Best wishes for peace for new Year 2024

Dear Christian Brothers and Sisters,

On behalf of the founding members of EULEMA, the European Council of Muslim Leaders, I am pleased to send you our sincere wishes for a very blessed Christmas. The European Commission has hosted this week in Brussels a Special High-Level Meeting with Jewish, Christian and Muslim European Religious Leaders on the situation in the Middle East and its impact in the European Union.

We were honoured to share this meeting following the invitation of Commissioner Margaritis Schinas, next to Bishop Mariano Crociata, President of the Bishop’s Conference of the European Union, and delegates from the Council of European Churches and from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Costantinopoli, the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief outside the EU, the EU Special Representative for the Peace Process in the Middle East.

Our brothers and sisters in EULEMA wish to thank and support the appeal of Pope Francis: “No to weapons, yes to peace. I renew my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire: there is so much suffering there. I encourage all parties involved to resume negotiations. I call on everyone to make an urgent commitment to get humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Let all hostages, who had seen hope in the truce a few days ago, be freed immediately, so that this great suffering for Israelis and Palestinians might come to an end.”

Let me add to this quote my prayer for immediate Peace in the Holy Land as well as in Ukraine where Christians, next to all believers and citizens, need to live and celebrate Christmas in the holy remembrance of the birth of Jesus. To celebrate Peace we need to live in Peace. This is the sacred common root of shalom and salam. Sincere and wise Muslims are those who struggle to live in this quest for Peace, Knowledge and Truth, loving God and the neighbour and common good.

We have learned from Patriarch Bartolomeo that the new heroes are those who practice vigilance and cooperation in order to help Ethos against Kaos.

Please receive our Fraternity for Peace and for the holy remembrance of the miracle of God Almighty in the Spirit and in the Word of Jesus, son of Mary, as the Holy Qur’an describes him according to the Islamic teachings.

Imam Yahya Pallavicini
President