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Preface
- Georgetown University Press
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Preface r owan wi ll ia ms I n a sense it is true to say that Doha is the seedbed for the Building Bridges enterprise over the years. The success of the seminar held here in April 2003 encouraged all those who took part in it to believe that it was possible, desirable, and indeed necessary that the conversations we had begun should be continued. In the years that have passed since then the Building Bridges seminars have built up a very distinctive style, involving working together, studying sacred texts together, and above all learning to listen to one another speaking to God and also to watch one another speaking to God. It is a style that has been patient, affirming, and celebrating. So Doha has a great deal to answer for, and we have a great deal for which to be grateful, particularly to His Highness the Amir. Without his invitation to Qatar in 2003, that first seminar would not have been what it was. And his generous invitation to return has at last borne fruit this year. It has been a great pleasure to be the recipients of his warm hospitality once again. It has also been extremely significant that, with the support of His Highness, recent years have seen such encouraging developments in inter faith understanding in this historic heartland of Islam. I refer especially to the fruitful work of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue. We can only applaud such initiatives and ask for God’s blessings upon them. Over the years we have also developed an enormous debt to Georgetown University, and this year we are delighted to be meeting at the splendid campus of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Our warm thanks go to all those who have made this seminar possible here. We remain deeply grateful to the president of Georgetown University, John J. DeGioia, for the vision, enthusiasm, and generosity with which he has supported Building Bridges. In these last eight years Building Bridges has established itself as a distinctive enterprise in inter religious conversation—even though it has never xv xvi rowan williams sought to be very large or particularly influential in the world’s terms. We have thought it was worth talking to one another whether or not we got into the newspapers. Enough things get into the newspapers already, in all conscience, for us not to want to add too much extra, though it is often sad that the good news of something like Building Bridges does not get into the public press as much as we might wish. But we do it because it is worth it, because we love it, and because we love each other. We love each other as communities. I believe that, in spite of all the rhetoric that sounds around the world, it remains true that in so many contexts around the globe Christian and Muslim communities are characterized locally by real mutual love, appreciation, and support. In the very difficult days in some countries in recent months, perhaps the most moving thing for many of us Christians has been to see the generous support of local Muslims who have stepped out, who have taken risks to defend their Christian neighbors in Pakistan, in Egypt, and in other places. The importance of this to us cannot easily be exaggerated. It is a sign of that same love and trust that we seek to build up in Building Bridges. We are able to do it with confidence because we know that in so many contexts that is the truth on the ground. But we have also come to love one another within the context of the Building Bridges seminars. We have learned so gratefully from one another something of the things of God. We have learned to appreciate cultural and theological riches. We have simply learned to enjoy one another’s company as human beings. For that, I thank God and I thank all the participants. The life of an Archbishop has the occasional little trial or difficulty in it, and not every international visit immediately fills an Archbishop with enthusiasm and joy. Building Bridges, however, has not been one of those meetings that cast a cloud before them. On the contrary, each time I have emerged enriched and delighted by what we have shared. So for me, speaking personally, in recent years this has been a constant source of nourishment. Over the years we have touched on a...