Christian-Muslim meeting

A European Christian-Muslim conference is planned to take place in Malines, Brussels, from October 20 to 23 on the theme will be 'European Citizens and Believers. Christians and Muslims as Active Partners in European Society'.

The conference will open with the presentation of Christian and Muslim perspectives concerning the theme.

The participants will then work in seminar groups on the following themes:

The role of religion in a secular society; Religion as institution and as personal faith; How do Christians and Muslims consider each other and how can mutual respect be promoted by way of education? Building Bridges: Challenges facing our communities.

The conference is being planned by CRME, an ecumenical committee for relations with Muslims in Europe set up in 1986 by the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). Its task is to inform and support the Churches in Europe in their encounter with Islam, and to intensify relations with Muslims.

A meeting of CRME members took place from April 17 to 20 in Esztergom, Hungary, which was attended by a number of Muslims from various European countries. Fr Joseph Ellul, OP, a Maltese Dominican father, also attended the meeting both as also the delegate of the Holy See and a CCEE representative.

A dialogue also took place between the CRME members and their Muslim guests in Esztergom concerning the open letter by 138 Muslim religious leaders addressed to the authorities of the Churches and Christian confessions, dated October 13, 2007. The letter expressed a willingness to dialogue on a spiritual basis free of political and ideological conditioning.

The World Council of Churches is undertaking an important project with its member churches regarding the letter, and numerous responses have been sent or are being prepared in response to the letter.

Great interest has also been shown concerning the Catholic-Muslim forum that is being established as well as in the encounter between a delegation of the 138 Muslim scholars and Pope Benedict.