Anglican Communion News Service

More than a dozen senior Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from the Holy Land have concluded an unprecedented joint declaration pledging themselves to work together for a just and lasting peace.

The agreement, to be known as the First Alexandria Declaration of the Religious Leaders of the Holy Land, was approved today (Monday 21 January) at a landmark conference of religious leaders in the Egyptian port city, chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey.

The seven-point declaration pledges the faith leaders to use their religious and moral authority to work for an end to violence and the resumption of the peace process. It also envisages the establishment of a permanent committee of leaders from the three religions in the Holy Land, to pursue the implementation of the declaration. The accord also calls on Israeli and Palestinian political leaders to implement the Mitchell and Tenet recommendations.

Dr Carey said: "The Holy Land is holy to us all - Christian, Muslim and Jew. We have a shared duty therefore to do all we can to make it a land of peace and harmony. I hope this conference and the declaration the religious leaders have concluded may become a landmark in the quest for that peace and harmony. I hope too it will come to be seen as an historic moment for the co-operation of our three faiths in the region."

The conference received support in advance from both the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. Dr Carey said he hoped its outcomes would also receive the clear backing of political leaders.

He said: "Of course no declaration by religious leaders or anyone else can act as a magic wand - a panacea for all the ills and injustices, the savagery and inhumanity that have scarred and continue to scar the Holy Land. We are not so naïve. But it is our duty and our desire to do what we can to bring forth good from evil - hope from despair."

The conference, which began on Sunday, is the first occasion on which such senior figures from the three religions have held focussed discussions in this way. It is being co-hosted by the Grand Imam of al-Azhar al-Sharif - Dr Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, the most senior Islamic figure in Egypt and holder of one of the most prestigious positions among Sunni Muslims worldwide.