Vatican City (AsiaNews) - A demand for an end to violence between members of different religions, an appeal to the civil authorities to support dialogue and guarantee rights, a request to the religious authorities to educate respect and truth is contained in the messages released today by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to mark the end of Ramadan, entitled "Christians and Muslims: Together for overcoming violence between followers of different religions."

In the document signed by the Card. Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council, no particular country is cited, but he does stress that the problem, “unfortunately, is a pressing subject, at least in certain areas of the world”.

In many Islamic countries (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, ....) Christians suffer violence on an almost daily basis, but many Muslims attribute attacks in Afghanistan and in the same vein the problem of the Palestinians to the Christian West, accusing the Western world (considered as such "Christian") of "Islamophobia".

The message also recalled that the Joint Committee for Dialogue, established by the Pontifical Council and al-Azhar Permanent Committee for Dialogue among the Monotheistic Religions, had chosen the same theme at its recent annual meeting (Cairo, 23-24 February 2010 ) and lists some of the findings published at the end of the meeting:

“There are many causes for violence among believers of different religious traditions, including: the manipulation of the religion for political or other ends; discrimination based on ethnicity or religious identity; divisions and social tensions. Ignorance, poverty, underdevelopment are also direct or indirect sources of violence among as well as within religious communities. May the civil and religious authorities offer their contributions in order to remedy so many situations for the sake of the common good of all society! May the civil authorities safeguard the primacy of the law by ensuring true justice to put a stop to the authors and promoters of violence!”.

The message goes on to quote some recommendations also made during the meeting: " to open our hearts to mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, for a peaceful and fruitful coexistence; to recognize what we have in common and to respect differences, as a basis for a culture of dialogue; to recognize and respect the dignity and the rights of each human being without any bias related to ethnicity or religious affiliation; necessity to promulgate just laws which guarantee the fundamental equality of all; to recall the importance of education towards respect, dialogue and fraternity in the various educational arenas: at home, in the school, in churches and mosques. Thus we will be able to oppose violence among followers of different religions and promote peace and harmony among the various religious communities".

Particular emphasis is given to the issue of education: " Teaching by religious leaders, – the cardinal recalls in his message - as well as school books which present religions in an objective way, have, along with teaching in general, a decisive impact on the education and the formation of younger generations".