CAIRO, June 27, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – A number of Muslim and Christian religious leaders, including prominent scholar Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, will boycott a Doha-organized interfaith seminar, protesting the participation of Israeli rabbis.

The Third Doha Conference for Religious Dialogue will be inaugurated by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa A-Thani Wednesday, June 29, with the participation of 86 Muslim, Christian and Jewish scholars, Al-Watan daily reported Sunday, June 26.

"Sheikh Qaradawi, who is a renowned scholar, and other Muslim and Christian religious leaders are against engaging in a dialogue with Israeli Jews but are not against Judaism as a religion," Dr Aisha Al-Manai, head of the scientific branch of the organizing committee, told a recent press conference.

"They have the right to oppose dialogue with those they believe to be backing the killing and destruction in Palestine," she said.

"Refusing to attend the seminar is thus not against Judaism as a religion," maintained Al-Manai, dean of the Shari`ah and law faculty at Qatar University.

"I can not think of a Muslim or a Christian who opposes dialogue with Jews per se. Therefore, we, as organizers, have the right to invite whoever we want and others have the same right not to attend."

Unlike in the previous two rounds, the Qatari Foreign Ministry has invited three rabbis from Israel to take part in the two-day interfaith seminar.

Inviting Israeli Jewish clerics follows the recommendation of Sheikh Hamad in a speech read on his behalf at last year's conference.

Two representatives from the Vatican will join their Anglican and Greek Orthodox colleagues, Al-Manai said.

In addition to 29 Christian speakers, seven Jews will be participating in the conference, she added.

Al-Manai said the Muslim side will be represented by Dr Yousuf Obaidan from Qatar University’s political science department.

Common Grounds

Al-Manai added Qatar has developed an environment of democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of dialogue.

"The idea of hosting such an inter-faith conference was to encourage dialogue based on democratic principles and promote freedom of speech and thought".

The conference will take up means of highlighting common religious values that contribute to the establishment, enforcement and development of civilizations.

The speakers will discuss religion’s role in enhancing human values and civilized behavior.

They will also discuss the views of religions in combating superstitions and myths, and promoting human cooperation, in addition to the religious diktats on preserving natural resources.

Among the other subjects will be the vision of religion about family, the values of justice and equality, the prevalence of peace and international relations based on mutual respect, and the ethical codes for scientific research.

The two previous inter-religious dialogue conferences were arranged by the Anglican and Catholic churches.

This year the event is being organized by the Faculty of Shari`ah at Qatar University and its sessions will be opened and not in-camera.