Centre
for
World
Dialogue
Conferences
& Meetings
JUDAISM,
CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM:
DIVINITY IN A POLITICAL WORLD
The third major conference organised by the Centre for World Dialogue focused
on the common values shared by the three great monotheistic religions which
are so often overshadowed by political and cultural differences.
The conference was opened by former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and by
former President of Cyprus, George Vassiliou.
No
peace among nations without peace among the religions
Hans
Küng
President, Global Ethic Foundation
Speakers
included Professor Mahmoud Ayoub of Temple University, Philadelphia; Bishop
Kenneth Cragg from Oxford, England; Professor John L. Esposito, Director of
the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington
DC; and Professor Ninian Smart of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The conference ended in a unique gesture with religious figures from all three
faiths leading delegates in prayers for greater international trust and understanding.
The
keynote speakers outlined the common ground between the
three religions, a foundation of mutual values which is at best ignored and
more often actively denied.
Ayatollah Professor Mohammad Mojtahed-Shabestari of Iran, Monsieur Réné-Samuel
Sirat, Grand Rabbi of France, and Professor Christos Yannaras of Greece all
repeatedly called for greater inter-faith dialogue.
Limassol,
Cyprus, May 1999:
in co-operation with the Center for
Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington DC
