February 7, 2008

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Under the patronage of His Royal Majesty King Abdallah II, senior Christian and Muslim religious leaders attended the Third International Conference sponsored by the "Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Centre" in Amman – Jordan (22 – 23 January 2007). MECC General Secretary, Heads of Churches in the Middle East, Presidents of Islamic centers, religious leaders and experts on Christian-Muslim dialogue participated in the conference. MECC General Secretary addressed the audience with a paper on MECC perspective on dialogue with Muslims in which he mentioned the three levels of dialogue that the Council is concerned with: top leaders, youth and human services.

He stated MECC perspective on dialogue by saying that "Christian-Muslim dialogue is not about dogmas or given religious facts rather about living together as Christians and Muslims in peace, and facing common challenges of the society." The final communiqué of the conference stressed on several points of respect: the freedom of religion and faith, the Prophets, the Holy Books of each religion, the Holy places, the freedom of expression without messing with the Holy believes, and to include subjects to the educational curriculum which encourage dialogue and coexistence.

The Conference ended with a "Document" on coexistence between the two religions and was signed by all participants.

Middle East Council of Churches