BWA Responds to Letter from Muslim Leaders

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

January 5, 2009

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has issued a formal response to “A Common Word Between Us and You,” a letter written by 138 Muslim leaders and scholars that appealed for Christians and Muslims to cooperate in engendering peace and religious freedom.

In preparation of the formal response, BWA General Secretary Neville Callam sought comments from Baptist scholars and leaders, including those living in countries with a Muslim majority, regarding how the BWA might respond to the letter.

The comments received were made available to Paul Fiddes of England , Chair of the BWA Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation, and Regina Claas of Germany, Chair of the BWA Commission on Freedom and Justice, who were invited to lead a forum at the BWA Annual Gathering in Prague , Czech Republic , in July 2008. At the forum, participants considered the issues raised by the Muslim letter and made contributions to the BWA formal response.

Armed with the insights gained from the solicited comments and the forum, Fiddes, Claas and a team of Baptist scholars and leaders crafted what eventually became the formal BWA response.

The formal response can be found at: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=979