Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

VIII Prof. Fadi Daou, Prof. Abu-Nimer, and Prof. Brodeur – with the help of their respective rapporteurs – Sherin Khalil, Bisan Liftawi, Elizabeth Perks and Dima Tara- beine – then reported back in plenary, summarising the main points of their respective dialogue circles. The lead presentations by those twelve exemplars of mercy and the points that emerged out of each circle, as summa- rised by Tabbara and Daou in their combined piece, are found in Chapter 3. Finally, Chapter 4 ends the book with the closing remarks of HE Bishop Ayuso and HE Faisal Bin Muaammar. It should be carefully noted that the dialogical space that developed during this symposium, especially during the second day, provided an opportunity to further interact among each other as well as with the leading exemplars of mercy. In the safe space provided by the dia- logical circles of small groups, participants of all levels and backgrounds were comfortable in sharing their per- sonal stories and each were able to gain further insight about each other. Many across the spectrum of partici- pants realised their own commonalities across religions through the sharing and witnessing of these case studies of sufferings transcended through journeys of mercy, which often included profound examples of forgiveness. The present book thus reflects the two-day dialogical journey undertaken by the above participants together. Its chapters follow the original programme, re-consti- tuted here through revised written contributions and selected photographs. Hopefully, the book will also become a tool to further dialogue on the importance of mercy in creatively addressing current inequities and violent situations. Indeed, through the experience of such an interreligious dialogue that builds on an ancient awareness of the centrality of mercy within each one of our respective religious and spiritual traditions, one can emerge with a new multireligious consciousness about the key role that the practice of mercy plays in spirit- ually reducing or redressing, if not altogether disarming, many current injustices and conflicts. 1 This document includes a brief overview of how the concept of mercy exists, always centrally, in over eleven different reli- gions, although sometimes with terms in other languages that are not completely equivalent. A summary of this document can be found on page 96 Prof. Patrice Brodeur With over thirty years of experience in the area of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, primarily as an academic researcher and educator, the highlights of Prof. Brodeur’s career include the development of an interdisciplinary research team on Islam, pluralism and globalisation at the University of Montreal, Canada, focusing on past and present intra-religious and interreli- gious, as well as inter-civilisational and inter-worldview forms of dialogue. An esteemed author and multilinguist, Prof. Brodeur has received numerous prestigious awards, including fellowships, scholarships, research grants and prizes during his distinguished career. He won first prize in the Social Entrepreneurship Venture Plan competition at the University of Notre Dame Mendoza Business School in 2005, and received an Interfaith Visionary Award from the Temple of Understanding in 2010. INTRODUCT ION – WITNESSES OF MERCY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIAT ION