The US election is certainly an event with global implications. Although on US citizens elect the president every four years, the world watches in anticipation, sometimes accompanied by hope and sometimes by fear. As many have written, that was the case this year. However, in all the headlines of the last week, another rather significant event with global implications is going relatively unnoticed (at least from what I can tell here in the US).
This week an unprecedented summit is taking place in the Vatican City. Leaders of the world’s two largest religions, Islam and Catholicism, have come together to discuss what separates and what unites their faiths. This meeting is the culmination of a gesture put forth from 138 leaders of the Islamic community last year in the form of an open letter to Christian leaders called, A Common Word between Us and You. The letter intends to reach out for a common ground bettwen Christians and Muslims based on shared central beliefs of love for one God and love of neighbor.
The signatories of A Common Word between Us and You represent every denomination and school of thought in Islam, as well as every major Islamic country or region in the world. Prominent Christian leaders from a wide representation of denominations and groups, including pastors, theologians, and denominational executives, responded with their own letter, Loving God and Neighbor Together.
It has been widely expounded in America that Islamic extremism is the greatest challenge we face in the 21st century. I hate that statement. Not only is it highly ethnocentric and ignorant, but it is also highly antagonistic. I believe that religious extremism is the more important and encompassing challenge. Those of us from Western, primarily non-Islamic nations tend to have a very selective memory when it comes to our own religious excesses and extremes.
I’d encourage you to read both A Common Word between Us and You and Loving God and Neighbor Together to gain a better understanding of the challenges we face and how we can face them together.
The official website of A Common Word
A Common Word between Us and You
Loving God and Neighbor Together
