The Mediterranean society

European Commission Secretariat-General

Sujets

• Christianity
• Islam
• Judaism

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-SECRETARIAT-GENERAL
• Nombre de lectures: 15
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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FORWARD STUDIES SERIES
MEDITERRANEAN
SOCIETY
FOREWORD BY:
Jacques Santer
European Commission * The Mediterranean Society
A Challenge f or Iskin, Judaùm and Christianity Publisher's Note
The books published in the Forward Studies Series contain a selection of
research studies, reports, seminar or conference proceedings of the
European Commission's Forward Studies Unit.
In publishing these works in the Forward Studies Series, the original
material has undergone editorial rearrangement. Bibliographies have
been added where necessary. Forward Studies Series
THE
MEDITERRANEAN
SOCIETY
A Challenge for Islam, Judaism and Christianity
Foreword by Jacques Santer
■k BS *
* OP *
*•*
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
KOGAN
PAGE British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
First published in 1998
© European Communities, 1998
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission from the
copyright holder.
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
2 rue Mercier, L—2985 Luxembourg
ISBN 92-828-2638-4
Catalogue No CM-11-98-641-EN-C
Kogan Page
120 Pentonville Road, London NI 9JN
ISBN 0 7494 2698 5 Hardback
ISBN 0 7494 2709 4 Paperback
Typeset by BookEns Ltd, Royston, Herts
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Biddies Ltd, Guildford and King's Lynn Contents
Foreword vii
Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission
Introduction 1
Part I. The three monotheistic religions
confronting a changing society 5
1. The need for common independent reflection
on the three traditions confronting the challenges
of the modern world 7
Abdelmajid Cha f ι
2. The three monotheistic religions and the model
for a just society 13
Jacques Waardenburg
3. Freedom, love and faith, positive appreciation
of religion beyond intolerant secularism 2
Francisco Galvache Valero
Part II. The three monotheistic religions as
bridges for reconciliation in our societies? 27
1. Involvement and actions of Orthodoxy in favour
of dialogue 29
Emmanuel Adamakis
2. Religion and reconciliation 33
David Rosen The Mediterranean society
Part ΙΠ. The role of women in the three religions 39
1. Listening to women: a challenge for the three
religions, a chance for democracy 41
Adriana Cavina
2. The role of women in the creation of a
Mediterranean multicultural peace and dialogue space 49
Luisa Ait Hamou
Part IV. Debate and conclusions 55
Introduction 57
1. The three monotheistic religions confronting
a changing society8
2. The three monotheistic religions as bridges
for reconciliation in our societies? 6
3. The role of women in the three religions 73
General conclusions 80
Annexes
Extract from the Barcelona Declaration 81
List of participants3
The Forward Studies Unit5
vi Foreword
It is gratifying to see that the proceedings of the Toledo
Conference are now being published in the Forward Studies
Series, and are thus being made generally available.
This conference, an initiative of mine in collaboration with
Vice-President Marin, had a symbolic link with the Euro-
Mediterranean Conference of Barcelona and with the European
integration process itself.
The origin and fundamental purpose of European integration
are rooted in the belief that it is possible for different countries
and cultures to sit together on an equal footing, in order to
consolidate peace and attempt together to solve common
problems.
Although some thinkers predict a clash of civilizations and
religions, we believe that, on the contrary, it is possible for
them to meet in order to reflect on the values and witness they
can bring together, fostering dialogue between peoples and
nations.
The Commission has thus tried to offer to the religions
represented at the Conference neutral ground in a symbolic and
historic location. The aim of the Commission was to make a
modest contribution to the continuation of inter-religious
dialogue — an essential condition for reconciliation between
civilizations.
But the Commission, as an attentive listener to the debates,
was also interested to know more about the message that the
Mediterranean religious and humanist traditions wanted to
communicate to a wider public concerning the great challenges
facing our societies. Active participation of European humanist
traditions in the debate was essential. It demonstrated the
vu The Mediterranean society
pluralism of the European cultural heritage, which I deeply
respect.
I am happy that the conclusions of the Barcelona Conference
explicitly sustained the dialogue between civilizations and
religions, mentioning the Conferences of Stockholm and
Toledo. This dialogue, like the renewed interest in the political
world for the religious dimension, was one of those future-
oriented subjects to be studied and brought to light by the
Forward Studies Unit.
Jacques Santer
President of the
European Commission
vm