Muslim and Christian Women to Explore Religious Contributions to Peace
Some twenty Christian and Muslim women will meet 4-7 September in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of a dialogue process labelled “Moving towards peace through religion”. Hosted by the Diocese of Gothenburg of the Church of Sweden, the meeting follows one held last year in Teheran. The initiative is co-organized by the Iranian Institute for Interreligious Dialogue (IID) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
World Council of Churches
Some twenty Christian and Muslim women will meet 4-7 September in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of a dialogue process labelled “Moving towards peace through religion”. Hosted by the Diocese of Gothenburg of the Church of Sweden, the meeting follows one held last year in Teheran. The initiative is co-organized by the Iranian Institute for Interreligious Dialogue (IID) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
“Christian and Muslim women are peacemakers in many ways, be it at the global level, in society and in the community,” says Rima Barsoum, WCC programme executive for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. “This encounter aims to take the existing dialogue between Christian and Muslim women one step further.”
Bringing contributions from diverse backgrounds including the arts, media, education and theology, participants will wrestle, in critical solidarity with tradition, with issues pertinent to a just society of women and men. In order to ensure a constructive role of religion in our societies, the role of women is put up for discussion.
The meeting contributes to the Decade to Overcome Violence 2001-2010, a WCC initiative that promotes peace and non-violent ways of living together.
More information on WCC work on strengthening inter-religious trust and respect:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3143
Decade to Overcome Violence:
http://overcomingviolence.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.