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First Meeting of the Board of World Religious Leaders



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D E C E M B E R  1 4 - 1 7  2 0 0 3 , S E V I L L E , S P A I N

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The Elijah Interfaith Institute achieved a major success in international interfaith dialogue when it held the first Meeting of World Religious Leaders in Seville, Spain, between the 14th and 17th of December 2003.


More than forty religious leaders representing the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths from more than fifteen countries attended the event. The remarkable assemblage of world religious leaders provided a rare opportunity to forge relationships and embark on collaborative endeavors while providing a much-needed symbol of interfaith understanding.


True to the Elijah School’s commitment to joint study, the religious leaders shared the teachings, perspectives and wisdom of their particular religious traditions on the topic: 


Religion, Democratic Society and the Other: Hostility, Hospitality and the Hope of Human Flourishing

Participants included:

Buddhist Leaders

  • Ven. Geshe Tashi Tsering, England
  • Dharma Master Hsin-Tao, Taiwan
  • Ven. Sayadaw Ashin Nyanissara, Myanmar
  • Ven. Bhikkhuni Kusuma, Sri Lanka
  • Ven. Phra Thepsophon, Thailand
  • Ven. Jinwol Lee, Korea
  • Ven. Blanche Zenkei Hartman, USA

Christian Leaders

  • Metropolitan Epiphanius Perialas, Spain
  • Bishop Hilarion, Austria
  • Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo O.F.M., Spain
  • Metropolitan Emmanuel, France
  • Metropolitan of Spain
  • Metropolitan Kyrill of Moscow (represented)
  • Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, USA
  • Bishop Leonard Koskinan, Sweden
  • Patriarch Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch, Istanbul
  • Archbishop Boutrous Moualem, Israel

Religions of India Leaders

  • H.H Puthigeshree Swamiji, India
  • Guruji Sri Rishi Prabhakarji, India
  • Sri Sri Ravi Sankar, India
  • Swami Swatantranand, India
  • Dr. Shrikant Jichkar, India
  • S. Harmoinder Singh, India

Jewish Leaders

  • Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Israel
  • Chief Rabbi Shmuel Sirat, France
  • Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, Israel
  • Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Haifa, Israel
  • Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, Russia
  • Chief Rabbi Menachem Hacohen, Rumanial
  • Rabbi David Rosen, Israel
  • Rabbi Richard Marker, IJCIC, USA
  • A two-member delegation from IJCIC, the official body of US Jewry for interreligious dialogue

Muslim Leaders

  • Dr. Yiyha Mossa Basha, USA
  • Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, USA
  • Dr. Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesia
  • Dr. Wahidudin Khan, India
  • Dr. Muhammad Zaki Badawi, England
  • Dr. Adamou Ndam Njoya, Cameroon
  • Sheikh Muhammad Nur Abdallah, USA
  • Sheikh Nazim al-Haqqani, Cyprus
  • Imam W. Deen Mohammad, USA