British Muslims should speak up for Christians says Cardinal
-16/05/06
ìWhere Christia
British Muslims should speak up for Christians says Cardinal
-16/05/06
ìWhere Christians are being denied their rights, or are subject to sharia law, that is not a matter on which Muslims in Britain should remain silent,î the Archbishop of Westminster has said.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-OíConnorís remarks came in a speech at Oxford on Tuesday night during which he made the case for a close, respectful dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
ìWhere religious rights of minorities are disrespected in the name of Islam, the face of Islam is tarnished elsewhere in the worldî he said in a lecture given at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
The ‘main obstacle’ to Christian-Muslim dialogue, the Cardinal said, was the failure, “in a number of Muslim countries, to uphold the principle of religious freedom.”
“If we do not enjoy the freedom to practise our religion openly and without fear, then we cannot be honest; a defensive mentality is created, in which people treat their different religions as clubs ñ the only places where they can relax and be themselves. Dialogue assumes the freedom to witness. It is essential that Muslims can freely worship in Oxford or London, just as it is essential that Christians can freely worship in Riyadh or Kabul” he said.
“When Pope John Paul II spoke at the opening of the mosque in Rome in 1995, he called it an ‘eloquent sign of the religious freedom recognised here for every believer'” the Cardinal continued.
ìIt is unfortunately necessary to point out,î he went on, ìthat in some Islamic countries similar signs of the recognition of religious freedom are lacking. And yet the world, on the threshold of the third millennium, is waiting for those signs Ö While I am pleased that Muslims can gather in prayer at the new Roman mosque, I earnestly hope that the rights of Christians and of all believers freely to express their own faith will be recognised in every corner of the earth.î
“This is a vital principle of sacred hospitality, and it is vital for the relationship between Christians and Muslims. Where Christians are being denied their rights, or are subject to sharia law, that is not a matter on which Muslims in Britain should remain silent. Where religious rights of minorities are disrespected in the name of Islam, the face of Islam is tarnished elsewhere in the world.”
British Muslims should speak up for Christians says Cardinal
-16/05/06
ìWhere Christians are being denied their rights, or are subject to sharia law, that is not a matter on which Muslims in Britain should remain silent,î the Archbishop of Westminster has said.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-OíConnorís remarks came in a speech at Oxford on Tuesday night during which he made the case for a close, respectful dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
ìWhere religious rights of minorities are disrespected in the name of Islam, the face of Islam is tarnished elsewhere in the worldî he said in a lecture given at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
The ‘main obstacle’ to Christian-Muslim dialogue, the Cardinal said, was the failure, “in a number of Muslim countries, to uphold the principle of religious freedom.”
“If we do not enjoy the freedom to practise our religion openly and without fear, then we cannot be honest; a defensive mentality is created, in which people treat their different religions as clubs ñ the only places where they can relax and be themselves. Dialogue assumes the freedom to witness. It is essential that Muslims can freely worship in Oxford or London, just as it is essential that Christians can freely worship in Riyadh or Kabul” he said.
“When Pope John Paul II spoke at the opening of the mosque in Rome in 1995, he called it an ‘eloquent sign of the religious freedom recognised here for every believer'” the Cardinal continued.
ìIt is unfortunately necessary to point out,î he went on, ìthat in some Islamic countries similar signs of the recognition of religious freedom are lacking. And yet the world, on the threshold of the third millennium, is waiting for those signs Ö While I am pleased that Muslims can gather in prayer at the new Roman mosque, I earnestly hope that the rights of Christians and of all believers freely to express their own faith will be recognised in every corner of the earth.î
“This is a vital principle of sacred hospitality, and it is vital for the relationship between Christians and Muslims. Where Christians are being denied their rights, or are subject to sharia law, that is not a matter on which Muslims in Britain should remain silent. Where religious rights of minorities are disrespected in the name of Islam, the face of Islam is tarnished elsewhere in the world.”