Feature: Religious leaders call for inter-religious talks to promote peace

Christian and Muslim leaders as well as researchers meeting in Dakar on Wednesday called for inter-religious dialogue to promote peace in the world.

Dr. Mahmoud Madani, a Qatari researcher, said "dialogue between religions should not be a problem because all religions have the same source."

"Koranic texts call for inter-religious dialogue and a peaceful world will not be obtained without respect for each other," he said.

Madani noted that in the Middle East, the Shiites and Sunnis were united but disagreements began between the two communities due to political interference.

"We must restore the foundations of religions, all of which recommend dialogue and tolerance among people of the same faith as well as those of a different faith," he concluded.

Speaking during the same conference, the Archbishop of Dakar Benjamin Ndiaye regretted that "there is deadly religious violence in the world, yet this religious diversity should be a source of wealth."

"World peace through peace between religions is possible but this will be achieved through education, justice and tolerance," he said, urging religious leaders to be "vectors of this dialogue."

"Fortunately, in Senegal there are no serious religious conflicts," he said, but warned that "there is need to address possible triggers before they are transformed into sources of religious violence."

"There are people who spread prejudice against other religions due to ignorance while others spread hate and verbal attacks against religious institutions," Ndiaye remarked.

El Hadji Moustapha Cisse, a muslim religious leader from western Senegal, said "Senegal was one of the best examples in peaceful coexistence between religions."

"It is a country with a 95 percent muslim population but whose first President, Leopold Sedar Senghor, was a Catholic," he recalled.

Penda Mbow, a lecturer at Cheick Anta Diop university in Dakar, observed that "problems between people belonging to the same religion have also become a major threat to peace in certain parts of the world like the Middle East."

Speaking of the divisions between the Shiites and the Sunnis who all claim to be muslims, Mbow said the divisions are as a result of "ignorance and manipulation of Islam."

In this regard, she recommended holding of "dialogue within each religion, before talking about inter-religious dialogue."

The Dakar conference was opened on Tuesday by Senegalese President Macky Sall under the theme "Contribution of Islam to Sustainable World Peace."

Sall ruled out the possibility of holding dialogue with terrorists who do not spare any one and who do not belong to any religion because Islam is a religion of peace. Endit