Religion is often viewed as a force that sows divisions between people. But the world’s most prominent religious leaders have come together to present a different vision of how faith can work in the world.
In a rare move, major religious leaders ― from Pope Francis to the Dalai Lama ― issued a joint appeal Wednesday asking people to follow a simple bit of advice: Make friends with people of other faiths.
“Our advice is to make friends to followers of all religions,” Ayatollah Sayyid Fadhel Al-Milani, one of the U.K.’s most senior Shia Muslim clerics, said in a video recording.
“Personal contact, personal friendship, then we can exchange a deeper level of experience,” the Dalai Lama said.
“My religious life became richer with his explanations, so much richer,” Francis said of Skorka. “And I guess the same happened for him.”
“Make Friends” is an initiative of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, an interfaith organization with offices in Israel and the United States. In a press release, organizers said the project’s mission is to counter the idea that people view each others’ religions with distrust or disdain ― and to potentially even reduce violence conducted in the name of religion.
Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein, the Elijah Interfaith Institute’s director, said that this project introduces a new theological perspective, one that affirms the need for friendship between faiths.
“We cannot deny that in the books of many religions you can find texts that are not very open, even hostile, to people of other faiths,” he said in a statement. “Therefore, when the world’s most important leaders call for friendship, they are in fact affirming a particular way of practicing religion and rejecting another.”
The 22 leaders involved in the appeal represent a wide spectrum of religious beliefs ― Sikhism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Each leader contributed a personal statement specifically for the purposes of this project.
Many more videos from the leaders, with subtitles in different languages, are available on Make Friends’ YouTube account.
“One of the wonderful things about spending time with people completely unlike you is you discover how much you have in common. The same fears, the same hopes, the same concerns,” Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the U.K.’s former chief rabbi.
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Washington, D.C.
Demonstrators walk past the Newseum while marching from the White House to the Capitol Building on February 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. The demonstration was aimed at President Donald Trump's travel ban policy.
Illinois
Interfaith religious leaders join together in a show of support for the Muslim community outside the Mosque Foundation on February 3, 2017 in Bridgeview, Illinois. The demonstration was held to show religious unity following President Donald Trump's recent executive order.
Illinois
Demonstrators stand with signs during an interfaith solidarity protest against President Donald Trump's executive immigration ban outside the Downtown Islamic Center on February 3, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.
Illinois
Interfaith religious leaders join together in a show of support for the Muslim community outside the Mosque Foundation on February 3, 2017 in Bridgeview, Illinois.
California
Demonstrators against President Donald Trump's Muslim Ban come together at Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California, United States on February 4, 2017.
California
Demonstrators support a ruling by a federal judge in Seattle that grants a nationwide temporary restraining order against the presidential order to ban travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on February 4, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
California
Demonstrators against President Donald Trump's Muslim Ban come together at Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California, United States on February 4, 2017.
California
Brothers Adam, left, and Noah Reich show their support if immigrants as they join opponents of Donald Trump's new immigration order at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
California
Demonstrators at Los Angeles International Airport protest against President Trump's executive order to ban entry into the US to travelers from seven Muslim countries. Los Angeles, California. January 31, 2017.
California
Demonstrators against President Donald Trump's Muslim Ban come together at Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California, United States on February 4, 2017.
Florida
Tristan Houghton joins with other protesters as they stand together at the Miami International Airport against the executive order that President Donald Trump signed clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries on January 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida.
Texas
Protestors fill the street outside the NFL Experience at the George R. Brown Convention Center on January 29, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
Texas
Imam Omar Suleiman speaks flanked by Dr. Michael W. Watson, left, and Rabbi Nancy Kasten, all from Faith Forward, at a vigil for refugees on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017 in Dallas, Texas at Thanksgiving Plaza.
Texas
Protesters gather to denounce President Donald Trump's executive order that bans certain immigration, at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on January 28, 2017 in Dallas, Texas.
Massachusetts
People gather at Copley Square January 29, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts to decry US President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order.
Massachusetts
A protestor holds up a sign that reads 'I Love My Muslim Neighbors' during a demonstration against the new ban on immigration issued by President Donald Trump at Logan International Airport on January 28, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Georgia
Japjee Singh of Dunwoody holds up a sign along with other activists during an Interfaith Rally for Muslims and Refugees at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on February 4, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Georgia
Thousands of people attend an anti-Donald Trump travel ban protest outside Hatfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia U.S., January 29, 2017.
New York
Supporters stand in the background as Muslims participate in a prayer in the parking lot of Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport on February 3, 2017.
New York
People march in lower Manhattan to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's new immigration policies on January 29, 2017 in New York City.
Colorado
Anyeli Arias (L) and Sara Fossum (R) gather with thousands of people at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado for the Protect Our Muslim Neighbors Rally on February 4, 2017.
Canada
Woman holding a sign saying 'I love my Muslim brothers and sisters' during a massive protest against President Trump's travel ban outside of the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 30, 2017.
Canada
Thousands of Canadians took part in a massive protest against President Trump's travel ban on Muslims during the National Day of Action against Islamophobia and White Supremacy in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on February 04, 2017.
Canada
Hindu woman holds a sign saying 'Hindus Against Islamophobia' as thousands of Canadians take part in a massive protest against President Trump's travel ban on Muslims during the National Day of Action against Islamophobia and White Supremacy in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on February 04, 2017.
Canada
Members of the Sikh community protest against Islamophobia and hate as thousands of Canadians took part in a massive protest against President Trump's travel ban on Muslims during the National Day of Action against Islamophobia and White Supremacy in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on February 04, 2017.
Canada
Woman holds a sign depicting a Muslim woman and a Canadian woman with the words 'solidarity' during a massive protest against President Trump's travel ban outside of the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 30, 2017.
The United Kingdom
A young woman carries a sign of protest as she joins hundreds of people gathering together around Grey's Monument to protest against President Donald Trump and his policies, on January 30, 2017 in Newcastle, England. President Trump signed an executive order on Friday banning immigration to the USA from seven Muslim countries. This led to protests across America and the UK.
The United Kingdom
Demonstrators hold placards outside Downing Street during a march against U.S. President Donald Trump and his temporary ban on refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, in London, Britain, February 4, 2017.
The United Kingdom
People protest against the US travel and immigration ban from seven Muslim-majority countries and demand President Donald Trump's planned state visit to the UK to be cancelled outside Downing Street in London, England on January 30, 2017.
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