In the Name of God, the Compassionate,
the Merciful
The A Common Word Initiative
Timeline of Milestones and Schedule of Related Events
(As of August 1st 2008)
PAST |
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Date |
Event |
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1. |
September 13th 2006 |
H.H. Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg University Lecture. |
2. |
October 13th 2006 |
38 international, interdenominational leading Muslim Scholars release an irenic joint Open Letter to the Pope in response to the Regensburg Lecture. |
3. |
November 11th 2006 |
H.H. Pope Benedict XVI meets with (future CW signatory) Prof. Mustafa Cherif of Algeria in the Vatican to discuss the Regensburg lecture. |
4. |
October 13th 2007 |
On the One-Year Anniversary of the joint Open Letter to the Pope, the 38 scholars are joined by another 100 scholars (138 in total) and together issue the document A Common Word between Us and You to the Pope and all the leaders of the major Christian churches, worldwide. A Common Word between Us and You proposes Love of God and Love of Neighbor as the common ground between Christianity and Islam. A Common Word was written by Prince Ghazi of Jordan, and corrected by a number of Senior Muslim scholars including Grand Mufti Ali Jum’a, Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Sheikh Mohammad Sa’id Ramadan Al-Buti, Habib Ali Jiffri and Prof. Abd Al-Hakim Murad; it was released by all 138 scholars together. |
5. |
October
14th 2007- |
The leaderships of the Christian world issue around 50 different responses and reactions to A Common Word, these include Pope Benedict XVI; the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; Lutheran Presiding Bishop Hanson; World Baptist Alliance President Coffey; World Council of Churches General Secretary Kobia; Cardinal Scola; Cardinal Pell; Leaders of the Mennonite and Quaker Churches; Unitarian Congregation President Sinkford; British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and a number of Orthodox Christian leaders. The document is also welcomed by a few Jewish leaders, including the Chief Rabbis of Israel. |
6. |
October 21st-23rd 2007 |
Muslim delegates (including Sheikh Izzedin Ibrahim of the U.A.E and Yahya Pallavicini of Italy) call on Pope Benedict to respond to A Common Word, and object to Cardinal Tauran’s recent statement that “theological dialogue with Muslims is not possible” at the international interfaith encounter ‘For a World Without Violence’ at the Community of St. Egidio, Naples, Italy. |
7. |
November 6th 2007 |
H.M. King Abd Allah bin Abd Al-Aziz, the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, visits H.H. Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican. The Royal Saudi spokesman mentions ‘Belief in One God and Love of Neighbor’ as a common ground between Islam and Christianity. |
8. |
November 18th 2007 |
Organized by Prof. Miroslav Volf and the Yale Divinity School, over 300 Top Christian Protestant leaders and scholars, both evangelical and mainline, (including Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Leith Anderson and others) sign a response to A Common Word entitled Loving God and the Neighbor Together published in the New York Times. |
9. |
December 23rd 2007 |
146 Muslim Leaders issue A Muslim Message of Thanks and Christmas Greetings in response to the Christian reactions to A Common Word. |
10. |
January 3-6th 2008 |
Meeting in Tripoli, Libya and organised by the World Islamic Call Society, The Second Meeting of the Evangelical Christian-Muslim Dialogue endorses A Common Word. |
11. |
January 14th 2008 |
Senior Muslim Scholars (including Egyptian Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Jum’a, Jordanian Grand Mufti Nuh Salman, Bosnian Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric, Sheikh Mohammad Sa’id Ramadan Al-Buti, Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Habib Umar Abd Al-Hafith, Sheikh Abd Al-Hakim Murad and others) from the signatories of A Common Word gather at the Taba Institute in the U.A.E. to review and discuss the initiative. They endorse Prince Ghazi of Jordan to act as Coordinator and (Taba Director) Sheikh Habib Ali Jiffri to act as Secretary of the initiative on their behalf. |
12. |
January 23rd 2008 |
The Third International Conference on ‘Coexistence and Peace Making’ in Amman, Jordan; attended by a number of Arab Christian Patriarchs and their representatives who endorse A Common Word. |
13. |
February 25th-26th 2008 |
