Jewish Muslim Peace Talk Led by Rev. Moon on Shared Faith

Reverend Moon:

I have walked this Earth with one mission: to unite God's children.

I have embraced Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and people of every faith—not to erase their differences, but to awaken them to one eternal truth: we all come from the same Heavenly Parent.

Today, the eyes of the world are upon Israel and Iran. Two ancient civilizations. Two great faiths. But also, two families wounded by history and entangled in fear.

Politics alone will never heal this. Technology will not save us. True peace can only come when religious leaders rise above ideology and return to the heart of God.

This roundtable is not just symbolic. It is prophetic. It is a rehearsal for the world we must build—a world where no child dies in God’s name, no woman weeps because of religion, no man carries hate in his prayer.

Let us begin not with judgment, but with listening. Not with argument, but with tears. Not with pride, but with humility before our Creator.

 (Note: This is an imaginary conversation, a creative exploration of an idea, and not a real speech or event.)

Topic 1: God’s View of Human Life

"Is there anything more sacred than life itself?"

Moderator: Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Participants:

• Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
• Ayatollah Abdolkarim Soroush
• Pope Francis
• Dr. Ingrid Mattson
• Karen Armstrong

Opening by Reverend Moon:

“Before we begin, I ask us to forget for a moment our names, our titles, and even our religions. Let us remember only this: we are all God’s children.
Whether we call Him Yahweh, Allah, or Heavenly Parent, His love for each soul is the same. If God weeps today, it is because His children kill each other in His name.
So I ask: What is the value of human life in the eyes of God? Can we affirm that before religion, before ideology, there is sacred breath shared among us all?”

❓ Question 1: What does your faith tradition teach about the sanctity of human life?

Karen Armstrong:
“The essence of all religion is compassion. In Islam, to kill one innocent life is as if to kill all of humanity. In the Hebrew Bible, human beings are made in the image of God. And yet, we forget. We turn sacred texts into tribal weapons. But if we returned to the heartbeat of these teachings—reverence for life—we’d see that violence is always a form of spiritual failure.”

Ayatollah Soroush:
“In Shi’a Islam, martyrdom is honored—but not bloodshed. The Prophet forbade aggression. The tragedy is that religion has become entangled in power, losing its soul. Human life is a divine trust, and no state, no ideology, no cleric has the right to desecrate it in the name of God.”

Pope Francis:
“Life is not a possession; it is a gift. In Christ, every human being—friend, enemy, unborn, elderly—bears infinite worth. Our Church teaches a consistent ethic of life. But too often we forget that peace begins with how we look at the other. Do we see Christ in the suffering child of Gaza or Tel Aviv? If not, our religion is hollow.”

Dr. Ingrid Mattson:
“The Qur’an tells us that God created human beings in beauty and dignity. Mercy is His primary attribute. As Muslims, if we honor life only among our own, we dishonor the Prophet’s path. The sanctity of life must include even the one who offends or disagrees. That is the true test of faith.”

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
“In Judaism, to save a single life is to save a world. God’s covenant with Noah—our shared ancestor—was not with Jews only, but with all humanity. Violence arises when we see ‘the other’ as less than human. But the other is also the image of God. That truth must be restored to our moral vision.”

❓ Question 2: Why do people of faith still resort to violence in God's name?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
“Because we confuse covenant with superiority. Religion becomes an identity badge, not a path to God. Fear, humiliation, and historical trauma feed this. But real faith should break those cycles. When we teach dignity without demonizing others, violence becomes unthinkable.”

Dr. Ingrid Mattson:
“Often, it’s not faith—it’s fear wearing faith’s clothing. Politicians invoke religion to justify war; clerics misuse texts to inflame tribalism. But true spirituality always points to patience, restraint, and justice. We must equip believers to recognize and reject manipulated religiosity.”

Karen Armstrong:
“Religions are vulnerable to corruption when they're allied too closely with the state. Sacred symbols are hijacked to stir hatred. But this is not new—it happened in the Crusades, in modern terrorism, in ethno-nationalism. We must return to the mystics, the saints, the lovers of God—not the warlords.”

