Rejection of war: hope in dialogue” “

The common commitment to peace by European Christians and Muslims “repudiates those who want to present the conflict in Iraq” as a war of religion. The point is stressed by the Islam in Europe Committee – promoted by the CCEE (Council of the European Episcopal Conferences) and by KEK (Conference of the European Churches) – which concluded its five-year term of office with a meeting held in Strasbourg in recent days. The meeting also discussed “the implications of the current Iraqi crisis and the consequences of a possible war, as well as the continuing conflict in the Holy Land”. In this regard, the Committee remarked “the active collaboration of Christians and Muslims in Europe and in the world, joining together in common declarations and sharing initiatives and prayers for peace”. The Islam in Europe Committee, founded in 1987, is aimed among other things at the promotion of contacts between Christians and Muslims and the exchange of experiences and information on the various countries. According to figures for 2002, there are now some 4 million Muslims in France, 3 million in Germany, and 2 million in the UK. Roughly half a million Muslim immigrants are now living in Italy. The situation in Eastern Europe is quite different, since there the Islamic presence has been consolidated for centuries. We asked some members of the Committee what reflections the current crisis might have on the Islamic communities present in Europe and what role should the Christian Churches be called to play if war breaks out. Friendship and reciprocal trust.“For almost forty years now the Christian Churches in Great Britain and in Western Europe as a whole have been engaged in the promotion and development of relations with the Muslim communities resident in the various states; at the level of leadership, which is the level that guides people’s daily attitudes, I note a strongly consolidated relation of friendship and reciprocal trust, linked to the fact that this common endeavour dates to ‘non suspect times’. The Islamic minorities of our continent, however, feel extremely vulnerable today, and the Churches are convinced that this insecurity will increase in the event of conflict. Hence the effort to intensify a dialogue which may privilege and enhance cultural diversities and, at the same time, equality of rights. The way always remains that of the promotion of shared human and spiritual values in the field of ethics and rights, irrespective of diversities of religious beliefs and traditions. A further decisive point in favour of the credibility of the Churches and of the Christian organizations is the fact that they have always been and continue to be in the front line in leading the protest against war”. (Philip Lewis, KEK member for the Anglican Church, professor in the “Peace Studies” Department of the University of Bradford) Islam and jihad . “In recent weeks the Moslem organizations in Europe have expressed themselves against war, condemning it publicly through their most widely distributed magazines in the continent, such as “Le musulman” and “Islam”. At the same time they have expressed their appreciation for the anti-war stance taken by the Holy Father and by all the episcopal conferences, as well as by the Protestant Churches. The consciousness that Christians firmly reject the logic of war represents a positive element in reciprocal relations. In spite of that, if war were to break out, European Muslims would feel a sense of solidarity with the Iraqi people and consider the military attack the tenth crusade against Islam. In recent days the ‘El-Ahzar’ University in Cairo, one of the oldest and most authoritative in Egypt, published a legal document that endorses the legitimacy of the jihad (holy war) in the event of a US attack on Iraq; such a position conjures up very dangerous scenarios. As happened after 11 September, Muslims once again feel themselves threatened and are entrenching themselves behind defensive positions. Although not supporting the regime of Saddam Hussein, which is certainly not a model for Islam, European Muslims, by expressing solidarity with the Iraqi population, feel themselves – they too – innocent victims. It’s important that in so complex a phase the Churches should continue to speak with one voice only, and energetically reaffirm their rejection of war. This position, in fact, forms the common basis on which to build dialogue, when diplomacy seems finally defeated and the risk of a clash between civilizations is resurfacing again, fuelled by some minorities, numerically small but able to make a lot of noise”. (Father Hans Vöcking – expert of the CCE for interreligious dialogue)