Christian, Muslim Leaders End Geneva Meetings; Agree to Form a Mobilized Joint Crisis Group

Global Christian and Muslim leaders -- meeting in Switzerland for the past four days -- have jointly called for the formation of a group which can be mobilized whenever a crisis threatens to arise in which Christians and Muslims find themselves in conflict, the Ecumenical News International website reports today (November 4, 2010).

In a closing statement from their November 1-4 meetings at Geneva's Ecumenical Center, the leaders of the two faiths said, "Religion is often invoked in conflict creation, even when other factors, such as unfair resources allocation, oppression, occupation, and injustice are the real roots of the conflict."

They also said, "The basis of our faiths, as expressed in the call to get to know each other and the two commandments to love God and to love the neighbor provide a solid ground for our common responsibility to act and address common concerns."

On November 3, the Christian-Muslim participants illustrated their joint effort for peace by issuing a statement in which they condemned an attack by an armed group on a Baghdad church in which 58 people were killed on October 31.