

It is my hope and prayer that today marks the beginning of a new chapter in inter-faith dialogue, cooperation and understanding.

May Allah bless all those who strive for peace, justice and mutual understanding.

Sincerely,

Nihad Awad
Executive Director CAIR

[Xavier_Onassis]

Religious scholars are never the problem.

They are peaceful even when they are young, and to be recognized as scholars, they must have entered geezerhood.

Most religious nuts are unaware of  the most important beliefs of their own religions.

Being young men charged with testosterone, they are in a mood to pick fights.

Castro wisely allows such young men to escape on homemade rafts. The succesful ones get to Miami, knock up some chick, buy a Firebird on credit, and that's all she wrote for their thoughts of overthrowing anything. Their dicks are limpened by the rise in their ARM's and the shrill squeal of hungry infants.

The less successful ones provide food for a wide variety of sealife, and end up as shark poo on the bottom of the briny deep.

None remain to challenge Fidel, or even Raul.