NEW YORK (AP) —
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday
that leaders in an interdependent world must work to end religious
conflict or face "catastrophe" as he introduced a new foundation
dedicated to interfaith understanding.
Religion is as important in this century as political ideology was in
the last, Blair said. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation will fight extremism,
organize faith groups against poverty and illness, and educate people
worldwide about religions other than their own, he said.
"There is a new reality.
We have to come to terms with it. And it implies, at its fundamentals,
peaceful coexistence or catastrophe," said Blair in a speech before
religious and business leaders at the posh Time Warner Center. "If faith
becomes a countervailing force, pulling people apart, then it becomes
destructive and indeed dangerous."
Former President Bill Clinton, who became a close friend of Blair's
when both men were in office, opened the event, putting his arm around
the former prime minister and calling his faith "genuine" and "deep." [Yes...if we want discernment about genuine faith wouldn't Bill Clinton be the logical one to ask?!]
The group's advisory
council includes evangelical mega pastor Rick Warren,
who with his
wife, Kay, advocates for HIV/AIDS victims worldwide; Ismail Khudr
Al-Shatti, an adviser to the prime minister of Kuwait; and world Baptist
and Jewish leaders. Catholic Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor of
Westminster, England, has pledged to join the council when the pope
allows him to retire.
Yale University is a partner in the project. The former prime
minister plans to teach at the school next year, leading a seminar on
faith and globalization.
In a brief interview,
Blair said he defined extremists as "people who want to exclude the
other if someone is of a different faith." [In other words, those who believe the Bible - that Jesus is the only way to heaven - are extremists) Blair told the crowd that although Islamic
extremism draws the most attention, "there are elements of extremism in
every major faith."
"It is important where people of good faith combat such extremism,
that they are supported," said Blair, who is an envoy for the Quartet of
Mideast peacemakers — the U.S., European Union, Russia and United
Nations.
Among the foundation's
many initiatives are promoting research on religion and globalization; developing
interactive media and publications on religion geared for young people,
businesses and political groups; and, working with the U.N. and groups
such as the Malaria No More Campaign to fight the illness.
Blair said the foundation would not focus on "doctrinal inquiry" or "subsume different faiths in
some universal faith of the lowest common denominator."
Sayyid Syeed, a national leader of the Islamic Society of
North America and a veteran of interfaith outreach, said it is possible to find common
ground without watering down religious teachings if the work is based on
sound scholarship about each faith. "It
has been done in the past and can be done again," Syeed said.
Richard C. Levin, Yale's president, who shared the stage with Blair
and two young American Muslim leaders, said the community service
programs that will be part of the foundation's work will build a bond
among young people, despite any theological differences.
"You cannot understand the modern world," Blair said, "unless you
understand the importance of religious faith."
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