JIHAD REDEFINED AT MULTI-FAITH TALKS -08/09/06

Ekklesia, UK
Sept 8 2006

The idea of ‘jihad’ has been publicly redefined and reinterpreted
according by a Syrian Islamic leader.

The suggestion came during a four day visit to the republic of Armenia
by Sheikh Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassuni.

The Sheikh, invited by the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Catholicos Garegin II for inter faith talks, suggested that far from
being a justification for violence and killings in the name of Allah
it was better interpreted as a means to ‘enjoy the blessings of life
and not to be killed’, reports the news agency Panorama.am.

Sheikh Hassuni has often criticised Muslims for their closed minds
to Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism.

Armenian Archbishop Petrosyan suggested that through his visit the
Sheikh was opening a door to the Islamic world and attempting to
create bridges between Islam and Christianity.

The head of the Armenian Church, Garegin II, further suggested that
such cooperation between Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders could
help the peaceful development of relations between the countries of
the world, noting the benefits of establishing greater links between
the Armenian Apostolic Church and Islamic clergy in Syria.

Sheikh Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassuni echoed his sentiments, and stressed
the importance of his visit in the current political climate and
amidst suggestions of a "clash of civilisations."

"Cooperation between the two religions must oppose aggression and
confrontation both in the Caucasus and in the Near East" the Sheikh
said, according to the ARKRA.am news agency. But this was not just
a significant point for world peace but also for Armenia as well as
its church.

Armenia was the first nation to accept Christianity as its official
religion, Christianized by Tiridates III 36 years before Constantine
was baptised.

Today Armenia is constitutionally a secular state, although the
Apostolic Church still plays a prominent role in national identity
and culture.

This recent dialogue between the Armenian Church and a representative
of the Muslim world is being seen as a move away from the
confrontational history that Armenia has had with its Islamic
neighbours, including the ‘genocide’ attributed to Turkey and the
recent war with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh.