Altwaijri praised the agreement as "the first of its kind to boost dialogue between Islam and Christianity."

By Subhi Mejahid, IOL Correspondent

CAIRO, July 17 (IslamOnline.net) – Muslim and Christian organizations signed here Friday, July 16, the first agreement entrenching dialogue between Islam and Christianity in the Arab world, crowning one year of marathon talks.

The landmark agreement was inked in one of Cairo ’s five-star hotels by President of the Jeddah-based International Islamic Forum for Dialogue Hamid Bin Ahmad Al-Rifaie and Secretary General of the Beirut-based Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Guirguis Ibrahim Saleh.

"The agreement expresses a common desire by the Islamic Forum and the Middle East Churches to unify their ranks and act in unison in defending common Arab issues," added Rifaie.

MECC President Riad Jarjour said, in a speech delivered on his behalf by Bishop Riad Saleh, that the agreement’s paramount goal was to make the Arab Christianity an integral part of the world Islamic-Christian dialogue.

"The agreement has brought together several Islamic and Christian groupings in the Arab world, emerging as the first of its kind to boost dialogue between Islam and Christianity," Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), told IslamOnline.net.

He denied that an American delegation has attended the signing ceremony or taken part in its formulation.

"The signatories inked the agreement out of their own volition as they share one history and destiny," Altwaijri added, rejecting claims that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which is currently on an official visit to Egypt , has pressured both sides to hammer out the document.

Altwaijri stressed that the agreement is by no means designed to redeem the image of religion but "to enhance bilateral cooperation in the face of the daunting challenges ahead".

He further ruled out the agreement would include a trilateral dialogue between Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Altwaijri asserted that the agreement would be expanded to include Jews in the Arab world "if the racist Israeli attacks against the Palestinians and Islam have ceased and Rabbis strongly condemned the crimes of the Israeli army."

Away From Religions

Chief among the ceremony attendees were Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayed Tantawi and Pope Shenouda III, Patriarch of Alexandria and Saint Mark Dioceses.

Sheikh Tantawi said any dialogue should steer clear of religions, otherwise it would be doomed.

"Dialogue helps us to get to know each other and speak our minds out to find solutions to our problems," said the Muslim scholar.

Pope Shenouda, for his part, agreed that any dialogue should not tackle religions, but rather focus on common grounds between Islam and Christianity.

The seven-point agreement calls for organizing an annual meeting to discuss issues of mutual concern and the Arab world’s burning issues.