Your Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Emir of the God protected Emirate of Bahrain,
Respected members of the cabinet,
Your Eminence Metropolitan of Baghdad and Kuwait, Konstantine,
Esteemed participants of this gathering,
We thank God from the depths of our heart because He has granted us the opportunity of this encounter.
We greet you with the salutation of peace and love from our position as the rightful head of the Orthodox Christian Church in Constantinople, as well as that of the first Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, but also from a personal point of view.
We wholeheartedly thank Your Highness, the Emir of Bahrain, for the invitation to visit the historic and progressive Emirate of Bahrain. Indeed this visit gives us great joy since we now have the opportunity to communicate with You in a personal way.
Furthermore, we express our joy because we find ourselves in the midst of many good and faithful friends here in the blessed Emirate of Bahrain.
Indeed, the progress and prosperity seen in this hospitable land creates a most pleasant surprise for the visitor. These feelings were also experienced by us. It would seem that these signs of prosperity are the result of a creative and proactive government with policies that benefit the people of Bahrain, who are blessed by God, without Whom nothing can succeed.
Of course, this is not the first time that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is conducting a dialogue with our beloved Muslim brothers. As is known, the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located in Turkey, a country predominantly Muslim, but with policies strongly rooted in neutrality and tolerance towards other religions. Furthermore, with the cooperation of notable Muslim organizations, we have organized many academic encounters between Christians and Muslims. For example, the well known symposium called the Academic Exchange between Christians and Muslims, co-sponsored by the Royal Academy of Jordan (Al-Abbait Foundation) and the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambessy, Switzerland, has become an institution with great success. In fact, this symposium has been successfully organized nine times thus far, with the participation of important personalities from both sides, and discussions of a high calibre on subjects of common interest. It is our joy to present to you the co-chairman on our side of these academic exchanges, His Eminence Professor Dr. Damaskinos Papandreou, Metropolitan of Switzerland, who is present here today as a member of our entourage.
Moreover, we have supported in the past and the present every effort for a peaceful dialogue between the followers of both faiths. In order to contribute as much as possible to reconciliation and peace among peoples internationally, we have travelled to various parts of the world. We have also given witness to our conviction that peaceful coexistence and cooperation between Christians and Muslims is both desirable and pleasing to God.
We say that this is pleasing to God, because according to both the Gospel, referred to by the Koran as a luminous book (Chap. III, no. 181), and the Koran itself, “peace is a great good” (Chap. IV, no. 127). According to the Gospel account, when Jesus Christ was born, the angels proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men” (Luke 2:14). Jesus Christ also blessed the peacemakers (Mt. 5:9) and often addressed a greeting of peace to His disciples. This same greeting is customary to this very day among the peoples of that region.
It is true that during the long history of coexistence of Christians and Muslims, especially in the land of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, there have been periods of tension and clashes, despite the references of both the Gospel and the Koran regarding peace. This, however, was due mainly to human weakness and not to God’s approval of war as an acceptable condition, for even when God tolerates war, this is done to enforce justice and peace, and not because the condition of war is pleasing to God.
In any event, we believe and have proclaimed during the Inter-religious Conference of the Bosphorus, that war carried on in the name of religion is war against religion because God is benevolent and merciful and does not delight in bloodshed. Although there are situations when war may be unavoidable, the truth is clearly taught in both the Gospel and the Koran that God enjoins peace. For example, it is written in the Koran that “he who murders one who has not murdered or destroyed, is a murderer of the human race” (Chap. V, no. 35). Elsewhere it is written: “Blessed are the peacemakers, because they shall be called the sons of God.” (Mt. 5:9).
All good deeds of humanity succeed during periods of peace, while many disasters occur during periods of war.
In view of all the above, it becomes clear that God is pleased by reconciliation, mutual understanding, and peaceful cooperation.
