Committee co-founder calls for closer ties between Catholics, Muslims

Published: 2004-01-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The head of an Islamic delegation to an interfaith Vatican committee said Catholics and Muslims must further close the gap between them if they are to influence the values guiding humanity. In an interview with Catholic News Service Jan. 20, Hamid al-Rifaie, co-president of the Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee, said, "The world is in need of religious values and it is our duty, Muslims and Catholics, to present common values to guide the march of civilization." Al-Rifaie, who is also president of the Saudi-based International Islamic Forum for Dialogue, was one of the founding members of the Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee, which in 1995 began to work toward greater understanding between the two faiths and contribute toward peace and justice. Al-Rifaie shares the liaison committee presidency this year with Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

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