Ayatollah Soroush:
“The great danger is certainty. When a man believes he possesses absolute truth, he believes he may kill in its name. But the Quran invites reflection, not fanaticism. In Iran, I have seen how fear of dissent silences mercy. We must teach humility as the essence of religion.”

Pope Francis:
“When religion becomes a hammer instead of a balm, it loses its soul. The Gospel is not a sword but a wound that teaches empathy. We must stop hiding our political sins behind the veil of religion. Only love—radical, vulnerable love—can stop this misuse.”

❓ Question 3: How can spiritual leaders restore reverence for life among their communities?

Pope Francis:
“By walking with the people, not above them. By entering the wounds of our time with prayer, silence, and action. We must model tenderness—toward refugees, the elderly, the unborn, the enemy. Reverence for life begins with the way we speak to the poor.”

Ayatollah Soroush:
“By rejecting power for the sake of power. The Prophet led by example, through gentleness, consultation, and forgiveness. Let us restore that prophetic ethos. The true leader is the one who weeps at the death of any child, regardless of religion.”

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
“Through education that nourishes conscience. We must stop outsourcing ethics to slogans. A Jewish school should teach not just Torah, but also how to love the stranger. We must produce moral visionaries, not ideological foot soldiers.”

Dr. Ingrid Mattson:
“By creating spaces where people experience the sacredness of the other. Interfaith gatherings must go beyond tolerance—they must become sanctuaries of shared presence. As leaders, we must embody the mercy we preach, even when it is hard.”

Karen Armstrong:
“By telling new stories. Humanity moves through narrative. We must replace myths of domination with myths of mutual care. I dream of a new scripture written not in words, but in the way we treat each other across borders.”

Closing Words by Reverend Moon:

“Thank you, my beloved brothers and sisters.

If we agree that life is sacred, then we must build a world where even one drop of innocent blood is a catastrophe.

I believe the time has come when religion must rise not to fight for dominance, but to bow in humility before God, and say,
‘Let us be instruments of Your peace.’

If our hearts unite, there is no war that cannot be stopped.”

Topic 2: Historical Wounds and the Cycle of Blame

"Can we honor the past without staying trapped in it?"

Moderator: Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Participants:

• Rabbi David Hartman (Israel)
• Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (Iranian-born, based in the U.S.)
• Yuval Noah Harari (Israeli historian)
• Rana Dasgupta (British-Indian author and cultural analyst)
• Reverend William Barber II (Christian activist and moral leader)

Opening by Reverend Moon:

“History can be a teacher—or a prison. We pass down stories of pain, of betrayal, of injustice. And yet, my heart aches when I see that these stories too often become fuel for more hatred.

Can religion and morality help us honor our past without letting it control our future? Today, I ask you: How can we end the cycle of blame and move toward true healing?”

❓ Question 1: Why do historical wounds still control the present?

Yuval Noah Harari:
“Because we turn memory into identity. National stories are not just history—they are myths of self. Once a group sees itself as an eternal victim or hero, it becomes blind to nuance. History becomes a sacred drama, not a space for shared reflection.”

Rabbi David Hartman:
“As a rabbi in Jerusalem, I saw how Jewish pain—especially post-Holocaust—shaped Israeli consciousness. But we must ask: does memory demand walls or bridges? Pain can either justify fear, or summon us to deeper compassion. It depends on how we teach it.”

Rana Dasgupta:
“Empires and borders leave psychic scars. In places like Iran, colonial wounds coexist with theological pride. But modern wounds—like sanctions, wars, occupation—reactivate historical trauma. Unless grief is processed communally, it metastasizes politically.”

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf:
“In Islam, we’re taught that forgiveness is higher than revenge. But when mosques are bombed or civilians killed, forgiveness feels distant. The cycle continues because people don’t just remember—they relive. Only truth, told with humility, can begin to break this.”

Rev. William Barber II:
“In America, I’ve seen how slavery and racism keep cycling because we’ve never truly repented. Pain denied becomes pain repeated. For Jews, Muslims, Christians—any people—it’s the same: if we don’t transform the wound, we transmit it.”

❓ Question 2: How can spiritual leaders help people grieve the past without becoming trapped by it?

