The values emanating from the Almighty God are superior to all human values. This slogan befits a summary of several local and international conferences as well as forums that are currently taking place which address interfaith dialogue and its role "on the path of citizenship and civil peace", as stated in the title of a conference recently held in Lebanon, and organized by the Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue, whose director is Pastor Dr. Riyadh Jarjour, in cooperation with Danmission within the framework of Arab-Danish Cooperation Project.

The novelty in this conference is engulfed in conducting field visits to Christian and Islamic sites in southern and eastern Lebanon which were scenes of the Lebanese civil war as well as the sites where reconciliation took place among Christians, Muslim Sunnis and Shiites, as well as Druze.

Undoubtedly, there are sagacious people of this age, and others voicing calls for restoring confidence, encounter and healing the scourges of the past.

The second issue is the Arab-Danish partnership through the Danmission Foundation, which also held in Jordan last year an international conference sponsored by HRH Prince El Hassan Ben Talal. These Danish initiatives began more than a decade ago, following the tension caused by the issuance of insulting Danish cartoons. Yes, these “positive partnerships” need to be enhanced. They are not mere financial funding of conferences, but rather building bridges of communication among people, wherever they are.

New terms have been in use in lieu of traditional rhetoric. Today’s term "Alliance among Followers of Religions" is designed to create a moral and ethical power that disseminates an atmosphere of optimism for bringing about a safer future. One of the terms I heard recently is “pilgrimage to the others,” implying getting closer to one another with profound respect for the other’s dignity, in order to create a new era of “brotherhood among mankind”.

A high-level Jordanian delegation participated in this conference. Members of the delegation shed light on the distinctive “Jordanian experience” in the field of dialogue and encounter. There seemed congruence in the addresses of the speakers which included me, the director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan, Dr. Hassan Kreideh of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue director Pastor Dr. Riyadh Jarjour, and media specialist Dr. Marcel Jweinat. There is undoubtedly a profound appreciation for Jordan's long history of dialogue "on the path of citizenship and civil peace".

There was also a “private” meeting with spiritual leader of the religious Druze His Eminence Sheikh Amin Aridi, who warmly received the Arab and Danish delegations.

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