Bridging differences and fostering interfaith dialogue
This is the opinion of U.S. religious leaders who gathered for a meeting with the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the U.S., Erlan Idrissov, at the Interchurch Center in New York on May 11, 2012. Among the attendees were Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a leading moderate Muslim leader in the U.S., Reverend Robert Chase, founding director of Intersections International, a multi-faith social justice organization in New York; Reverend Leonid Kishkovsky, director of external affairs and interchurch relations, Orthodox Church of America; Rabbi Andrew Baker, special representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism in 2009-2011; Daisy Khan, Muslim women's rights activist; and William Vendley, general secretary of World Conference for Religions for Peace. They discussed the agenda of the upcoming Fourth Congress slated for May 30-31 in Astana, the News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the US reports.
At the meeting, the religious leaders endorsed the decision of the Congress to set up a Council of Religious Leaders, which would shape the religious agenda of future Congresses, establish partnerships and define directions for its development.
They agreed that the role of religious leaders should be to preach zero-tolerance for violence and any of its manifestations. They also agreed that religious misunderstanding leads to wars and sufferings. The participants decided that the real battlefront was not between the West and the Muslim world but between the moderates of all faith traditions and the extremists or radicals. This belief will inform the work of the Congress in Astana.
The idea to convene the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was put forward by President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan amid deepening interreligious tensions in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks. Senior religious leaders of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and other faiths as well as influential political figures gathered in Astana for the first time in 2003. They strongly condemned terrorism and the prophecies of clash between civilizations. They pledged to continue dialogue in the name of peace, harmony, and prosperity. The Congress drew widespread support from political leaders of both Western and Asian nations, the United Nations and other major international forums including the Alliance of Civilizations, the Community of St. Egidio and Asia House.
This year the Congress will welcome spiritual leaders, prominent politicians, heads of state, other public figures and representatives of various international organizations. Invited guests include King Abdullah II of Jordan, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Cyril, Muslim World League Secretary-General Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin al-Turki, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and Lutheran World Federation Secretary-General Martin Junge.
The main theme of the forthcoming Congress is "Peace and Harmony as a Choice of Mankind." The delegates will explore the role of the religious leaders in building inter-religious dialogue; the role of women in the family and society in general; the needs and rights of youth; and the values and participation in new religious movements.
The U.S. delegation to the Congress whose members represent the multiplicity of America's beliefs will be headed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf who has gained in prominence after spearheading intra-American efforts to rebuild bridges of interreligious trust, condemning terrorism, promoting pluralism, and arguing that the true meaning of Islam involves democracy, religious freedom and women's rights. He has been vocal in his criticism against political Islam and the political use of Islam in the foreign policies of different countries and the United States in particular. He is also the founder of the Cordoba Initiative, an independent, multi-faith, and multi-national project that works with state and non-state actors to improve Muslim-West relations. In this capacity, he provides innovative solutions to those areas where conflict between Islamic and Western communities undermines local and global security.