Led by Cardinal Tauran and the Wakil of the Azhar, Sheikh Abd Al-Fattah Alaam, the annual meeting of the Joint Committee for Dialogue between the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar for Dialogue Among the Monotheistic Religions examines the theme of Faith in God and Love of Neighbour as the Foundations for Inter-religious Dialogue in Cairo, Egypt. |
14. |
March 4-6th 2008 |
After correspondence between Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone and Cardinal Tauran and Prince Ghazi of Jordan, Muslim scholars send a preparatory delegation (consisting of Abd Al-Hakim Murad, Aref Nayed, Ibrahim Kalin, Yahya Pallacivini and Sohail Nakhoda) to Rome for talks with Cardinal Tauran and senior Catholic interfaith experts. The preparatory delegation agrees with the Cardinal to establish a World Catholic-Muslim Forum of 24 figures from each side (12 senior religious authorities and 12 experts on each side) and that the forum will have its first meeting in Rome from November 4-6th 2008. |
15. |
March 13-14th 2008 |
Georgetown University, Washington D.C., holds a well-attended seminar on The Future of Christian-Muslim Relations; it is largely devoted to A Common Word. |
16. |
March 22nd 2008 |
Pope Benedict XVI publicly baptizes Magdi Allam, a Muslim convert to Catholicism known for anti-Islamic rhetoric. Some mutual acrimony follows. |
17. |
October
13th 2007- |
In less than 6 months, the Muslim leader signatories to A Common Word have increased from 138 to 245; nearly 500 different articles in English alone are written covering A Common Word (and reproduced on the initiative’s official website www.acommonword.com); the A Common Word website has been visited by over 100,000 unique visitors; its Google rating has risen from ‘0’ to ‘6’, and over 5000 on-line ‘full endorsements’ have been gathered. |
18. |
April 18th 2008 |
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, organised by the Department of World Religions of Dhaka University and the Episcopal Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue hold a seminar on A Common Word with 35 Christians and 35 Muslims participating and resolve, among other things, to set up a permanent Christian-Muslim Committee in Bangladesh. |
19. |
May 4-9th 2008 |
Building Bridges Conference in Rome, discuss, amongst many other things, A Common Word. |
20. |
May 18th 2008 |
World Economic Forum meeting in Sharm Al-Sheikh Egypt holds a seminar on A Common Word. |
21. |
June 2nd 2008 |
Organised by Lambeth Palace, a Consultation of representatives of all addressees of ACW and other Christian scholars to meet in London to discuss the Christian response to ACW and future initiatives in Muslim-Christian relations. |
22. |
July 24th -31st 2008 |
Yale University, in conjunction with Harvard University and Princeton Theological Seminary, hold a week of conferences and workshops on A Common Word, focusing on its theological aspects and media dimensions, and entitled ‘Loving God and Neighbor in Word and Deed: Implications for Muslims and Christians’ Sub-themes are: 1. God is Loving |
FUTURE (Deo Volente) |
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August 2008 |
ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) to hold a Colloquim on A Common Word in its annual gathering |
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October 12th -15th 2008 |
Cambridge University, U.K., in conjunction with Lambeth Palace to hold a conference on A Common Word focusing on its scriptural and hermeneutical aspects. |
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November 4th -6th 2008 |
The 1st meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum based on A Common Word to be held in Rome, 24 figures from each side. The theme of the Seminar will be ‘Love of God, Love of Neighbour’. The sub-themes will be ‘Theological and Spiritual Foundations’ (1st day) and ‘Human Dignity and Mutual Respect’ (2nd day). The Seminar will conclude with a public session on the 3rd day. The seminar participants will be received by H.H. Pope Benedict XVI. |
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March 23rd-24th 2009 |
Georgetown University, Washington D.C., to hold a conference on A Common Word focusing on its political implications. |
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October 2009 |
At the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ in Jordan, the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought to hold a ‘Grand Conference’ on A Common Word, bringing together all those involved in the initiative, for a historic conclusion. |
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