Brussels inter-faith meeting calls for end to violence in middle east

The inter-faith meeting held December 19-20 in Brussels on "God's Peace in the World" called for the end of violence in the Middle East and for the resumption of the peace process, in a spirit of peaceful coexistence.

The Meeting, that gathered scores of representatives of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, insisted in a final declaration, dubbed the Brussels Declaration, on the intrinsic ties between peace and justice.

The participants voiced regrets and repent for all the crimes committed throughout history by members of these religious communities and said that any crime committed in the name of a religion is actually a crime against this very religion.

They insisted on the need to carry on dialogue between the three revealed religions and called on educators, politicians, media, and civil society organizations to promote understanding of the religious, historical and cultural heritage of every religion.

King Mohammed VI had sent to the meeting a message wherein he warned against the so-called clash of civilizations, saying submitting to the logic of spiritual and philosophical fracture tentamounts to falling in the traps set by the true enemies of the Creed, whether this be the Islamic creed, the Jewish creed, or the Christian creed.

"Those who try to turn us against each other, and to fuel antagonism between one culture and another or one religion and another, are really the advocates of obscurantism and regression," the sovereign said, adding that "dialogue between religions is, in fact, but another facet of inter-cultural and inter-civilizational dialogue."

The sovereign also proposed the holding in Morocco of a meeting on inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue to enhance mutual understanding, promote peace and dialogue and draft an ethical charter between the Revealed Religions.