Greetings from the International Association for Religious Freedom to the First Annual Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace.

The International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) greets this timely initiative to examine the contribution of all religions and beliefs in the Middle East to build peace with justice. The IARF is a 100 year old fellowship across all religions and all regions of the world made up of people who believe that the fundamental human right of freedom of religion or belief must be upheld if peace is to be realized. The conditions for peace comprise, among other factors, respect for human rights, the sharing of resources, including spirituality, and the mutual encouragement of open and, where necessary, self-critical dialogue.

Since peace seems so elusive, whether in Israel/Palestine or Iraq or in the many situations of social and economic injustice across the region, it is not surprising that the Abrahamic heritage is perceived, whether on other continents or in secular society, as something to breed fratricidal strife and jealousy rather than unconditional faith in God's saving grace. When laws of vengeance are invoked without taking into account the spirit of mercy which should undergird all human activities, when one is conscious more of one's own sufferings than of those of one's neighbour, then the power of reconciliation which religion could offer is lost.

Spirituality is not a private exercise of self-fulfilment but an energy which should motivate friends and enemies, family members and strangers, to struggle together - not against each other - for building peace with justice, which can be the condition for finding peace with God. The experience of an inter-religious organization like IARF is that it is not enough to have goodwill or to assume the wisdom and peaceful power of our respective religions, but that we must be alert to all misuse of religion, not only blaming politicians or outsiders for this, but recognizing that we may ourselves be lax or culpable.

Spiritual energy is needed in all situations of fatalistic acceptance of an unjust status quo and in all situations of self-righteous certainty that one is oneself right while others are wrong. A spirituality which can struggle against such acquiescence or hypocrisy is at the heart of the Prophetic messages which have stemmed from the Middle East. Instead of pointing fingers of judgement and attributing insults such as "axes of evil", we should be rediscovering principles of active tolerance, generous reparation and heartfelt reconciliation. The inter-religious dialogue which persisted in the region right through the nightmares of the civil war in Lebanon, and which still unites some visionary Israelis and Palestinians, is needed throughout the region and throughout the world.

If Jerusalem is to be a symbol of peace for all nations, if the region is to recover its true character of shared societies with freedom for all minorities to express themselves, then it will not be enough to celebrate the peaceful teachings of the religions of the region. It will be necessary to build on universal legal and constitutional principles of freedom of religion or belief and to implement these principles by imbuing them with the spirit of true love of neighbour which is the Golden Rule taught by all religions of the region, and of the world.

It is the hope of well-wishers in IARF that the Festival will not be satisfied with self-congratulation, and that it will not deteriorate into breast-beating, but that it will highlight the practical ways that spirituality can heal wounds and rebuild broken societies. We must learn together how better to implement justice and contribute to peace with all our neighbours and to peace with God.

Dr John Taylor, Representative of IARF to the United Nations (Geneva)