Final Message

The Conference of European Churches (KEK) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE) invited Christians and Muslims involved in interreligious encounters to meet in Sarajevo, a city which is highly symbolic of religious and cultural exchanges. In the present new multiethnic and multireligious stage in the history of Europe, Muslims and Christians from 26 countries spent three days sharing their concerns in three specific areas:

• the challenges of living together in a largely secular and plural society;

• healing the wounds of Christian and Muslim memories so that we can commit ourselves to justice and peace for all:

• shared values through which our communities can contribute actively to constructing a better society.

Considering our gathering as a gift of God, we have shared our convictions and hopes, for we are aware of the responsibilites of religious communities in shaping the future of Europe.

Together, we wish to contribute to a dynamic identity of our continent, and we advocate a religious attitude which will

• lead us to take courageous actions in favour of human life, freedom, religion, property, dignity and justice;

• give to us and to our faith communities a clear awareness of our common humanity making us brothers and sisters beyond our different religious and social commitments;

• refuse the justification of violence in the name of religion.

Our commitment to dialogue leads us to make the following recommendations:

• to bring up young people to know and to respect each other's faith and community through educational programmes, and to promote religious education in public schools with interreligious courses;

• to support interreligious groups at grassroots level among lay people with a view to becoming aware of all trends which go against cooperation;

• to encourage priests, pastors, theologians, imams and Islamic leaders, and laypeople to undertake dialogue and interreligious encounter through exchanges between Christian and Muslim faculties and seminaries;

• to maintain or establish in each European country institutions with the aim of interreligious dialogue to serve ethical, social and political values in our societies;

• to continue our efforts in developing an awareness of our common values.

In the light of the developing dimensions of the terrorist attack in the USA, we feel the need to reiterate our earlier statement:

We are deeply shocked by the tragic massacres in New York & Washington D. C., and we express our deep pain and sorrow for the thousands of victims killed and injured, and we share the suffering of their families and friends. We unanimously condemn this act of violence, as well as any other destruction of human life as a violation of God's will and a sin against humanity. Recognising the potential for violence that resides in all of us, we pray that this senseless deed may not provoke indiscriminate retaliation. We commit ourselves, in the spirit of this conference, to be instruments of dialogue, to contribute to building justice and peace, and to work for reconciliation in our societies.

Sarajevo, 15/9/01