A COMMON WORD BETWEEN US ANDYOU the royal aal al-bayt institute for islamic thought 2009 • Jordan A COMMON WORD BETWEEN US ANDYOU the royal aal al-bayt institute for islamic thought january 2009 • Jordan © , The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Jordan CONTENTS “A Common Word”: Accomplishments ‒ v • A Common Word Between Us and You . Summary and Abridgement . Full Text of A Common Word List of Signatories • Responses by: • Professor David Ford ( . ) • Tony Blair ( . ) • “TheYale Response” ( . ) • WorldAlliance of Reformed Churches ( . ) • The Mennonite Church ( . ) • The World Council of Churches ( .. ) • Archbishop Petrosyan on behalf of Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch of allArmenians (.. ) • PatriarchAlexy II of Moscow ( .. ) • TheArchbishop of Canterbury ( .. ) • TheArchbishop of Cyprus ( . ) • The Baptist WorldAlliance ( . ) • The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church ( .. ) • The Lutheran World Federation ( .. ) • . Yale Conference, USA • Final Statement . Cambridge Conference, UK • Final Communiqué . Rome Conference, Italy • Address by Pope Benedict XVI • Address by Seyyed Hossein Nasr • Speech by Sheikh Mustafa Ceric • Final Declaration . Eugen Biser Prize Ceremony, Germany • Award Ceremony Speech by H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad • Frequently Asked Questions INTRODUCTION “A COMMON WORD”: ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2007 –2008 In the Name of God Over the last year since its launch the A Common Word initiative ( see www.acommonword.com) has become the world’s leading interfaith dialogue initiative between Christians and Muslims specifically, and has achieved historically unprecedented global acceptance and “trac - tion” as an interfaith theological document. A Common Word was launched on October th as an open letter signed by leading Muslim scholars and intellectuals (including such figures as the Grand Muftis of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Oman, Bosnia, Russia, Chad and Istanbul) to the leaders of the Christian Chur- ches and denominations all over the world, including H.H. Pope Benedict XVI. In essence it proposed based on verses from the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Bible— that Islam and Christianity share at their core, the twin v “golden” commandments of the paramount impor- tance of loving God and loving the neighbor. Based on this joint common ground, it called for peace and har- mony between Christians and Muslims worldwide. Since the launch of A Common Word in October , over leading Christian figures have responded to it in one form or another, including H.H. Pope Benedict XVI, H.B. Orthodox Patriarch Alexi II of Russia, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, and the Presiding Bishop of the Lutheran World Federa- tion, Bishop Mark Hanson ( see “Christian Responses” at www.acommonword.com). On November , over leading U.S. Evangelical leaders also responded in an open letter in the New York Times . In the meantime, the Muslim Scholars signing the initiative increased to around , with over Islamic organizations and associations endorsing it. A Common Word has led to a number of spontaneous local grass-roots and community level-initiatives in pla- ces as far apart as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada, South Africa, the USA, and Great Britain ( see “New Fruits” at www.acommonword.com ): • Over articles—carried by thousands of press outlets—have been written about A Common Word in English alone. vi • Around , people have visited the Official Website of A Common Word for further details. • A Common Word has already been the subject of a number M.A. and M. Phil. dissertations in Western universities in various countries (including at Har- vard University, the Theological Seminary at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and the Center for Studies of Islam in the U.K.). • A Common Word has been the subject of major inter- national conferences at Yale University, USA, and at Cambridge University (UK) and Lambeth Palace, and studied at World Economic Forum in Spring and the Mediterranean dialogue of Cultures in November . • A Common Word was also the basis for the First Annual Catholic-Muslim forum held at the Vatican in November . • A Common Word was the central impetus behind the Wamp-Ellison Resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives which passed in , and it was commended in this Resolution. • A Common Word received the UK’s Association of Muslim Social Scientist Building Bridges Award , and Germany’s Eugen Biser Award of . vii A COMMON WORD BETWEEN US ANDYOU A COMMON WORD In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful On the Occasion of the Eid al-Fitr al-Mubarak / October th , and on the One Year Anniver- sary of the Open Letter of Muslim Scholars to H.H. Pope Benedict XVI, An Open Letter and Call from Muslim Religious Leaders to : His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, HisAll-Holiness Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople, New Rome, His BeatitudeTheodoros II, Pope and Patriarch ofAlexandria andAllAfrica, His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch ofAntioch andAll the East, His BeatitudeTheophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, His BeatitudeAlexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Beatitude Pavle, Patriarch of Belgrade and Serbia, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, His Beatitude Maxim, Patriarch of Bulgaria, His Beatitude Ilia II , Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, Catholicos-Patriarch ofAll Georgia, His Beatitude Chrisostomos,Archbishop of Cyprus, His Beatitude Christodoulos,Archbishop ofAthens and All Greece, His Beatitude Sawa, Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland, His BeatitudeAnastasios,Archbishop ofTirana, Duerres andAllAlbania, His Beatitude Christoforos, Metropolitan of the Czech and Slovak Republics, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Pope ofAlexandria and Patriarch ofAllAfrica on theApostolicThrone of St. Mark, His Beatitude Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos ofAllArmenians, His Beatitude Ignatius Zakka I, Patriarch ofAntioch andAll the East, Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, His Holiness MarThoma Didymos I, Catholicos of the East on theApostolicThrone of St.Thomas and the Malankara Metropolitan , His HolinessAbune Paulos, Fifth Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Echege of the See of St. Tekle Haymanot,Archbishop ofAxium, His Beatitude Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of the Holy Apostolic CatholicAssyrian Church of the East , The Most Rev. Rowan Williams,Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church inAmerica, and President of the Lutheran World Federation , Rev. George H. Freeman, General Secretary, World Methodist Council, Rev. David Coffey, President of the Baptist World Alliance, Rev. Setri Nyomi, General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, General Secretary, World Council of Churches, And Leaders of Christian Churches, everywhere … In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful A COMMON WORD BETWEEN US AND YOU (Summary and Abridgement ) Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice be- tween 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. The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neigh- bour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity . The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity.The following are only a few examples: Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-Sufficient Besought of all ! (Al-Ikhlas :- ). Of the necessity of love for God, God says in the Holy Qur’an : So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil : ). Of the necessity of love for the neighbour, the Prophet Muhammad s said : “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself .” In the NewTestament, Jesus Christ e said: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. / And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. / And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark :- ) In the Holy Qur’an, God Most High enjoins Muslims to issue the following call to Christians (and Jews—the People of the Scripture ): Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him). (Aal ‘Imran : ) The words: we shall ascribe no partner unto Him relate to the Unity of God, and the words: worship none but God , relate to being totally devoted to God. Hence they all relate to the First and Greatest Commandment . Accor- ding to one of the oldest and most authoritative com- mentaries on the Holy Qur’an the words: that none of us shall take others for lords beside God , mean ‘that none of us should obey the other in disobedience to what God has commanded’. This relates to the Second Com- mandment because justice and freedom of religion are a crucial part of love of the neighbour. Thus in obedience to the Holy Qur ’an, we as Muslims invite Christians to come together with us on the basis of what is common to us, which is also what is most essential to our faith and practice: the Two Com- mandments of love. In the Name of God, the Compassionate , the Merciful, And may peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad A COMMON WORD BETWEEN US AND YOU In the Name of God, the Compassionate , the Merciful, Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and contend with them in the fairest way.