Muslim Leaders Warn Pope 'Survival of World' at Stake

[rlxhustlr]

The "survival of the world" is at stake if Muslims and Christians do not make peace with each other, leaders of the Muslim world will warn the Pope and other Christian leaders today.

In an unprecedented open letter signed by 138 leading scholars from every sect of Islam, the Muslims plead with Christian leaders "to come together with us on the common essentials of our two religions" and spell out the similarities between passages of the Bible and the Koran.

The scholars state: "As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them - so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes."

The phrasing has echoes of the New Testament passage: "He that is not with me is against me" - a passage used by President George Bush when addressing a joint session of Congress nine days after 9/11.

The Muslims call instead for the emphasis to be on the shared characteristics of world's two largest faiths.

The letter, addressed to Pope Benedict XVI, to the Orthodox Church's Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew 1 and all the other Orthodox Patriarchs and to the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams and the leaders of all other Protestant churches worldwide, will be rolled out around the world this morning in a series of press conferences beginning in Jordan. It is supported by the Bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres.

It is expected to be followed by a joint conference between Muslim and Christian world leaders at on "neutral" ground, such as at an American university.

"Finding common ground between Muslims and Christians is not simply a matter for polite ecumenical dialogue between selected religious leaders," the Muslim scholars say, noting that Christians and Muslims make up over a third and a fifth of humanity respectively.

"Together they make up more than 55 per cent of the population, making the relationship between these two religious communities the most important factor in contributing to meaningful peace around the world. If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace."

The Muslims even quote passages verbatim from the Bible, extremely rare in a publication of this kind and at this level and an indication of their resolve to bring the two faiths together and end the present tensions between them.

The letter continues: "With the terrible weaponry of the modern world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world's inhabitants. Thus our common future is at stake. The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake."

It says: "And to those who nevertheless relish conflict and destruction for their own sake or reckon that ultimately they stand to gain through them, we say that our very eternal souls are all also at stake if we fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony."

Concluding with a quote from the Koran, the scholars say: "So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works."

The letter is being sent out today by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman, Jordan.

Among those launching the letter in the UK will be two world leading figures in interfaith dialogue Professor David Ford and Aref Ali Nayed.

Professor David Ford is Regius Professor of Divinity, and Fellow of Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. Professor Ford is also the Founding Director of the Cambridge Inter-Faith Program and led this year’s international inter-faith conference at Lancaster House in June on ‘Islam and Muslims in the World Today’.

Aref Ali Nayed is a leading theologian and senior adviser to the Cambridge Inter-Faith Program. He is formerly Professor at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome, and the International Institute for Islamic Thought and Civilization in Malaysia.

Signatures include Shaykh Sevki Omarbasic, Grand Mufti of Croatia, Dr Abdul Hamid Othman, adviser to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Dr Ali Ozak, head of the endowment for Islamic scientific studies in Istanbul, Turkey. They also include Shaykh Dr Nuh Ali Salman Al-Qudah, Grand Mufti of Jordan and Shaykh Dr Ikrima Said Sabri, former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.



lol this cracked me up...muslims are so ignorent...christians need to make peace thats what they do...the christians are at peace with the world its the muslims that are not...muslims need to straitin out there shit talking crap like this...there the ones with problems

[Arabian Shady]

wtf do u mean by that!?
muslims need to straightn their shit out?
clear ur head man , listen to the news, we got the ppl like you"one sided thinkers" comin up n attackin palestine , iraq, afghanistan!!
craked u up?
2 of the world biggest population r tryin to rid the world of assholes like bush n extremists,radicals, n tryin ta give the world sum peace , isthis is ur idea of laughter/fun????
u woudnt be talkin shit like this if u had bombs flyin out side of ur sky while u slept in ur bed.



think b fore u write sumthing

[BaZZ]

lol this cracked me up...muslims are so ignorent...christians need to make peace thats what they do...the christians are at peace with the world its the muslims that are not...muslims need to straitin out there shit talking crap like this...there the ones with problems

Well fuck you.
Christians are at peace? what do you say about Palestine? Afghanistan? Iraq? - Whose causing caios there?
Most westerners ignore these places because the news don't show what happens over there. There is a 9/11s in each of these countries everyday, and westerners don't give a shit because most of them are either too stubborn to admit it or they don't know about it.
By the way, for all those who don't know, bitches like Bin Laden and others causing terrorist attacks are not considered Muslims - just because they wear Muslim/Arabic clothes and talk with aids from the Koran doesn't mean they are Muslims. Actually, there are so many verses in the Koran clearly stating that killing innocent people is a huge sin. But the terrorists act pressured by anger and therefore they completely ignore a lot of the Muslim religion.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not generalizing - a lot of westerners don't know about all the shit happening in some Arabic and Islamic countries, and therefore they are not to blame for the hate on Islam.

