The Catalan Association E-Cristians and the Association of Islamic Studies in Barcelona have launched their first joint public initiative in defence of life and the family. On Saturday, 1st October, hundreds of people gathered in St. Augustine Square in Barcelona, to demonstrate in support of “our joint project in defence of life, the family and civil liberties”. In a joint statement read out together, they declared that as “Christians and Muslims we wish to live together in brotherhood and in peace, and build bridges of understanding in public life”. In its appeal, E-Cristians ask “that our right to live in conformity with our respective faiths in public and in private be respected: in the family, at school, on the workplace and in public life”. Enric Martínez, university professor and Christian representative at this demonstration, criticized the “secularism increasingly present in our society”. “In the struggle for life and the family Christians and Muslims must cooperate together”, he concluded. For his part, Omar Ribas, secretary of the Association of Islamic Studies, said “religion in general is underrated by the public authorities” and stressed that “the highest ethical principles and the supreme values of humankind come from religion”.
