June 16, 2003

Arrangements are well under way for the Al Azhar-Anglican Communion Dialogue which will take place in New York 10-11 September 2003. A small team of scholars and churchpeople, nominated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, will be meeting with key representatives of Al Azhar in Cairo - which has a critical and authoritative position within the Muslim world. On the Anglican side, this year the dialogue will be administered on behalf of the Archbishop by NIFCON, the Anglican Communion's Inter Faith Network.

Finding opportunities for leading Christians and Muslims to meet and talk about their faiths, what they share in common as well as their differences - seems particularly important in this time of world tension. New York, on September 11 2003, provides a unique location for such a meeting - and it is intended that the participants in the dialogue will have the opportunity to visit 'Ground Zero'. The dialogue is part of a process to which both the present and former Archbishops of Canterbury have been committed, which provides a means for the Anglican Communion to develop and foster positive relationships of trust and co-operation with Muslim communities. Such events as the meeting in New York will, it is hoped, help to overcome misapprehensions and further deepen understanding about each other's faith. It is also anticipated that the ongoing process will consider the experience both of Christians who live in predominantly Muslim contexts and of Muslims living in predominantly Christian contexts.

Anglican Communion News Service