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf:
“We must humanize history. When I lead interfaith prayers after violence, I name not just the victims—but their mothers, their dreams. Grieving becomes healing when we see the other’s pain as real as our own. The Imam’s role is to soften hearts, not harden narratives.”

Rabbi David Hartman:
“I often told my students: you can love Israel and still love Palestinians. The Torah teaches us to remember Egypt—not just to recall slavery, but to become kind. Grief becomes dangerous when it feeds entitlement. It must instead deepen our moral imagination.”

Rana Dasgupta:
“Ritual can help. Public truth commissions, collective laments, shared holidays of grief—these are needed. Religion can provide language and structure for grieving that includes the other. We must become liturgists of mutual sorrow.”

Yuval Noah Harari:
“By teaching complexity. We must resist reducing history to saints and devils. Good people can do bad things, and victims can become oppressors. Faith leaders should embrace this paradox. Without complexity, forgiveness is impossible.”

Rev. William Barber II:
“Pain must have a pulpit, but not a throne. When we preach about wounds, we must also preach about deliverance. Lament is holy, but so is rising up in love. The cross, after all, is both death and resurrection.”

❓ Question 3: What does true reconciliation look like after centuries of mistrust?

Rana Dasgupta:
“Reconciliation begins not with grand summits but with intimate acts—listening to stories we don’t want to hear, apologizing without conditions, and being willing to be changed by truth. Political agreements won’t last without emotional disarmament.”

Rabbi David Hartman:
“It means embracing discomfort. In Israel, reconciliation with Arabs can’t mean denying Jewish suffering—but it must mean making room for theirs. Theology must become a tool for empathy, not triumphalism. God is not served by one-sided memory.”

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf:
“It means creating space for shared dignity. I’ve worked with rabbis who risked everything to pray beside me. That’s what breaks the cycle. When imams and rabbis grieve and hope together publicly, something changes spiritually in their communities.”

Yuval Noah Harari:
“Reconciliation requires letting go of superiority. Both Israelis and Iranians see themselves as ancient civilizations with special destinies. But maybe our destiny is not to dominate—but to humble ourselves before life itself.”

Rev. William Barber II:
“Reconciliation is not kumbaya. It’s truth-telling, repentance, reparation, and renewal. It’s when we stop asking ‘Who’s to blame?’ and start asking, ‘Who’s hurting, and how do we help?’ That’s when peace stops being a dream and becomes a plan.”

Closing Words by Reverend Moon:

“You have spoken with courage and clarity. I am grateful.

Humanity has spilled too many tears defending yesterday’s pain.

Let us build a world where our children know history not as a cause for division,
but as a reason to love more, serve more, forgive more.

God’s heart still aches not because of our past, but because we still refuse to let it go.

My friends, let today be the beginning of healing.”

Topic 3: The Shared Abrahamic Heritage

"Are we still one family under God?"

Moderator: Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Participants:

• Rabbi Sharon Brous (Israel/USA)
• Sheikh Hamza Yusuf (Iranian heritage, U.S.-based Muslim scholar)
• Dr. Reza Aslan (Iranian-American scholar of religion)
• Father James Martin (Jesuit priest and interfaith advocate)
• Elif Shafak (Turkish author influenced by Sufism and mysticism)

Opening by Reverend Moon:

“We are gathered here not as strangers, but as family members long estranged.

Abraham, the father of faith, did not teach hatred—he taught obedience, trust, and hospitality. But what have we done with his legacy?

Today I ask you: Can the children of Abraham come home to each other again? And if so, what must we do to repair the family?”

❓ Question 1: What core values do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share that we have forgotten?

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf:
“At our roots, we all carry the ethics of mercy, justice, and sacred accountability. The Prophet Muhammad said he was only sent to perfect noble character. The Torah teaches justice; the Gospel teaches love. These values aren't foreign—they're family. We've simply lost sight of our spiritual genealogy.”

Rabbi Sharon Brous:
“Our traditions are centered on covenant—on sacred responsibility. We share the story of Abraham stepping into the unknown because he believed in something greater than himself. But somewhere along the way, we started using God to justify our boundaries instead of to challenge them.”

