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World Summit on Islamic/Christian Dialogue — Senegal
The Global Peace Initiative of Women is helping to organize the first global Islamic- Christian Summit initiated and hosted by an African leader. His Excellency President of Senegal Mr. Abdoulaye Wade has offered to host this World Summit to help ease growing tensions and build stronger understanding and collaboration between sectors of the Christian and Muslim worlds. The Summit will coincide with the 2006 meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which will also take place in Dakar, Senegal. Thus when the heads of state of Islamic nations convene in Dakar, Christian and Muslim religious leaders will also gather to discuss issues of relevance to their religious communities. They will then share these issues with the political leaders in an effort to highlight the positive role religion can play in building goodwill and peace.
Preparations for the Summit began with a consultative session in New York in September 2004 with President Wade of Senegal and a small group of religious leaders. The purpose of the session was to initiate discussions and to gather input from the US religious leaders on how the Summit can address some of the issues facing leaders of the Christian and Islamic faiths worldwide.
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Summary of Meeting September 22nd with President Wade and Religious Leaders
On September 22, 2004 in partnership with the government of Senegal and the UNDP Communications Office, The Global Peace Initiative of Women organized a consultation with religious leaders and His Excellency President of Senegal Mr. Abdoulaye Wade. The goal of this meeting was twofold. It presented President Wade with an occasion to share with US religious leadership his plans to host a World Summit on Islamic-Christian Dialogue in Senegal in 2005. The event was also for His Excellency President of Senegal to gather insights from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders as to how the Islamic- Christian Summit can help heal the divisions and ease growing tensions between sectors of the Christian and Muslim worlds. The meeting of religious leaders was organized by Reverend Joan Brown Campbell, past General Secretary of the National Council of Churches and Chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women.
Some of the most prominent Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Leaders in the US attended the consultation. They include Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance; Rabbi Schneier, Founder of The Appeal of Conscience Foundation; Imam Al - Hajj Talib Abdur Rashid, Deputy Amir of The Muslim Alliance in North America; Sr. Joan Kirby, Representative to the United Nations of Temple of Understanding; Rabbi Balfour Brickner, Senior Rabbi Emeritus of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue; Imam Abu Namous, Imam of Islamic Center of New York; Ms. Farida Ali, Programme Officer of UNICEF; Mr. Amir Al Islam, Secretary General of World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations; Ms. Amatullah Nura of Schomburg Library; Shaykh Abd'allah Latif Ali, Chair of Imams' Council of New York; Dr. Christopher Taylor from Drew University; Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, Associate General Secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; Mr. Adem Carroll, Activist from the Islamic Circle of North America; Mr. Jacques Beaumont, Senior Adviser International Affairs; Rev. Dr. Laurence Konmla Bropleh, Representative of World Council of Churches to the UN; and Lucinda Mosheh, Assistant to the Staff of the Network for the Interfaith Concerns of the Anglican Communion. The discussion was facilitated by Dr. Djibril Diallo, Director of the Communications Office of UNDP, and Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell.
The meeting was opened by President Wade. In his speech, President emphasized that he deeply believed that it was time for leaders from different faith traditions to come together in dialogue. He further expressed his utmost commitment to helping religious communities break new ground seeking to stimulate acts by ordinary citizens to improve relationships with people of other faiths in their lives, and not limiting interfaith dialogue to religious leadership. The plans and ideas of the President found great support among the religious leaders. All were ready to offer recommendations and advice to make the Islamic- Christian Summit in Senegal a landmark event in developing cooperation and understanding between the traditions.
In their discussion, participants noted the importance of ensuring the inclusion of youth and women issues in the Summit. Religious leaders also emphasized that the Summit may become an important platform for promoting education for tolerance, mutual respect, and inclusion. Members of the Senegal government as well as religious leadership agreed that the Islamic- Christian Summit would also be an opportunity for representatives of the traditions to learn and gain greater understanding of each other's religions, and to dismantle some of the persisting negative stereotypes that often hinder development of trust and collaboration.
President Wade spoke about the groundwork already done in preparation for the Summit, and he explained that he has established a National and International Commission to help prepare the Summit. He invited Rev. Joan Brown Campbell to join the International Commission and encouraged the organization of a North American meeting for the pre-Summit planning. There was general agreement that this Summit would fulfill an important function, that it would help establish a moderate Muslim voice for the world community and would demonstrate the interest of leaders in developing stronger collaboration and goodwill among all levels in Christian and Muslim communities around the world.
A follow up meeting is scheduled for March 2005 in Senegal, which will include religious leaders from the international community. Rev. Joan Brown Campbell and Dena Merriam are putting together a US delegation to participate in this meeting.
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