"A COMMON WORD" -- NEW DEVELOPMENT IN INTERFAITH DIALOGUE

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TAGS: PREL SOCI VT
SUBJECT: "A COMMON WORD" -- NEW DEVELOPMENT IN INTERFAITH DIALOGUE

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1. (SBU) Summary. A large and diverse group of Muslim scholars
has issued a document addressed to the Pope and other prominent
Christian leaders, inviting them to a theological dialogue. The
document, entitled "A Common Word Between Us and You", is the
fruit of long labor guided by a Jordanian institute, and has
already prompted numerous welcoming responses from some of the
recipients and from other commentators. Its fundamental
argument is that Muslims and Christians are both enjoined by
their respective holy texts to observe two principles above all
-- love of God, and love of one's fellow man. The
groundbreaking document is a very positive step toward taking
the global stage (in terms of religious debate) away from
extremists; it invites the world's Christian communities to
contemplate a similarly thoughtful and broad-based response.
Embassy recommends consideration of a public USG response, and
greater USG participation in events bringing together leading
Muslim and Christian scholars and clerics. End summary.

Islamic Scholars Reach out to Christians
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2. (U) On October 12, 2006, thirty-eight prominent Muslims wrote
an "Open Letter to the Pope", addressed to Pope Benedict XVI and
politely seeking to engage him on positions he took in his
controversial Regensburg lecture of the month before (which was
devoted to the topic of faith and reason, but included opening
reference to critical comments made about the Prophet Mohammed
by the 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologos).
The letter supported the freedom to profess one's faith without
restrictions, asserted the rational consistency of Islam, and
restated the limits upon recourse to war and violence in Islamic
teaching. It also expressed hope for a relationship between
Islam and Christianity founded upon love of God and neighbor,
the "two great commandments" of Jesus according to the gospel of
Mark. The Holy See did not respond to that letter.


3. (U) One year later, on October 11, 2007, a group of 138
highly-respected Muslim scholars have followed up on the
original letter by sending a second letter, entitled "A Common
Word Between Us and You", this time to a larger audience. In
addition to Pope Benedict XVI, the addressees include leaders of
the Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, and
Baptist Churches, as well as the Secretary General of the World
Council of Churches and "leaders of the Christian Churches" in
general. The 138 signatories represent 43 countries in Africa,
the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as the
Organization of the Islamic Council (OIC); many are personally
known to Holy See officials in Rome.


4. (U) The document stems from an initiative by the King of
Jordan and the Aal al-Bayt (Family of the Prophet) Foundation in
Amman, led by the King's uncle Prince Hassan (a Muslim married
to a Hindu). Aal al-Bayt had reportedly been working on the
idea for three years. The letter was issued in English, Arabic,
French, Italian, and German. The text, along with lists of
signers and addressees and responses received, is available at
www.acommonword.org.

Presentation in Washington, London, and Dubai
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5. (U) "A Common Word" -- the title is taken from the third sura
of the Quran, verse 64 -- was presented publicly at press
conferences in Dubai, London, and Washington, D.C. John
Esposito, director of a center for Muslim-Christan understanding
at Georgetown University, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, an Iranian
scholar at George Washington University, spoke at the October 11
press conference (at the National Press Club) in Washington, DC,
presenting the letter.


6. (U) Esposito described the letter's releases as a historic
event -- the first time ever that Muslims have come together in
such numbers to agree on what binds them theologically to
Christians -- and noted the diversity of the participants, who
represent a broad spectrum of Muslim thought. He noted that the
letter poses a challenge to Christianity: can Christians come
together to reply, as Muslims did to write the letter? The
document is also an effort to re-take the stage; in other words,
extremists of various sorts have confused both Christians and
Muslims as to the real identity of the other, and the mainstream
in each case needs to regain control of its image.


7. (U) Nasr pointed out that although Christian-Muslim
theological debate took place in Europe during the Middle Ages,
there has been a remarkable lack of such interaction in the
centuries that followed. He touched on the difficulty of
organizing scholars representing Sunni and Shia perspectives
from many different schools, and the still greater difficulty of
getting them to agree on a single approach to Christians.
Christians, particularly Catholics, have been carrying on
interfaith meetings with Islam since 1957, but these have been

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small-scale efforts and have been frequently derailed by
obstacles (such as the conflict between the Christian concept of
the Trinity vs. Islam's concept of the unity of God). "A Common
Word" instead seeks to identify only two fundamental principles
--love of God and love of one's neighbor -- upon which to build
agreement between Christians and Muslims. All Christians, and
all Muslims, must observe these two principles.

