World Jewish News

Israel Singer urges Muslim, Jewish leaders to stand up against extremists

The chairman of the Policy Council of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Rabbi Israel Singer, has urged moderate Muslim and Jewish leaders to stand up against the extremists within their own ranks and to create a network of mutual trust. Addressing the "Second World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace" held in the Spanish city of Seville, Singer stressed it was high time to move into action. He rejected the notion that tensions between Jews and Muslims were due to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Moderate religious leaders should not permit their faith to be hijacked by a minority of extremists, or to be used as justification for violence and aggressive politics, Singer pointed out, adding "We are standing on the edge of the precipice and looking down."
Many were promoting a "clash of civilizations in order to turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy", he said, adding that "religious crusaders such as the Iranian president Ahmadinejad must be exposed for what they are: impostors." Singer said that differences between religions and people had to be respected: "God created a world with differences because if he had wanted us to be identical he would have created us like money coins." He said that dialogue had to overcome the "theology of contempt" that was still wide-spread. Singer praised the initiative for the Seville event and said that while Europe was well represented in it, its next edition should also include "the other half of the Jewish world", referring to America.
Around 150 influential Muslim and Jewish scholars are taking part in the Seville gathering. The first meeting of imams and rabbis was held in Brussels in January 2005. The initiative aims to promote dialogue between Jewish and Muslim religious leaders in order to build mutual confidence.

Источник: worldjewishcongress.org