WASHINGTON — Over 400 Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders from all over the world affirmed on Wednesday a new declaration calling for the global protection of religious minorities and marginalized communities.

The “Washington Declaration” was unveiled after two days of collaboration among hundreds of interfaith leaders who gathered for the three-day “Alliance of Virtue” conference organized by the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies and its leader, Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, a Saudi Arabian Islamic Studies professor.

The Washington Declaration states, inter-alia,

“Recognizing that our shared values are more important than our differences, and that we are strongest when we act together, we pledge to combine our best efforts to foster unity where there is discord, aid the impoverished, tend the vulnerable, heal the poor in spirit, and support measures that will ensure respect for the dignity of every human being”

Along with calling for unity and the promotion of religious freedom, the declaration calls for four courses of action.

First, it calls for the establishment of an “Alliance of Virtue” to implement the Washington Declaration. Second, it calls for the provision of over 1 billion meals to feed impoverished and underserved communities throughout the world.

Additionally, the declaration calls for a multi-religious body consisting of prominent religious figures to “support mediation and reconciliation.” Finally, the declaration calls for the creation of an interfaith committee to adopt the recommendations laid out in the declaration that “reflects the fullness of diversity in our communities and across the world.”

“All people, regardless of faith, are entitled to religious liberty,” … … “There is no room for compulsion in religion, just as there are no legitimate grounds for excluding the followers of any religion from full and fair participation in society. This principle is prominent in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and is intimately associated with the United States, where the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom preceded even the adoption of the federal Constitution.”

Members of the Washington Declaration’s steering committee include former U.S. ambassador at-large for international religious freedom Rabbi David Saperstein, evangelical Texas Pastor Bob Roberts, Imam Mohamed Magid of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Virginia, former archbishop of Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Mohamed Elsanousi of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.

As tens of thousands of people of all faiths are persecuted every year, the Washington Declaration builds upon the Marrakesh Declaration of January 2016. The declaration was signed by over 350 faith-leaders and called specifically for the protection of religious minorities in Muslim-majority nations.

“We believe that religious leaders have a special responsibility to ensure that the tenets and teachings of our faiths are not distorted for wrongful purposes and that, on the contrary, they provide a living example of God’s love at work in the world,” the Washington Declaration explains. “In light of that responsibility, we reject the polarization that leads to conflict and war. We are determined to deepen our solidarity and thereby ensure that religion is a force for reconciliation and harmony. We pledge to work across confessional divides in support of values that are central to each of our faith traditions, including peace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, justice, and truth.

Religions for Peace leaders, including among others H.E. Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al-Sammak. Sister Agatha O. Chikelue, H.E. Metropolitan Emmanuel, Dr. Deborah Fikes, Dr. Jakob Finci, Dr. Francis Kuria, Rabbi Sir David Rosen, Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, OBE, KSG, Bishop Gunnar Stalsett, Serigne Mansour Sy, Mr. Elias Szczytnicki, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Dr. William F. Vendley, and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf joined an alliance of virtue this week, lifting up the good work of the #peaceforum and affirming the #washingtondeclaration which calls all believers and people of good will to collaborate for the common good.

resource:

http://regionalinterfaith.org.au

WASHINGTON – Ahead of the annual National Prayer Breakfast, international religious leaders from across the theological and political spectrum will make a unified commitment to concrete actions calling for respect of Muslims in the United States and affirming the rights of religious minorities around the world, including Christians in Muslim countries.

More than 300 leaders, including evangelical Christian Pastor Bob Roberts of NorthWood Church in Texas, former U.S. ambassador Rabbi David Saperstein and Imam Mohamed Magid of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Virginia, will gather at the Washington Marriott Marquis, Feb. 5 -7, for the Alliance of Virtue conference to draft the “Washington Declaration.”

The declaration is expected to be signed in a ceremony at 9:30 am on Wednesday, Feb. 7 by a diverse group including Shia and Sunni, Evangelical and Jewish, Catholic and Mainline clergy and leaders from the United States, Europe and the Middle East.  A press conference with simultaneous translation will immediately follow.

The gathering leading up to the Washington Declaration is hosted by the Forum for Promoting Peace and H.E. Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah, the forum’s president, who will address the religious leaders.

“Like many evangelicals in America, I am very much concerned about my fellow Christians around the world and their ability to safely practice their faith. At the same time, what is often lost in conversations about global religious freedom is that concern for my fellow Christians abroad must extend to Muslims at home,” said Roberts, who, along with Magid and Saperstein, is a convener of the American Peace Caravan, an effort to build relationships and foster collaboration among leaders of the three major Abrahamic faiths. “We are our brother’s keeper and we are called to do unto others as we would have them do to us. It is in the spirit of this call that is critical for all Christians, including my fellow evangelicals, to build relationships with people of other faiths and support efforts like the Washington Declaration.”

United by the shared values of the Abrahamic faith traditions, conference organizers hope to empower clergy and religious leaders to mobilize their congregations to take concrete steps in support of religious minorities both in the United States and around the world.

Media are invited to cover the declaration signing and participate in the press conference on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. RSVP is requested. Please RSVP to Sarah Garfinkel 202-776-7700 or sarah@westendstrategy.com.  

The Washington Declaration builds on the Marrakesh Declaration, signed January 27, 2016, by more than 350 Muslim scholars and leaders from more than 60 counties in the Muslim and Arab world. The Marrakesh Declaration affirmed the rights of religious minorities in Muslim majority countries.

What? Signing of the Washington Declaration, a unified statement affirming the rights of religious minorities and calling for respect of Muslims in the United States
Who? More than 300 international and U.S. based leaders, including:

• Evangelical Christian Pastor Bob Roberts, founding pastor of the Northwood Church
• Rabbi David Saperstein, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom
• Imam Mohamed Magid, executive director of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society

Where? Washington Marriott Marquis, 901 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20001
When? Wednesday, February 7, 2018.  Signing ceremony at 9:30 a.m., followed by a press conference at 11:00 a.m.

The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and FCA Americas are partners in the event.