And what was so funny about the article? Muslims are trying to approach the world with talk instead of violence, didn't you read the article??

Seriously, being a Muslim is very hard in this age because your people are getting killed, and people like Bin Laden are representing Islam in a false and fucked up way, and in addition to all that your religion is being accused of terrorism n shit. I hope people see whats really going on and not just what the western TV presents.

[rlxhustlr]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! if you guys are on the muslims side then your all brainwashed! you might as well walk into a deep hole and die!

[rlxhustlr]

hahahahahahaha!

[BaZZ]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! if you guys are on the muslims side then your all brainwashed! you might as well walk into a deep hole and die!

You're a good debater.

and yes fuck bush! just because hes my leader doesnt mean i follow him....non like are country we have freedom of speach and what we believe non like muslim countrys....

Bush is another story.
And you can't defend anything by using "we have freedom of speech". I've heard that shit over and over and honestly I don't get its relation with what we are arguing about.
Read what I wrote again and reply to them with some good points if you have anything to prove instead of cussing and talking about shit that doesn't relate.

in fact about 20% of my college is muslim here in america and the reasons thay moved here is to get away from that bullshit war in the middle east....just face it man muslims need to straiten out there ways!

lol
I don't get it. What you wrote proves absolutely nothing. The reason Muslims move to colleges in America is to get better education. You think we really need you people? Some Muslims just come to America because the education there is very good. Thats the only reason. And actually we like our countries more than we like America, so we don't come to the US just to escape the war in the middle east, thats bullshit. I've went and studied last year in a college in America, and I'm telling you from experience, I only went there because the level of education is high. But anyways, again you opened a topic that doesn't relate to our main argument.

[sinemm]

i didnt read the whole thing and wont
too long

but i can say that from the posts here

you call others brainwashed but at least they know something and they talk

not gonna say anything else

[yoshi]

rofl @ Muslims being ignorant.



it's we, Christians, who almost always fuck things up. i'm so ashamed sometimes..

[rlxhustlr]

well i said that shit to just start something up cause thats what i like to do...but anyways i dont get how you people can give into this muslim crock of shit!

[rlxhustlr]

here is one point that muslims start shit! who were the ones attacking the US and destroying the Embassy’s over seas? muslims that is....christians just defend them selfs we dont wage war!

[IceAxe]

here is one point that muslims start shit! who were the ones attacking the US and destroying the Embassy’s over seas? muslims that is....christians just defend them selfs we dont wage war!

lol... our President is a so-called "Christian" and is tearing shit up in the Middle East right now....

And ever hear of the Inquisition or the Crusades?

[Restlesswon]

bush is bush, even if he was Hindu it don't make no fucken difference,still be a war.

[Arabian Shady]

are you actually a ignorant dik head or r u just actin like that???!!!!

speak fo ur self asshole, i'm not evn gna generalise into christianity, this is aimed at demented bitches like you.
you say that u just defend ur self, wat the fuk did u do in iraq.did sadam come up there and bone you , or did he OFFEND you in some waylike - i quote"attacking the US and destroying the Embassy’s over seas?"
bitch have you looked at iraq defence capabilities???? they coudnt fight bak, but ur mentor bush went straight up ahed n fuked the land insite out, do u evn kno wat the newspapers say??? havnt u eva seen the plight that these defensless ppl suffer??? better yet
do u evn know wat a newspaper is , bitch!
i suggest that u put ur cock away b fore things get reall messy
fukin sissy

u knew wat was comin ur just lookin for attention

[DOPE]

aint read every post here but read some

all i gotta say is muslims and chirstians aint the problem, its bush who fucked up, and america fucked up in afghanistan YEARS ago which lead to all this shit


and for the people here makin negative comments on muslims, yall shut the fuck up, you obviously dont know shit about anything.


and fuck a debate

[sinemm]

here is one point that muslims start shit! who were the ones attacking the US and destroying the Embassy’s over seas? muslims that is....christians just defend them selfs we dont wage war!

OMFG

THIS MADE MY DAY! thank you damn


please tell this wordds to christian leaders..for ex.Bush
he will give you awards
and call you as the best asskisser ever


sorry i cant help myself