Encouraging Response from Recipients
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8. (U) Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who in September of this year
assumed leadership of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious
Dialogue (and is thus the Pope's principal aide on these
matters),promptly welcomed the second letter on October 12,
praising it on Vatican Radio as a "very interesting and novel
document" coming from both Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and
including numerous citations from the Old and New Testaments.
Tauran called it "a very encouraging sign". The Archbishop of
Canterbury and former British PM Tony Blair are among other
prominent people who have welcomed "A Common Word".

A Catholic Analysis
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9. (U) Father Samir Khalil Samir, an Egyptian Jesuit teaching in
Beirut who is well-regarded in the Vatican, is a frequent and
often critical commentator on Islam. His long response to "A
Common Word" (also available at the website) analyzes it as a
good first step, though one which should go further. He
observes favorably the increased number of signatories and the
fact that they represent Muslims from 43 nations and include
great muftis, religious leaders, and scholars. He also notes
the inclusiveness of the signatories, which number Sufis,
Ismailites, and Jafaarites among others.


10. (U) Samir points out that in Islamic tradition, faith is
founded on three sources: the Quran, the hadith (sayings and
tales from the Prophet's life),and the ijmaa (community
consensus). "A Common Word" is a positive step toward shaping
ijmaa, and one with virtually no precedent. The continuity
between the first and second letters is also a positive feature,
and the vocabulary in "A Common Word" is Christian rather than
Muslim. For example, the term "love" seldom appears in the
Quran and is not one of the names of God, but is widely used in
Christianity. In other words, the document's signers have
chosen to use terminology acceptable to Christians rather than
insisting on their own. The document, in quoting from the Old
and New Testaments, takes for granted that the Bible is the word
of God -- a novelty in Muslim practice. It also quotes St.
Paul, usually rejected by most Muslims (on grounds that he
distorted Christ's message, for example by introducing the
concept of the Trinity). Samir notes that the letter quotes a
Quranic verse on tolerance which comes near the end of the Quran
and thus cannot be abrogated or overruled by a later verse
(according to traditional Quranic interpretation) -- a nice
choice to conclude the letter.


11. (U) Samir suggests that a logical next step in the process
might be trying to broaden the area of agreement between
Christians and Muslims to include some of the elements of sacred
Scripture, and to be more truly universal (not limited to
Christians and Muslims). He cautions that one problematic point
is the document's reference to Muslims being not against but
with Christians -- "on condition that Christians do not declare
war" -- perhaps a reference to Iraq. On a hopeful note, Samir
points out that Pope Benedict XVI, in an October 5 speech to the
International Theological Commission, spoke of a natural moral
law justifying "the foundations of a universal ethic" which in
turn forms the basis for entering into dialogue with all people
of goodwill; he argues that the Pope, like the signatories of "A
Common Word", is trying to find a common basis for dialogue
which is not Scriptural but rather based on natural law. (Note:
Cardinal Tauran has said much the same to Embassy.)

Comment
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12. (SBU) The appearance of the "Open Letter" a year ago
provoked considerable attention in Rome, and the absence of any
formal reply from the Holy See struck many observers as a missed
opportunity and perhaps a bit of a snub. The issuance of "A
Common Word" raises the stakes. As remarked by Aref Ali Nayed,
a UK-based Libyan theologian and signatory of both letters, "A
Common Word" marks the most dramatic instance to date of a
Muslim consensus proposal to the Christian world. Both letters,
in their tone of reasonable discourse meant in a spirit of
reconciliation, attempt to undermine the notions that Muslims
are not interested in dialogue or cannot respond collectively to
the dangerous religious extremism of today's world.


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13. (SBU) As noted above, "A Common Word" takes the issue
further both substantively (in proposing specific areas of
Scripture-based agreement) and tactically (in mustering a wider
range of signatories and addressees). The Holy See and the
Catholic world, as the largest and most centralized audience for
the letter, will be on the spot to help craft a formal response
in the coming months. Pope Benedict, perceptibly less warm to
interreligious dialogue than his predecessor, has nevertheless
given indications of openness on the subject. Cardinal Tauran's
welcome of "A Common Word" is encouraging, as are the embraces
of other religious and political leaders.


14. (SBU) The invitation to dialogue represented by "A Common
Word" is religious on one level, but political on another.
Embassy Vatican recommends that Department consider a USG public
welcome to the initiative (if one has not already been issued).
In addition, public diplomacy efforts should be considered to
increase USG diplomatic engagement with the participants in this
dialogue, i.e. leading Christian and Muslim scholars. One such
opportunity would be greater USG participation in the annual
International Prayer for Peace, co-sponsored by the Community of
Sant'Egidio; the Prayer was held in Washington, DC in spring
2006, and is currently taking place in Naples, Italy. While
Embassy Vatican makes a point of participating (and Under
Secretary Hughes addressed the Washington event),broader

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Department and USG participation in future events would be
useful both as a symbol and also for networking purposes.
SANDROLINI