YEREVAN, Armenia, SEPT. 26, 2001 (Zenit.org).- Following the attacks on the United States, Lutheran pastor and theologian Jurgen Moltmann proposed that a World Christian-Muslim Conference be held — and suggested that the Pope would be the right person to convoke it.
Moltmann, a professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen in Germany, knew the sufferings caused by the Nazi regime.
In an interview published today in the Italian newspaper Avvenire, Moltmann said the suffering caused by the Sept. 11 attacks might help to promote dialogue between the religions, «because both Christianity as well as Islam have sufficiently strong currents [willing] to continue on this path.»
«To date, the dialogue did not have a precise objective, and conferences succeeded one another; now, instead, the objective is to reach a peaceful agreement between Christians and Muslims in order to support peace between the two great religions,» Moltmann said.
The German theologian, born 1926, believes that it might be the Pope «who convokes Christian and Muslim leaders to a world congress in order to agree on a concrete step, in view of a new world policy.»
Moltmann thinks that such an initiative would help put an end to prejudices and point out to Muslims «that Christianity has another face.»
The Lutheran theologian said, «Terrorism must not be identified with the Muslim world, as it only affects a small part of it. We must help and support Muslims to defeat it from within. We, Christians, cannot do so from outside.»
Moltmann believes that, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, «a Christian must have a front-line commitment to public life. Globalization must not only mean the export of capitalism around the world.»
«We need a globalization of justice,» he added. «Peace will only exist in the world if it is based on justice.»
