"This meeting seemed utopian last year, but you see, it became reality," Grand Rabbi Rene-Samuel Sirat gently explained to a cynical press corps.
Speaking at a news conference held Wednesday in Paris with Sheikh Tarek Oubrou, Sirat gave a presentation on the first World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace, to be held in Ifrane, Morocco, under the auspices of King Mohammed the VI.
The congress, which will take place at the end of May for four days, is an ambitious project directed by Alain Michel, founder of "Hommes de Parole" (Men of their Word). His organization provides room for dialogue where there is hostility, endeavoring to make the international public more aware of the need for open-mindedness in conflict situations.
Despite the project seeming fanciful given the present climate in Israel and the Occupied Territories, "Hommes de Parole" managed to secure the attendance of 100 imams and rabbis from around the world, including Kadi Ahmed Natur, president of the High Muslim Court of Appeals in Jerusalem, Rabbi Bakshi Doron, former chief rabbi of Israel, and Sheikh Fawzi al-Zafzaf of Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Imams and rabbis from South Africa, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Kenya, many of whom were at first reluctant to attend, are now jostling for places at the congress where they will find themselves participating in roundtables and workshops on the themes of tolerance, reconciliation and peace.
Michel tried to get religious leaders to come from the same cities, so that the dialogue he hopes will get started in Morocco can continue at home as well.
"Religious leaders have the power to begin wars, they also have the power to initiate peace," said Alain Michel. "Via this congress, our foundation aims to give Jewish and Muslim leaders the possibility to express a position of unity to the world. We think it's a way to allow people to finally consider a different future. It's time to condemn religious extremists."
The idea for the congress came from another "Hommes de Parole" event held in Switzerland last summer. Far from media scrutiny and other pressures, some 40 Israeli and Palestinian academics, scientists, social workers, politicians and religious leaders met to discuss the possibility of a "culture of peace."
The closed door discussions allowed for greater freedom of expression, which lead to several astonishing statements including a true cri de coeur by Hassan al-Balawi, an officer in Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Protocol Department and a journalist with Palestinian television.
"It is very difficult to get into a process of peace, because this causes us to raise questions: How can I shake the hand of a state representative who has killed my father, occupied my people and my country, who has destroyed my houses, who prevents me from going out and ensures that over 3 million Palestinians are cooped up in a vast prison? This is a highly violent internal process. But we know that to bring peace, we need courage. ... I would like to say something to you that may shock you. With you as witnesses, I am going to renounce my Palestinians; I am no longer a Palestinian. I do not want a Palestinian State. I want Israel to annex the West Bank and to annex Gaza. If need be, the state can be called Israel - on one condition: that every citizen should have the same rights. The right to return home, the right to live, the right to build. That all be on an equal footing."
Michel is perfectly aware of the enormity of the problems the participants in the congress will be discussing. "We can't know what the outcome will be. It's too early to begin talking about success. But religious leaders wield power where politicians don't any more," he says.
"An American historian said the 21st century will be fundamentally, furiously religious," Oubrou said. "We need to manage this return of religion and cultivate tolerance similar to the Andalusian tradition. In the Middle Ages there was much more contact between the various religions."
The subject of education will be highlighted at the congress, with the participation of 50 teenagers from Israel, Palestine and French inner cities where racial violence is a daily reality. The children will participate in workshops and hopefully become "ambassadors for peace" back in their schools and neighborhoods.
Both Sirat and Oubrou agree that ignorance is a true obstacle to peace and that it is essential to study other religions in order not to fear or become isolated from others.
"Given the absolute despair in the world today we need to have our voices heard," Sirat said. "There is no holy war. There is only holy peace."
The First World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace will be held from May 31 until June 3, 2004 in Ifrane, Morocco.