A Common Word

A major and substantial step toward better Christian/Muslim relations was taken in 2008 the effects of which continue in ever-widening circles today. The initiative, called A Common Word Between Us and You, began with a desire to create a pathway to peace through focusing the attention of leaders of the Islamic and Christian faiths, faiths whose adherents comprise over half of the world's population, on their shared values and beliefs-especially the love of God and the neighbor, rather than on their differences. Because of its exceptional significance, Sophia has chosen to celebrate this dialogue by printing several documents that have become part of A Common Word initiative. Included are: the Open Letter, His Holiness Benedict XVI's address to the Vatican Conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams' response to the Open Letter, HRH Ghazi bin Muhammad's essay on the theological motives and expectations behind the initiative as well as his address to Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of His Holiness's historic visit to Jordan in 2009, two articles by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, an article by Miroslav Volf, Reza Shah-Kazemi's paper on God as 'The Loving' in Islam, an overview of the Vatican Conference by Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish theologian who was the Muslim spokesperson, and the Final Declaration of the Vatican Conference.