But this presupposes a mutual goodwill which is dictated by both the Gospel through the commandment of love, as well as by the Koran through the commandment of doing good deeds. Indeed, the Koran proclaims that “Christians are those most disposed to love the faithful; and this is because there are among them priests and monks, and because they are not proud” (Chap. V, no. 85). Certainly, this does not pertain to all those bearing the name Christian, but only to those pious Christians who follow the commandments of God. Elsewhere we read in the Koran: “All the followers of the scriptures do not share the same qualities; some have pure hearts” (Chap. III, no. 109). And further, “There are among the People of the Book, some who can be entrusted with a talent (kintar) which they will return to you intact; there are others who, however, if they are not forced to do so, they will not return to you even the deposit of one dinar” (Chap. III, no. 68).
Those who are Christians only in name the Koran repeatedly castigates for their callousness, injustice, and irresponsibility. Due to their inability to follow the commandments of God, they have proven to be much more cruel and unjust against their own fellow Christians, forcing the latter to seek the protection of the Muslims. This indicates that the content of the faith is not judged by the behavior of those who are faithful in name only, either Christians and Muslims, but by the teachings of the faith, and by its authentic application by those who fear and love God.
As the first among equal hierarchs of the Orthodox Church, we believe, as it is also found in the Koran, that “religion is not imposed” (Chap. II, no. 257), but depends upon the free will of the human being. We respect an individual’s choice with regard to his or her faith, and we do not proselytize anyone, nor do we participate in dialogues between Christians and our brother Muslims in order to convince them to accept our own faith. After all, there is no such intention directed towards us by the Muslim participants in these dialogues.
We conduct these dialogues in order for it to become more widely understood that it is not religious differences which create conflicts among humanity. If indeed the cause of human conflict was due to the differences between religions, then there should not be any conflict among the faithful of the same religion. However, there are plenty of conflicts and wars even among faithful of the same religion. At times, misinterpretations of the Holy Scriptures of a religion have been created in order to justify human pursuits and in order to attract the faithful to the support of a particular leader. However, the individual who respects God should be careful that he is not fooled, but remains steadfast in virtue, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion.
We express our joy and satisfaction that among Muslim people non-fanatical views and especially the principle of consent prevail, the latter being the means through which freedom of religious conscience becomes respected. Of course, we recognize that among both Christian denominations, as well as among Muslims of all persuasions, there are minorities which espouse different views. But we do not give up hope that the evangelical gospel of consent, reconciliation, and peaceful cooperation will prevail. For this is what the Apostle Paul refers to when he writes, “If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). The equivalent invitation is found in the Koran, “O you people of the Book! Let us unite our efforts in the principle which is common to all of us: that we will not worship anyone except God.” This gospel of consent, reconciliation, and peaceful cooperation, if accepted by all, will lead to the consolidation of peace and the prosperity of all people, so that each one can worship the One God as he wishes and, together, be able to cooperate for the common good.
As far as we Orthodox Christians are concerned who have lived for centuries in the same land with our brother Muslims, we are possessed by this disposition. Especially and personally, we, as the First bishop of the Orthodox Church, continue to work for the prevailing of this spirit which is shared also by the pious Christians of other churches. Related to this was the signing of an Ecumenical Charter by the various Christian denominations of Europe, which includes the following in its ninth clause:
“We support inter-religious dialogue in order to encourage a closer cooperation among all the people of Europe (we add ‘and all the world’). Especially, we feel the existence of a special relationship between us and the people of the Old Testament. For this reason, we support the dialogue between Judaism, as well as with Islam and other religions within a spirit of respect and esteem, and we put forth efforts towards mutual understanding.
We promise:
— to recognize and protect the freedom of conscience and religion
for all of humanity;
— to recognize the right of every person to seek the truth and
project that truth according to his or her conscience;
— to propose, encourage, and support meetings, discussions,
and communications among communities which have different
views about religion and the world.”
Seeing these things in this spirit, we separate religion from politics, and we seek to inspire in those politicians found in every religion a divine, merciful, and charitable disposition towards all humanity. If such a spirit exists within us, the unavoidably emerging differences among people will be easily resolved.
We express once again our thanks for your kindness and for honoring us with your presence here today. We beseech God to bless all of you, and to show us all the road towards peace to which He invites us. Amen
