Fri, Oct 12, 2007 at 5:52:45 pm
Maybe I’m cynical (maybe?) but my initial impression of the Muslim scholars’ letter to Pope Benedict is that it’s a veiled threat. Al-Reuters, of course, says it’s a call for peace.
LONDON (Reuters) - More than 130 Muslim scholars from around the globe called on Thursday for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity, saying “the very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake.”
Robert Spencer looks at the Koran verses that aren’t mentioned in the letter at Jihad Watch. The dog that didn’t bark, if you will.
Here’s the letter in PDF form. Read it for yourself, and you deserve a medal if you make it through this turgid mess of Koran quotes.
UPDATE at 10/12/07 6:51:24 pm:
Unindicted Hamas conspirators CAIR are endorsing this “message of peace,” with another expensive paid press release through PRNewsWire: CAIR Joins in Message of Peace to Christian Leaders.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today joined 137 other Muslim leaders and scholars in sending a first-of-its-kind open letter designed to promote understanding between Muslims and Christians worldwide.
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad signed the 29-page letter, titled “A Common Word Between Us and You,” which was sent to Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and more than 20 other Christian leaders.
The letter states in part:
“Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between 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 neighbour. 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. . .
“So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill.”