US embassy cable - 05AMMAN9040

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009040 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL, KIRF, PREL, PHUM, KPAO, JO 
SUBJECT: "AMMAN MESSAGE" INTERFAITH IFTAR PROMOTES 
COEXISTENCE AND UNDERSTANDING 
 
REF: 04 AMMAN 9152 
 
1.  Summary.  The Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research 
Center (JICRC) hosted an interfaith conference on October 31 
in Amman.  With post financial help, the conference brought 
together representatives of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism 
from the U.S. and the Middle East to discuss moderation in 
religion - the theme of King Abdullah's "Amman Message" - 
which was launched one year earlier.  Following three panel 
discussions, the event concluded with an Iftar and final 
statement.  End Summary. 
 
2.  Just over one year ago, on November 9, 2004 during 
Ramadan, King Abdullah announced the "Amman Message" 
(reftel), a declaration issued by Jordan's leading Muslim 
cleric, and Advisor to the Royal Court Sheikh Izzedine 
Tamimi, that called on all Muslims to embrace moderation and 
tolerance, and to denounce extremism and terrorism.  To mark 
the first anniversary of the Amman Message, the JICRC sought 
to expand its endorsement of non-violence and moderation to 
all three principal monotheistic faiths.  To achieve this 
goal, the JICRC organized a conference - partially funded 
through post's Public Affairs PASA funds - entitled "The 
Amman Message in Action" that brought together Christian, 
Muslim, and Jewish leaders from the U.S., Jordan, Israel, 
Syria, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to discuss the concepts of 
coexistence and tolerance as they apply universally to all 
faiths, and singularly to each. 
 
3.  The conference consisted of panel-led discussions on the 
following subjects: Perspectives of the Amman Message from 
the Muslim World; Interfaith Interpretations of the Amman 
Message; and The Amman Message - A Global Call for 
Coexistence.  Following the final panel of speakers, JICRC 
executive director and conference host Father Nabil Haddad - 
head of the Melkite Church in Jordan - presented the 
conference's final statement, an interfaith endorsement of 
the Amman Message.  NOTE: The complete text of the final 
statement is contained in paragraph 5 below.  END NOTE.  At 
the conclusion of this presentation, the conference 
participants and guests shared an Iftar banquet to break that 
day's Ramadan fasting. 
 
4.  Reactions to the panelists and to the discussions that 
followed were generally positive.  While much work lies ahead 
on the road toward full acceptance of differing views and 
perspectives, the conference succeeded in bringing together 
scholars and clerics who otherwise would not have had the 
chance to meet and discuss the shared values of their 
respective faiths.  At the presentation of the conference 
statement, one panelist remarked, and several in the audience 
echoed, that action must follow the conference to achieve its 
message. 
 
5.  Following is the complete text of the conference 
statement, titled the "Amman Message Interfaith Declaration": 
 
We, participants from the three monotheistic faiths, have met 
in Amman in the Holy Month of Ramadan of the year 2005 in 
order to commemorate and reiterate the principles embodied in 
the Amman Message in the year 2004, under the auspices and 
support of His Majesty King Abdullah II, who has also so 
kindly honored all of us by patronizing our auspicious 
gathering. 
 
The Amman Message, as all of us gathered in this 
international, interfaith conference have made clear, 
epitomizes, embraces, and asserts the fundamental and noble 
principles of all faiths. The Amman Message is a message of 
coexistence, diversity, and peace. It privileges tolerance, 
cooperation, and understanding at the local, regional, and 
global levels. 
 
The significance of the Amman Message, which seeks to restate 
and underscore the fundamentals of the message of Islam 
itself, stems essentially from two dimensions. First, it 
underlines the everlasting truth, relevance and role of Islam 
as a religion of moderation and peace, and as a religion 
which rejects and condemns all acts of chauvinism, bigotry, 
extremism, violence, terror, injustice, and terrorism. 
 
Secondly, the Amman Message stresses the universality of the 
Islamic message as well as its affinities with and 
confirmation of the messages of Judaism and Christianity, 
religions of the People of the Book, that are united with the 
Muslim world community in their affirmation, recognition, and 
respect of dialogue, common understanding, the right to life, 
liberty, prosperity, and peace to all inhabitants of this 
small globe. The three monotheistic religions recognize 
differences as healthy, capitalize on similarities, and 
emphasize and uphold righteousness 
 
Furthermore, they all espouse the notion of a faith founded 
on knowledge and denounce ignorance or misinterpretation of 
faiths for narcissistic, solipsistic, and extremist purposes. 
Inspired by the values of our religions, and of the Amman 
Message, we pledge our support of the principles of the Amman 
Message, and to reciprocate its principles and vow to work 
actively together for the sake of mutual, interfaith and 
global understanding, respect, and peace. 
 
The Amman Message is the Message of all of us.  END TEXT. 
HALE