Friday, December 28, 2007 at 1:01am
Muslim group responds to Pope's invite
A group of 138 prominent Islamic religious leaders who are championing the cause of improving relations between Muslims and Christians accepted an invitation by Pope Benedict XVI for a meeting and suggested dates to prepare for such talks, IANS reported Friday.
"In a letter to (Vatican Secretary of State) Cardinal Tarciso Bertone, we suggested a meeting could be held in February or March, to organize an audience with the Pope," Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini, an Italian imam who co-signed the letter, said Friday. The letter by the group of Muslim leaders headed by Jordan's Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal was handed over to the Vatican's Nuncio in Jordan's capital Amman Dec. 12, Pallavicini said.
In their letter the Muslim leaders said they were "encouraged" by the historic meeting in November between the pontiff and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, the first meeting between a pope and a Saudi monarch who traditionally holds the Islamic title of Custodian of the Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina.
The letter addressed to the pope and also to the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, besides other Christian churches, was seen as a breakthrough in Muslim-Christian relations. Stressing that Muslims and Christians made up more than half the world's population, it identified their relations as "the most important factor in contributing to meaningful peace around the world."
"In a letter to (Vatican Secretary of State) Cardinal Tarciso Bertone, we suggested a meeting could be held in February or March, to organize an audience with the Pope," Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini, an Italian imam who co-signed the letter, said Friday. The letter by the group of Muslim leaders headed by Jordan's Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal was handed over to the Vatican's Nuncio in Jordan's capital Amman Dec. 12, Pallavicini said.
In their letter the Muslim leaders said they were "encouraged" by the historic meeting in November between the pontiff and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, the first meeting between a pope and a Saudi monarch who traditionally holds the Islamic title of Custodian of the Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina.
The letter addressed to the pope and also to the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, besides other Christian churches, was seen as a breakthrough in Muslim-Christian relations. Stressing that Muslims and Christians made up more than half the world's population, it identified their relations as "the most important factor in contributing to meaningful peace around the world."