Dr. Reza Aslan:
“We’ve forgotten that all three faiths are inherently revolutionary. Abraham smashed the idols. Moses defied Pharaoh. Jesus overturned the tables. Muhammad reformed a broken tribal society. The real shared value is this: truth over tyranny, compassion over conquest.”

Father James Martin:
“Hospitality. Abraham welcomed strangers and angels alike. That’s a spiritual DNA we share but rarely live. Imagine if synagogues, mosques, and churches all opened their doors not just to serve soup—but to truly embrace one another. That’s the forgotten gospel.”

Elif Shafak:
“We’ve forgotten the value of sacred doubt. Abraham questioned, Moses argued, even Mary asked how. But today, faith has become rigid. We need to return to mystery, to humility. That is what unites true seekers across religions.”

❓ Question 2: Why do we continue to act like enemies when our roots are so deeply intertwined?

Dr. Reza Aslan:
“Because power loves division. Politicians find it easier to rule over tribes than to shepherd families. And frankly, too many religious leaders have allowed themselves to become tribal chiefs rather than prophets. We confuse boundaries with identities.”

Rabbi Sharon Brous:
“Because fear is louder than memory. When Jewish children are taught about persecution without also learning about shared prophets, and Muslim children grow up hearing about occupation without stories of solidarity, our sacred bond fades. We need to re-educate our hearts.”

Father James Martin:
“Because we haven’t cried together. True reconciliation requires shared vulnerability. Christians need to sit with Jews in grief over the Shoah, and with Muslims over the suffering in Gaza or Yemen. That shared sorrow can birth sacred kinship.”

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf:
“We mistake theological difference for spiritual opposition. But diversity in interpretation is part of God's wisdom. The Qur’an calls Jews and Christians ‘People of the Book’—not enemies. We act like enemies because we’ve lost the art of listening with reverence.”

Elif Shafak:
“Because ego separates. The ego of nations, religions, men. Sufis say the greatest veil between you and God is not sin—it’s pride. Once we start saying ‘our God’ instead of ‘the God,’ violence follows.”

❓ Question 3: What does it look like to reclaim our Abrahamic bond in practice, not just theory?

Father James Martin:
“It means praying together. Serving together. Mourning together. It means having an imam, rabbi, and priest walk into a refugee camp—not as symbols, but as servants. Faith must be incarnated into shared action.”

Rabbi Sharon Brous:
“We can no longer afford symbolic unity. I’ve seen real transformation when Jewish and Muslim youth study Torah and Qur’an side by side—not to debate, but to reflect. It’s not about agreement. It’s about awe. Shared awe heals separation.”

Elif Shafak:
“It means writing new stories. Novels, films, poems where Abraham’s children love, struggle, and protect each other. Politics may divide, but culture can reconnect. Let us reclaim sacred imagination.”

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf:
“It means leading with adab—spiritual courtesy. Even when we disagree theologically, we must still see the divine image in one another. When we reclaim etiquette, reverence, and prophetic character, we begin to live as Abraham’s children.”

Dr. Reza Aslan:
“It’s also political. We must stand up when our brothers and sisters are demonized. An attack on a synagogue, mosque, or church must feel equally intolerable to all of us. Abraham’s legacy cannot be reclaimed without moral courage.”

Closing Words by Reverend Moon:

“When I traveled the world to speak with leaders of every faith, I was not looking for dogma. I was searching for the parent heart of God within each tradition.

Abraham walked with God—and we must walk with each other.

The time has come for a new covenant: not of law, but of love. Not to erase our differences, but to embrace them as part of God’s family plan.

Let us restore the sacred family, one prayer, one tear, one embrace at a time.”

Topic 4: The Danger of Weaponizing Religion

"When God’s name is used to justify harm, who speaks for the divine?"

Moderator: Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Participants:

• Rabbi Michael Lerner (Israel/U.S.)
• Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari (Iranian Shi’a philosopher and cleric)
• Thomas Friedman (Jewish-American journalist and Mideast analyst)
• Valarie Kaur (Sikh-American interfaith activist and filmmaker)
• Sayyed Hossein Nasr (Iranian-American Islamic philosopher)

Opening by Reverend Moon:

“The greatest sorrow in Heaven is when God’s name is invoked to justify hatred, war, and pride.

