An interfaith dialogue featuring religious leaders from diverse backgrounds took place in Berlin this week, and it was exclusively in Arabic. The event was led by Sharaka in cooperation with the Abraham Accords Institute, both of which deemed the conference a “landmark Interfaith Dialogue” conference.
The unique gathering convened religious leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa to promote mutual understanding, tolerance, and respectful dialogue across faiths, the organizers said.
The seminar featured a group of Arabic-speaking rabbis alongside religious leaders from Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries in the region, who engaged in meaningful conversations aimed at building bridges and deepening interfaith cooperation.
The schedule included various religious lectures, a tour of Berlin that included synagogues and mosques, and the opportunity to meet with diverse political leaders at the German Bundestag.
It also featured a joint spiritual session, including dhikr, a form of worship in which prayers are repeatedly recited for the purpose of remembering God, and which stems from teachings of Islamic mysticism; and a hitvaadut, a gathering with songs and stories, which stems from Jewish hassidic teachings.
Among the participants were Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, a Tunisian-born Muslim cleric who leads a community near Paris and who has become a salient voice in the fight against antisemitism; Saudi-born Islamic theologian Dr. Mouhanad Khorchide; Rabbi Elhanan Miller from Jerusalem, founder of the People of the Book initiative; and Sheik Younnes Amsha, member of the higher authority of religious Druze leaders in Israel.
A message of religious coexistence
Amsha also serves as director of the Forum for Religious Leaders and took part in the interfaith dialogue with the authorization of Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze Council.
During a speech he gave at the event, he emphasized the responsibility of religious leaders to spread a message of dialogue to their respective communities and to use their places of prayer and community centers to promote the ideals of love, mutual respect, and harmony.
Amsha spoke about the importance of protecting minority rights around the world and specifically those of the Druze, Alawite, and Christians in Syria.
At the conclusion, Younnes said: “We pray that peace will prevail throughout the world, and that we will always meet on the basis of the values of love and harmony. Not every fall is an end – because the falling of rain is the beginning of a beginning.”
Sharaka founder and chairman Amit Deri said: “Sharaka is honored to bring together moderates from across the region for this important four-day seminar. Our mission is to foster interfaith understanding and strengthen meaningful connections among diverse communities. This initiative reflects our unwavering commitment to building bridges across the region. Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, this has been our mission, and we remain as dedicated as ever to expanding that mission, both within the scope of the Accords and beyond.”
Chalghoumi, the Muslim cleric, said: “By participating in an interfaith conference in Berlin alongside Muslim and Jewish leaders to take collective action against antisemitism – a scourge that is eating away at Europe and affects too many young Muslims – in this city marked by history, tragic yet full of hope, we aim to rekindle the spirit of the Abraham Accords, rebuild mutual respect, and develop concrete solutions to confront hatred.”