A Common Word

In late 2007 Muslim leaders from around the world together issued in the pages of The New York Times an open letter to Christian leaders inviting cooperation as a step toward peace. That letter, "A Common Word between Us and You," acknowledged real differences between the two faiths but nonetheless contended that "righteousness and good works" should be the only areas in which they compete. The 138 signatories included over a dozen grand muftis, an ayatollah, and a Jordanian prince, and the document was widely considered a groundbreaking step toward reconciliation between Islam and Christianity - two major religions with a great deal in common.

Miroslav Volf is Director of the Yale Center for Faith Culture and Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School. H.R.H. Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad bin Talal is the principal drafter and political force behind the original open letter. He is the Personal Envoy and Special Advisor to H.M. King Abdullah II and Chairman of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan. Melissa Yarrington is Research Fellow for Muslim-Christian Relations at the Yale Center for Faith Culture's Reconciliation Program.