The Creator of life has become a tool for destruction in the hands of His own children.

I ask you today—not as political commentators, but as spiritual children of God—how can we rescue religion from the hands of those who have forgotten its essence?”

❓ Question 1: Why has religion so often been used to justify violence or division?

Rabbi Michael Lerner:
“Because religion gives moral cover to power. When empires, governments, or militias seek legitimacy, they invoke divine authority. But that’s not Judaism. The prophets railed against power abused in God's name. If your faith justifies domination, you’ve made an idol of it.”

Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari:
“Because people confuse sacredness with certainty. In Shi’a Islam, we honor the martyrdom of the innocent, not the sanctification of war. But many clerics have turned religion into ideology—rigid, exclusionary, and political. That is not revelation. That is regression.”

Thomas Friedman:
“I’ve covered wars where both sides claimed God was with them. The problem isn’t faith—it’s tribalism baptized in faith’s clothing. Religion should be a check on nationalism, not a servant of it. When religion becomes a flag, it stops being a conscience.”

Valarie Kaur:
“Because fear sells faster than love. Religious institutions are not immune to the human hunger for control. But I’ve seen in Sikhism—and across traditions—that the core is always love, service, humility. We need to return religion to the mothers, the mystics, the poets.”

Sayyed Hossein Nasr:
“Because the modern world has desacralized life, and so people look to religion to fill a void—but in doing so, they make it political. True religion teaches reverence. If your ‘God’ justifies your hatred, you’re not worshipping the Real, but your own reflection.”

❓ Question 2: What are the signs that religion is being misused—and how can people of faith resist this?

Valarie Kaur:
“When religion is obsessed with enemies more than empathy, when women are silenced, when rituals are used to exclude—that’s misuse. Resistance looks like love that disrupts, like sanctuary that includes. It’s not passive—it’s prophetic.”

Rabbi Michael Lerner:
“If your rabbi, imam, or priest talks more about who to fear than who to help—wake up. Spirituality that leads to arrogance is spiritual fraud. Resistance means building communities that model justice, even when it’s unpopular.”

Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari:
“In Iran, I’ve seen religious language used to silence dissent. But God is not fragile—He does not need protection from questions. Resistance is scholarly, ethical, and courageous. We must teach that doubt is not sin—it is sincerity.”

Thomas Friedman:
“The moment you can’t laugh at yourself, your religion’s in trouble. Humor, humility, self-critique—these are signs of a healthy faith. Resistance is also practical: support moderate schools, interfaith initiatives, and youth voices.”

Sayyed Hossein Nasr:
“Return to the sacred sciences, the arts, the contemplative traditions. Resistance is not just political—it is metaphysical. Beauty, silence, music—these can awaken the soul where polemics fail.”

❓ Question 3: How can we restore religion as a force for peace, rather than power?

Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari:
“By returning to the heart of the Prophet, who forgave his enemies in Mecca, who wept for the oppressed, who was never a tyrant. We must teach Islam as a path of inner awakening—not state expansion.”

Rabbi Michael Lerner:
“By creating ‘spiritual activism’—a movement where inner transformation and social healing go hand in hand. We need to stop outsourcing God to institutions. God lives in the struggle for dignity, not the conquest of land.”

Sayyed Hossein Nasr:
“By recovering the perennial wisdom within all faiths. The Sufis, the Kabbalists, the contemplatives—they have always carried the peaceable flame. Reclaim the contemplative core, and peace will follow.”

Thomas Friedman:
“By demanding more of our faith leaders. Ask them: do you preach courage or comfort? If religion is to lead again, it must stop playing defense and start offering moral clarity—especially in times of crisis.”

Valarie Kaur:
“By centering love. Revolutionary love is not weak. It’s fierce. It says: even when you strike me, I will not become you. That’s what our ancestors taught. That’s what our children need. Love that holds the wound and keeps showing up.”

Closing Words by Reverend Moon:

“When religion turns into a weapon, it wounds not just the body, but the soul of humanity.

We must return to the sacred root—God’s parental heart. A parent does not bless the death of one child in the name of another.

