A conference dedicated to the dialogue between Islam and Christianity was held in recent days in Lambeth Palace, seat of the archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, Primate of the Church of England. The participants in the conference, entitled “Building bridges: overcoming the obstacles in the relations between Christians and Moslems”, included Prince Hassan of Jordan, Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Aram I, the Catholicos of Cilicia, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Catholic Primate of England and Wales. The conference was inaugurated by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who, following the terrorist attacks of 11 September, has been busily engaged in trying to build or repair diplomatic relations with the Moslem world. “The temptation of fundamentalism exists is all religions said Tony Blair but a deeper understanding of the faith of others will overcome every form of extremism”. “They’ve been two very stimulating days,” commented the archbishop of Canterbury George Carey at the end of the seminar. “Our discussions have been conducted in a genuine spirit of open-mindedness and reciprocal interest”. And he added: “I believe we have deepened and enriched the dialogue between the two faiths and, to do this, we have laid the foundations for new bridges of understanding, respect and cooperation. I am sure that we can build relations that are to the benefit of our communities of faith in the world”.
