[Note to readers: As French Muslims contend with the government's recent ban on headscarves -- and as Jews were urged July 18 by Israel's prime minister to flee France amid what he called a rising tide of anti-Semitism -- the need for understanding among members of Abrahamic faiths has again been underscored locally and globally. In this context, a new on-line forum has been launched from "trialogue" talks held in June at the American Cathedral in Paris. Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Episcopal Church's Convocation of American Churches in Europe alerted ENS this week to the on-line forum's debut, and to conference highlights detailed in the following report from the Paris cathedral.]
[ENS - Paris, American Cathedral, July 19, 2004] -- A new "Children of Abraham Peace Forum" for news, articles and discussions via the Internet has grown out of a large inter-religious conference held June 11-13 at the American Cathedral in Paris.
The forum is offered in English (www.childrenofabrahampeacemakers.org) and in French (www.lesenfantsdabrahampourlapaix.org).
The bilingual conference, titled "The Children of Abraham and the Art of Peacemaking: Christians, Muslims, and Jews who work together for peace," featured lectures and workshops by internationally-known experts on the traditions of peacemaking in all three religions.
The conference's more than 700 participants were Christians, Jews, and Muslims coming from Israel, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Great Britain, the United States, and France.
The objective of the three-day gathering was to bring together Christians, Jews, and Muslims seasoned in interreligious dialogue, to search together for models and inspiration for those working for peace in situations of religious tension and conflict. The new online Forum is the first tangible result of the conference.
The conference was under the patronage of the Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon, bishop-in-charge of the Convocation of American (Episcopal) Churches in Europe, and the Very Rev. Zachary Fleetwood, dean of the American Cathedral in Paris, both of whom warmly greeted the assembly at the outset of the gathering.
The conference was organized by the Rev. George Hobson, canon theologian of the cathedral, together with lay leaders Victoria Hobson and Robyn Gason.
In his welcoming remarks, Whalon stressed the imperative need for the three Abrahamic faiths to repudiate any tradition of violence legitimized in the name of God. Messages of support were read to the assembly from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Rowan Williams; from the former Chief Rabbi of France, René Samuel Sirat; and from Dr. Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Institut Musulman de la Grande Mosquée of Paris, through the institute's director of cultural affairs, Dr. Rais. In addition, Bishop Narek Alemezian, ecumenical officer of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Middle East, read a message from His Holiness Aram I, Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia.
Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, acclaimed for his dynamic initiatives on behalf of interfaith dialogue and understanding, gave the keynote address on Saturday morning, following Miroslav Volf, the eminent Croatian professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School, whose work on reconciliation and "embracing the Other" has received international recognition. (Volf is scheduled to be among keynote speakers addressing the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops at its upcoming meeting Sept 23-26 in Spokane, Washington.)
Chief Rabbi David Rosen, currently a member of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel's delegation for interreligious relations and of the Permanent Bilateral Commission of the State of Israel and the Holy See, spoke on Friday afternoon on Abraham as a blessing for all peoples of the earth.
On Friday evening the well-known human rights advocate, Baroness Caroline Cox of the House of Lords, underlined the need for bridges, not walls, and stressed the distinction between the violent and triumphalist ideology of "Islamism" and the moderate Islam desirous of co-existing peacefully with other religions.
The presence of 11 Iraqis who had managed to fly to Paris for the occasion -- thanks to an intrepid Royal Air Force fighter pilot stationed in that country -- was a source of jubilation for all the participants.
From Israel came Elias Jabbour, founder of the "House of Hope International Peace Center," accompanied by 22 members of his community representing the three religions, who brought exciting testimonies on Friday afternoon of their struggles, victories, and joys in living together in the strife-torn Holy Land. Dean Fleetwood, who introduced Jabbour, told of his visit to the House of Hope some years before and of the eye-opening blessing that the community had been for him.
Sheikh Al-Tamimi, Supreme Judge of Jordan and advisor to King Abdullah II for Islamic Affairs, also spoke on Friday afternoon, along with his colleague in a Jordanian interreligious organization, the Rev. Nabil Haddad, the Greek Melkite Catholic founder and director of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center and member of the Royal Commission for Human Rights.
On Saturday afternoon, Rabbi Professor Jonathan Magonet, principal of Leo Baeck College in England and co-editor of the prayer books of the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, presented a "re-reading" of a Jewish prayer, which he used to set forth 13 steps for peace.
Rabbi Magonet was followed by Dr. Nahal Tajadod, an Iranian-born scholar working in the World of Iran section of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, and a specialist in Sufi mysticism, who sketched the life of the great 13th Century Persian mystic and poet Rumi, showing how greatly his work and person were appreciated by members of all three Abrahamic faiths.
On Saturday afternoon, three well-attended workshops on Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Forgiveness, were led respectively by Elias Jabbour, a Palestinian Arab Christian from Israel; Mahmoud Mufti, a Muslim from Jordan, with Robert Harris a Jew from England); and Baroness Caroline Cox, a Christian from England, with George Hobson a Christian from the United States and France.
Participants said the lively discussions and round-table conference reflected the high level of interest in these subjects and enthusiasm for peace initiatives, and the idea for a continuing forum received enthusiastic approval.
Bishop Whalon's Sunday-morning sermon gathered the threads of the conference together. "Our God is a God of love and compassion, abounding in forgiveness, who wants the children of Abraham and all creation to live in peace," he said.
As a result of this conference, further conferences are planned in addition to the launch of the Internet forum. All the talks were translated into French and English by skilled interpreters. Publication of the main talks from the conference is expected soon, as well as a videotape of highlights from the conference with brief excerpts of the speakers' talks.
Contact: Victoria Hobson (e-mail: vhobson@club-internet.fr).
