By Pat and Samir Twair On July 16th, five days into Israel's blitz on Lebanon, the Interfaith Community United for Justice and Peace convened a meeting of Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Islamic Center of Southern California. Speakers were Rev. Dr. George Regas, Rabbi Leonard Beerman and Dr. Maher Hathout. "We must speak out against violence," Rev. Regas, retired rector of All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena, told the audience of 250 concerned citizens. While denouncing the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah, the cleric called on Israel to cease its greatly overproportional actions in Lebanon and Gaza.

The November 27th kidnapping of four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)-Tom Fox (54), of the United States, Norman Kember (74) of Great Britain, and James Lonely (41) and Hameet Singh Sooden (32) of Canada-who were working in Iraq in solidarity with the Iraqi people is another sad reminder of the danger facing the Muslim and Arab world if we continue to tolerate those "elements" or forces of darkness who operate from within.

by Mohammed Abu-Nimer

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinijad comment that Israel should be "wiped off the map" has given momentum to militarization rather than to peace. The statement lacks a strategic vision that would address both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of Israel within the greater Middle East.

by Walid Salem

As a Muslim citizen of Mauritius it has always been an enriching experience to either be the host of or be hosted by non-Muslims. Never has the need been so great for creating better understanding and respect between followers of different religions. In fact, our survival depends on it.

by Nina Gopaul

by Charles Strohmer

Most Muslim leaders in England responded to the terrorist bombings in London with unequivocal condemnation. Yet the Muslim community in England and elsewhere is pulled in conflicting directions. On one side are street activists preaching literal adherence to the Qur'an, shariah and hadiths, and calling for separation from, if not overthrow of, the West. On the other side are those who want to reform Islam.

Although Muslim reform may seem like an oxymoron to those who see Islam only through the lens of graphic violence, Muslim reformers have been in the sights of jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda for years. Their increasingly bold public stance has made them the natural enemy of those who seek to squeeze followers of Islam into a tight-fisted sectarianism at war with the entire infidel world.

At the start of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Islamic scholars Iyad Jamaleddine (an Iraqi Shi'ite) and Hossein al-Khomeini (a grandson of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini) lived under the protection of U.S. troops in a Baghdad mansion because of death threats from Muslim extremists. Their crime? They see true Islam as a flexible, nondogmatic religion that is adaptable to the modern world with all of its plurality, and they call for the separation of mosque and state.

by Daniel Ben-Simon

A few minutes before Europe observed three minutes of silence on Wednesday January 9th in memory of the tsunami victims, Jewish and Muslim clergy who had convened at Egmont Palace decided to join them. Two days earlier, the clergy had come together to seek means of greater involvement for religion in quietening the bloody Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At exactly noon, all the participants got to their feet around the tables in the magnificent conference hall. Rabbis and imams, along with several Christian clerics, stood side by side and bowed their heads in utter silence.

Suddenly, Rabbi Shlomo Chelouche, the chief rabbi of Haifa, recited a short prayer for the victims. When he finished, all those present said "amen."

Then Zimer Omar Farouk Turan, the former mufti of Istanbul, recited verses from the Koran. No sooner did he finish than Rabbi Yosef Azran, chief rabbi of Rishon Letzion, chanted a psalm, his voice choked with tears. When the moments of silence were over, the hundreds of clergy in the room remained standing. Some wiped away a tear.