I urge you, all leaders of faith: rise above doctrine, above pride. Let your lives speak of peace more loudly than any sermon.

The time has come for religion not to reign, but to reconcile.”

Topic 5: Forgiveness, Peace, and the Path Forward

"What future is possible if we choose to forgive?"

Moderator: Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Participants:

• Rabbi Menachem Froman (Orthodox settler rabbi who sought peace with Palestinians)
• Imam Mohamed Magid (Interfaith peace leader, U.S. imam with deep ties to Muslim world)
• Mother Agnes Mariam (Syrian Catholic nun and peacemaker)
• Sami Awad (Palestinian Christian peace activist)
• Nelson Mandela (Symbolic voice through archival writings and quotes)

Opening by Reverend Moon:

“Forgiveness is not weakness. It is God’s greatest power.

As long as revenge guides our politics and pain shapes our religion, peace will remain a dream.

But I believe: if just a few hearts choose forgiveness—not just personally, but publicly—we can shift the destiny of nations.

Today, I ask: What does true peace require, and how do we walk the path of forgiveness together?”

❓ Question 1: What makes forgiveness so difficult in regions of deep conflict?

Rabbi Menachem Froman:
“Because forgiveness demands we see our enemy as human. As a rabbi living among Palestinians, I learned that fear can become a theology. But Torah teaches: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ That neighbor includes the one you fear. God does not choose sides—He chooses peace.”

Sami Awad:
“Because the pain feels sacred. My grandfather was expelled in 1948. My people suffer daily. Forgiveness can feel like betrayal. But I realized: if I don’t forgive, I pass the trauma to my children. Forgiveness is the only legacy I want to leave.”

Mother Agnes Mariam:
“In Syria, I saw children from both sides cry the same tears. The devil is not one group or the other—the devil is hatred itself. Forgiveness becomes possible when we suffer together and stop asking, ‘Whose pain is greater?’”

Imam Mohamed Magid:
“It’s difficult because justice and forgiveness feel opposed. But the Prophet forgave those who stoned him in Ta’if. Forgiveness must walk with justice—not erase it, but transcend it. It begins with prayer and continues with courageous dialogue.”

Nelson Mandela (quoted):

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.”

❓ Question 2: Can peace be real without spiritual transformation?

Imam Mohamed Magid:
“No. A treaty without transformation is fragile. In Islam, peace (salaam) is a name of God. To live in peace is to live in remembrance of Him. I’ve seen dialogue turn into healing when hearts are softened through faith, not just facts.”

Sami Awad:
“I once tried peace through logic—it failed. Then I meditated, prayed, and fasted. Peace must be felt in the body, in the breath. Political peace is a paper. Spiritual peace is a path.”

Mother Agnes Mariam:
“Yes. I’ve held the hands of mothers from both sides who lost their sons. That’s where transformation happens—not in speeches, but in shared tears. The soul must wake up before the gun goes down.”

Rabbi Menachem Froman:
“We cannot wait for politics to lead. Spiritual leaders must become prophets again. I prayed with imams who were told I was the enemy. We wept together. That is peace. We must build altars where bombs once fell.”

Nelson Mandela (quoted):

“It was during those long and lonely years of prison that my hunger for the freedom of my people became a hunger for the freedom of all people.”

❓ Question 3: What is your vision for the future if forgiveness leads the way?

Sami Awad:
“Schools where Israeli and Palestinian children learn each other’s stories. Villages where mosques and synagogues share gardens. A future where peace is not exceptional—but expected. This is not naive. It is necessary.”

Rabbi Menachem Froman:
“Jews and Muslims praying together on the Temple Mount. That is my dream. Not in competition, but in harmony. If we share Abraham, we can share his mountain. Peace is not separation—it is sacred overlap.”

Imam Mohamed Magid:
“A generation raised on mercy. Young Muslims and Jews starting businesses, projects, and peace centers together. Forgiveness allows us to dream again. Without it, the future is only a repeat of the past.”

Mother Agnes Mariam:
“A holy land where suffering teaches humility, not vengeance. Where martyrs are not used to recruit soldiers, but to remind us of the cost of pride. Peace will bloom in the soil of repentance.”

Nelson Mandela (quoted):

“There is no future without forgiveness.

