http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=191913&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56
Muslim scholars send Christmas greetings Published: Tuesday, 25 December,
2007, 01:26 AM Doha Time
By Tom Heneghan
Rome's historic Coliseum is lit on Christmas Eve to celebrate a
death
penalty freeze voted by the UN General Assembly
PARIS: Leading Muslim scholars have addressed warm Christmas greetings to
Christians around the world, a message notable both for what it said and the
fact that it was sent at all.
The greetings, sent by a group of 138 Sunni, Shia, Sufi and other
scholars who recently proposed a dialogue with Christian leaders, called for
peace on earth and thanked church leaders who have responded positively to
their invitation.
The message, as the dialogue proposal made in October, was unprecedented
because there has not been until now such a large group of Islamic scholars
that could draft a common letter. While individual Muslim clerics have
exchanged holiday greetings with Christians in the past, nothing on this scale
has been possible before.
"Al-Salaamu Aleikum, Peace be upon you, Pax Vobiscum," the greetings
letter began in Arabic, English and Latin. The text is available on the group's
website www.acommonword.com.
It noted that Christmas came just after the Muslim Haj pilgrimage to
Makkah and the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) recalling how the Prophet
Abraham almost sacrificed his son.
"God's refusal to let Abraham sacrifice his son ... is to this day a
divine warrant and a most powerful social lesson for all followers of the
Abrahamic faiths, to ever do their utmost to save, uphold and treasure every
human life and especially the lives of every single child," it said.
"May the coming year be one in which the sanctity and dignity of human
life is upheld by all," it added. "May it be a year of humble repentance before
God and mutual forgiveness within and between communities."
The conciliatory tone echoed that of the October appeal, which said
Muslims and Christians should hold a serious dialogue on the basis of their
shared commandments to love God and love one's neighbour.
The group, linked to an Islamic research institute headed by Jordanian
Prince Ghazi bin Mohamed bin Talal, wants a serious dialogue between Christian
and Muslim theologians to help bridge a gulf in understanding between the
religions. - Reuters
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