Muslim, Jewish Open Congress To Talk Peace

The Associated Press

March 20, 2006

Muslim and Jewish Open Congress to Meet Face-To-Face, Discuss How to Work Toward Peace

By DANIEL WOOLLS

SEVILLE, Spain - Muslim and Jewish leaders meeting in a rare face-to-face forum appealed Sunday to their faithful not to view each other as enemies and keep religion from being hijacked by extremists.

"We have more common elements than elements which pull us apart," the chief rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, said as a four-day congress of imams and rabbis opened in this southern Spanish city. "We have to continue to prove that Jews and Muslims are not enemies."

The meeting, called the Second World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace, is being sponsored by Hommes de Parole, a peace foundation based in Paris.

Organizers say it is bringing together more than 150 representatives from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United States and is the world's only formal mechanism for debate between Muslim and Jewish leaders.

Seville was chosen to host the meeting because of its rich symbolism as one of the Spanish cities where Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in harmony under Moorish rule that began in the 8th century and lasted more than 700 years.

The first version of the congress was held last year in Brussels and since then "things have not gone in the right direction," said Andre Azoulay, a Moroccan Jew who is an adviser to King Mohammed VI, apparently alluding to Muslim extremism.

More: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1744601