If peace is the destination, forgiveness is the road.”

Closing Words by Reverend Moon:

“This conversation is not the end. It is the beginning.

God weeps not just because His children suffer—but because they refuse to forgive.

Forgiveness is the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Not in theory, but in action.

Today, I call upon all religions to disarm not only their hands, but their hearts.

Let the Holy Land be holy again—not because of blood, but because of healing.”

Final Thoughts by Reverend Moon

What I have heard today moves Heaven.

You did not speak only as Jews or Muslims, scholars or leaders—you spoke as God's sons and daughters. You remembered Abraham. You remembered mercy. And you remembered your responsibility to the future.

My beloved children, peace is not far away. It is already here—when hearts meet honestly, when forgiveness replaces blame, when love becomes stronger than memory.

We are now in the age of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universally shared values. The time for religious domination is over. The era of parental love has come.

As your elder, I leave you with this prayer:

May your faith never be used to divide again.
May your leadership build bridges, not walls.
May you stand together—not in compromise, but in divine purpose.

Then—and only then—will the God of Abraham truly smile upon us all.

Short Bios:

Reverend Sun Myung Moon

Founder of the Unification Movement, known for his global interfaith work and lifelong mission to unite humanity under one God.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Former Chief Rabbi of the UK and a leading Jewish moral philosopher who championed interfaith dialogue and ethical leadership.

Ayatollah Abdolkarim Soroush

Iranian religious philosopher and reformist thinker advocating for a more open, ethical interpretation of Islam.

Pope Francis

Head of the Catholic Church, known for his message of mercy, compassion, and unity among faiths.

Dr. Ingrid Mattson

Muslim scholar and former ISNA president, bridging Islamic ethics with pluralism and women’s leadership.

Karen Armstrong

Former nun and acclaimed historian of religion, emphasizing compassion and common values among faith traditions.

Rabbi David Hartman

Orthodox Jewish philosopher and founder of the Shalom Hartman Institute, promoting religious pluralism in Israel.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Imam and founder of the Cordoba Initiative, working to build bridges between the Muslim world and the West.

Yuval Noah Harari

Israeli historian and bestselling author, offering insight into the power of historical narratives and collective identity.

Rana Dasgupta

British-Indian cultural critic and novelist, exploring national trauma and postcolonial narratives.

Reverend William Barber II

American Christian leader and social justice activist, revitalizing moral leadership in the public square.

Rabbi Sharon Brous

Founder of IKAR in Los Angeles, a leading voice in revitalizing Jewish spiritual and moral life.

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

Prominent Islamic scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna College, advocating for classical learning and spiritual ethics.

Dr. Reza Aslan

Iranian-American scholar and author exploring the roots and future of faith in a modern world.

Father James Martin

Jesuit priest and author promoting LGBTQ inclusion and interfaith understanding in the Catholic Church.

Elif Shafak

Turkish-British novelist and Sufi-inspired thinker known for her writings on identity, mysticism, and gender.

Rabbi Michael Lerner

Editor of Tikkun magazine, activist for spiritual progressivism and critic of religious nationalism.

Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari

Iranian theologian and reformist scholar known for advocating religious modernism within Islam.

Thomas Friedman

New York Times columnist offering deep commentary on the intersection of religion, politics, and global affairs.

Valarie Kaur

Sikh-American activist, lawyer, and filmmaker who leads the Revolutionary Love Project.

Sayyed Hossein Nasr

Islamic philosopher and Sufi scholar bridging science, metaphysics, and traditional wisdom.

Rabbi Menachem Froman

Orthodox Jewish settler and peace activist who promoted reconciliation with Palestinians through faith.

Imam Mohamed Magid

Sudanese-born U.S. imam and interfaith leader, committed to dialogue and peacemaking across religious lines.

Mother Agnes Mariam

Syrian Catholic nun recognized for her efforts to mediate during the Syrian civil war and protect civilians.

Sami Awad

Palestinian Christian and nonviolence trainer, dedicated to grassroots peacebuilding in the Holy Land.

Nelson Mandela (symbolic voice)

Former South African president and global icon of reconciliation who taught that forgiveness is the key to freedom.