VOA常速英语2007年-Muslim Scholars Seek Reconciliation with Christ

By Priscilla Huff
Washington, D.C.
23 November 2007
 

It is called A Common Word Between Us and You. It is a letter, signed last month by 138 Muslim scholars from around the world and addressed to Pope Benedict and other Christian¹ leaders. It stresses the importance of finding common ground between the two faiths. Priscilla Huff reports.

From Friday prayers in a mosque² in Iran to Sunday services in a church in middle America, different days and places of worship divide Islamic and Christian believers.

Conflict between Islam and Christianity has existed for centuries.

And the al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, and the U.S.-led response in Afghanistan and Iraq have strained relations even more. Now, representatives from Islam are hoping a piece of paper can begin to resolve the differences.

Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America explains the genesis of the letter.  "The letter begins with a verse from the Koran. It says, go ahead and invite your brothers and sisters from the people of the book, that is, the Jews and Christians³, and emphasize – unite – on your common word."

The letter emphasizes what Islam and Christianity have in common -- belief in only one God, love of one's neighbor.

"This gives hope, actually, because when you hear everyday, the news of death and destruction in the name of religion, then people become so disappointed, so dismayed,” he says. “They wonder if there is going to be an end to this kind of tragedies, this kind of demonizing of religion."

The Episcopal Bishop⁴ of Washington, John Bryson Chane, says finding common ground is critical at a time when the world is at risk.

"I think we're looking at core teachings from these three great Abrahamic traditions that have been quite silent on these issues but are now starting to emerge, based on the fact that anybody can push a button and destroy a whole population, or for that matter the global community in a matter of minutes. I mean, that's not good Christian stewardship⁵, that's not good Islamic stewardship, it's not good Jewish stewardship."

Bishop Chane says the issues facing the world are too complex for everyday politics –

from Pakistan's political crisis, to Iran's pursuit of nuclear development, to the debate in the American presidential campaign about the armed conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Politicians and diplomacy⁶ have been divisive and are clearly not capable of handling the complexities⁷ that are now part of the unrest and the violence that is very much part of the Middle East and other parts of the world. Therefore one needs to take a look at the role of religion, its part in being a player in these negotiations," says the bishop.

Many within academic and religious circles are counting on the document to initiate⁸ a dialogue between Islam and Christianity.

John Esposito is a professor of religion at Georgetown University. He told us, "This is an initiative that I think has some traction⁹. And I know, there's a desire on the part of a critical mass of Muslims who want to move forward, but to be quite frank, I'm concerned about the Christian leadership, and it's how the Christian leadership responds that will affect how this moves forward."

Together, Christians and Muslims make up more than half of the world's population. The authors of A Common Word say they fear if these two religious communities cannot be at peace, the world cannot be at peace.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

5 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

8 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

9 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。