a common word

the yale divinity school is hosting a christian and muslim interfaith conference next week, and there will be a life webcast if you’d like to hear the dialog. the conference is tuesday and wednesday and part of thursday.

i was delighted to also read this morning some of the history leading up to this. less than a year ago a group of prominent muslim clerics wrote an open letter to christianity and to the pope specifically, noting a commonality in views between the two religions. you can find the letter on a web site hosted by the prince of jordan, specifically for this dialog called a common word.

the yale web site currently begins, “In our increasingly interdependent world, religion remains a powerful force with the potential to either foster peace or provoke conflict.” and the summary page on the common word site also remarks, “Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.”

as a buddhist, i feel slightly outside this discussion but quite excited to hear about it. a buddhist / muslim discussion on the topic of peace would be wonderful too. christian / buddhist dialogs have been occurring regularly already. many westerners i know think that buddhism is completely pacifist or peaceful already, but that’s not the case historically or even generally. there are many flavors of buddhism and varying views, and one of the worst civil wars still occurring today is in sri lanka, a mostly buddhist country. and though there is a long history of muslims and buddhists living in harmony in mongolia and china and southeast asia, there is a lot still to talk about i suspect.

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