I thought you might be interested in the following statement I received from the Istituto Tevere in Rome. The Instituto was set up by Fr Dan Madigan SJ for Muslim students to do post-doctoral work in Christianity at the Gregorian University. It is a very well run foundation with worthwhile outcomes. I had the pleasure of meeting and dining with the sender of this letter, Cenap, several times while in Rome. Note that the Honourable Tim will be their guest in a few days.
Dear friends,
First of all, we wish you a Happy New Year. May 2011 bring peace, justice and prosperity to the world.
Unfortunately we have all been shocked with the terrible news arrived from Alexandria, Egypt at the very beginning of this year.
As Istituto Tevere, we severely condemn the brutal attack on innocent Egyptians in the Saints Church in Alexandria. We would like to express our deepest sorrows and condolences for the families of the victims and for the wounded. We wish a a speedy recovery for the latter.
Once again, the ugly face of terrorism has appeared to destroy the peaceful coexistence among people of different religions. Christians and Muslims in Alexandria and elsewhere are called again to cooperate closely to stand up against the acts of terrorism and to promote more and more dialogue among people of different faiths and religious freedom for everybody.
As Holy Father Benedict XVI has mentioned in his message for the World Day of Peace, the realization of religious freedom is an absolute path for Peace. In this regard, we join his following prayer from this message : “May all men and women, and societies at every level and in every part of the earth, soon be able to experience religious freedom, the path to peace!”
I would like remind again our next event at Istituto Tevere. Please find attached our first invitation of this year. We are very honored to have our first guest speaker His Excellency Tim Fischer, the Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See. The lecture will take place on Tuesday,11th of January at 18:30. You are kindly invited to RSVP. If you have already replied, please ignore this reminder.
With our best regards,
Mustafa Cenap Aydin
Project Coordinator
Fr Ray Blake on his blog carried newsthat in Egypt muslims offered themselves as human shields outside Coptic churches during orthodox Christmans ,and they stood shoulder to shoulder with Christians,as well as attendign the services
Yes, it isn’t all bleak – although it’s about as bleak as it can get. One has to ask why this stuff is happening now, when for centuries Christianity has cooexisted – not exactly in freedom but relatively peacefully – with the Muslim majority. Why have such attacks upon Christians escalated, as they undoubtedly have? Christians are today the most persecuted religious community on the planet.
Anyway, the stuff they are doing at the Gregorian and the Istituto Tevere is a good sign. This is largely with Turkish Muslims and is motivated by the teachings of Fetullah Gulen.
Terra has a link to the story of the Muslim support for Copts on her blog. Read it here: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/95/3365/Egypt/Attack-on-Egypt-Copts/Egypts-Muslims-attend-Coptic-Christmas-mass,-servi.aspx