World Congress of
Imams and Rabbis for Peace
Publications
Every month, Jewish and Muslim personalities, together with experts and representatives of other religions, introduce their culture and tradition through intercultural and interfaith presentations. They share their experiences, knowledge and points of view on Judeo-Muslim rapprochement.
H.E. Maitre Abdoulaye Wade, addresses the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace
Published on 2008-12-29 11:25:00
His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade,
President of the Republic of Senegal and President of the Eleventh Session of the Islamic Summit Conference
President of the Committee of Honour of Hommes de Parole Foundation
honoured the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace by attending the meeting.
After being elected President of Senegal in 2000, he implemented his noble ideas for unity and peace in West Africa and for sustainable development. His actions, furthermore, have been recognised internationally. Among the many awards he received, let us mention the Henry Sylvester William gold medal for African renaissance, in 2003, and on 16 May 2006, at Unesco, he received the 2005 Félix Houphouët-Boigny award for his efforts to secure peace. The award was bestown by the Unesco Director General and the President of the Jury, Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State and holder of the Nobel Peace Prize. We wish to recognise that the opening session of the Congress was addressed by a great artisan of peace
H.E Mr Koichiro Matsuura, Opening Speech (excerpt)
Published on 2008-12-29 11:06:00
Address by H.E. Koïchiro Matsuura,
at the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace: the Sacredness of Peace.
UNESCO, 15 December 2008
Koïchiro Matsuura,
Director-General of UNESCO
Honourable President of the Republic of Senegal,
Mrs. Wade,
Director General of the Hommes de Parole Foundation,
Distinguished religious dignitaries,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I feel very honoured to be welcoming you here today at the UNESCO headquarters for the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace. The need for universal dialogue among cultures and religions is more relevant than ever before and ranks among the priorities of the international community, and all the United Nations agencies.
Alain Michel: "I didn't have a dream …" Opening speech to the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace
Published on 2008-12-29 10:41:00
Alain Michel,
Director general of Hommes de Parole Fondation
Dear Friends,
It is an honour and a pleasure to welcome you today to the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace, here at the Palace of UNESCO, UNESCO which has given us its confidence, its precious assistance and its august patronage. I should like first of all to thank UNESCO's Director General, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, for his personal support and that of his organisation.
Mr. Director, allow me to express, with my most sincere gratitude, my great admiration for your work and your foresightedness. You who, in your youth, met with the harsh reality of an especially deadly war, you know the incalculable price of peace. You have already expressed your certainty that dialogue requires constant renewal and cannot be taken for granted, once and for all. This clarity has marked your policies and now allows UNESCO to carry on with its mission, to be a key element in the development of peace. UNESCO, for example, was the first international organisation to award a prize for the quest for peace to Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat in 1993, followed, the year thereafter by awards from the Nobel Prize Committee.
Les Versets douloureux - (The Painful Verses) - The Bible, the Gospel and the Koran, from conflict to dialogue
Published on 2008-01-01 16:35:00
Noting that all too often interreligious dialogue does not start with a clear, in-depth look at one's own tradition David Meyer, Soheib Bencheikh and Yves Simoens have co-authored the book "Les Versets Douloureux" (The Painful Verses).
Publishers: Éditions Lessius, Publication date: February 2008.
The year 5768 (2007-2008) of Hope for Peace between Palestinians and Israelis
Published on 2007-12-27 17:38:00
Chief Rabbi René-Samuel Sirat, Director-Founder of the Unesco Chair "Reciprocal Knowledge of the religions of the Book and teaching of Peace" and Former Chief Rabbi of France shares his vision of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In his article, he explains why the Jewish new year, the year 5768, is an opportunity to fulfill this hope for peace.
Reconciling a Painful Past with a Hopeful Future
Published on 2007-12-27 17:35:16
HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal and Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp made a joint contribution to the book "Die Macht der Würde" ("the power of dignity ") edited by Christoph Quarch, Silke Lechner and Peter Spiegel.
They point out that our starting point, as we learn to live with multiple perceptions of the truth, must be a firm appreciation of our common humanity and of the power of human dignity.
A Mutual Acknowledgement
Published on 2007-12-27 17:35:15
Dr. Ahmed Abaddi, Permanent Committee Member of the World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace and General Secretary of the Mohammedia League of Moroccan Ulama, invites believers and religious dignitaries to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He calls to make the 1428 Hegira year (2007-2008) the year of all hopes.
Peace, at the Core of Biblic and Coranic Revelation
Published on 2007-12-27 17:35:15
Sacred texts have, for all times, been subject to interpretations. Some have lead and lead still to murder, to violence and intolerance.
Thanks to Tania del Atrio, theologist in Intercultural and Interscriptural dialogue, we have sought to know really how the Bible and the Qurán share the notion of Peace.
We have thus re-discovered the similitude in both books around this theme, the prophets' words to respect, to accomplish as well as the directives of these different traditions.
"Interpretation of the Scriptures: The Qu'ran" by Ghaleb Bencheikh
Published on 2007-12-27 17:35:15
As international communities are more and more preoccupied with increasing violence and integrism in the name of God, the First World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace stimulated reflection on what religions promote, their relationships, and their influence on populations.
With the use of texts from the Qurán and the Torah, the task was to illustrate cohesion of Islamic and Judaic ethical and humanistic values remaining at the heart of conflicts. These values are: Life is sacred and particularly that one cannot kill in the name of God, illegitimacy of the domination of a population over another in the name of God or any other religious principle, tolerance and recognition of others in one's religion, one's practice and one's values, call to peace, culture of Peace, etc.
Prior to this exceptional congress, we asked Ghaleb Bencheikh to share his views on the Scriptures that are at the bottom of all violent interpretations in the Qurán. Ghaleb Bencheikh is Vice-President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, physician, professor and host of the french television show "islam". Son of Cheikh Abbas, former Rector of the "Grande Mosquée de Paris".
"POWERFUL GOD, VIOLENT GOD ? Violence, justice and peace in the Old Testament" by Albert de Pury
Published on 2007-12-27 17:35:15
Men's vision in God, war or peace, has much evolved during the centuries.
At the heart of the Old Testament- particularly in the Torah (the Pentateuch), these visions share two main streams : the Deuteronomy current and the current of the Priests, to lend from exegetic criticism. In the first book God appears warlike, exclusive, conquering, whereas the second offers us a more pacific vision, constructive and universal.
Albert de Pury, Professor of theology at the Geneva Faculty, gives a study on how historical and political contexts have oriented and fashioned these texts, which are sacred today, and considered as revealed Words of God by Jews and Christians around the world.
DECLARATION AND ACTION PLAN - Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace
DECLARATION AND ACTION PLAN
Religious dignitaries, Imams and Rabbis, together with Christians and other religious experts from around the world met at the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace to determine ways to defend the sacred character of peace, together, and to commit themselves, as of now, to implementing all possible measures, within a religious context, to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Congress was held in Paris from 15 to 17 December 2008, under the patronage of UNESCO and with the support of His Excellency Maitre Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal and Chairman of the 11th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference.
First and foremost, the Imams and Rabbis, joined by the Christians, hereby reiterate their commitment to denouncing and condemning henceforth, ceaselessly and publicly, all forms of violence, terror, and individual and collective injustice committed in the name of God and/or their respective religions or Holy Scriptures.
They also reiterate their determination to be active custodians of the Sacredness of Peace.
Blog Shalomalaykum
World citizens are mobilized for Peace :
Find their testimonies and their messages of support for the end of the conflict and the reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
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