PAUL MILLER: At a memorial at the Auschwitz death camp, prayers for Jewish Holocaust victims were said by rabbis, as well as by Christians and Muslims.They had come to this infamous example of genocide to look for ways to work together to promote the peace their faiths espouse.
Cardinal WILLIAM KEELER (Archdiocese of Baltimore): Each religion takes seriously, according to its own teachings and great teachers, promoting values of peace and fights -- I can use that word here -- fights against violence.
MILLER: But the world is filled with examples of violence committed in the name of God, from Muslim fundamentalist suicide bombers in Israel to sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. The conferees say it is really political violence, and that those responsible for it use religion as a way of dividing people. Religious leaders propose overcoming the divisions, both by working together and by emphasizing common values.Imam W. D. MUHAMMED (Muslim American Society): I go back as a leader to my community, and I take the best perception of faith and obedience to God. Obedience to God is the answer for all of us.
MILLER: There is little expectation of a quick fix for a problem that is almost as old as religion itself.
MILLER: Relating to others, even other members of the clergy, requires sensitivity. After one rabbi objected to speaking in the shadow of a cross, the room was rearranged. His objection echoed larger Jewish concerns about a cross the Catholic Church placed just outside the concentration camp. They say it belittles the memory of the camp's Jewish victims. Choosing Auschwitz as the conference site seemed to have the desired effect of reminding people of the need to speak out against violence. It had an additional effect on some Muslim delegates, who said they were touched by the evidence of Jewish suffering. And that may lead to progress in what was identified as the most difficult of interfaith dialogues between Muslims and Jews.
Rabbi SHLOMO RISKIN (Efrat Settlement, West Bank): We will reset the stage for a meeting such as this, especially between the Jews and the Muslims within Jerusalem, so that hopefully there will be very strong echoes of what's happening here.
