The Jordan Declaration - March 31, 2005

Middle East; Jordan; March 31, 2005

As Ambassadors for Peace from throughout the Middle East, across America and around the world, we are gathered in the peace-loving city of Amman, capital of a free and sovereign state. We gather in Jordan to offer our heartfelt gratitude, praise and respect for King Abdullah II, the royal family and the central and most effective role he and the Hashemite Kingdom are playing to secure peace in the Middle East.However, despite the dramatic and hopeful developments of recent weeks, the peace and sovereignty that surround us here

remain an elusive goal still unfulfilled for our brothers and sisters beyond the Jordan River, in the Holy Land. As the cause of peace in the land of God’s promise inches painfully forward, there are powers of oppression that seek to derail it; narrow minds of fear and control that wish to delay it; hearts of hatred that seek to destroy it. We affirm that these dark forces shall never again rule the day.

As Muslims, Christians and Jews who long for the peace, we call upon all the children of Abraham to leave the long and painful night of sorrow and suffering behind, and turn once and for all toward a bright future of promise together. We Ambassadors for Peace, guided by the vision and affirming the global work for peace of Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, assemble in the historic city of Amman, Jordan, on this thirty-first day of March, 2005, and declare with one heart and one voice:

1. The three Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are one family, descended from our common father Abraham. We share a common heritage of faith, and common ideals of humility before Almighty God, and righteousness toward all of His children, and preserving the sanctity of our families.
2. These shared values are the key to a peaceful and prosperous future, which none of us can achieve alone until it is guaranteed for all. Our commitment to peace, justice, sovereignty and freedom for ALL of the children of Abraham will do more to achieve lasting peace than walls, weapons or warfare ever can.
3. The Holy Land is so named because it has been Blessed by God. It is the fruit of His work, and each of its holy sites, though understood differently by each of the Abrahamic faiths, are the result of His efforts to sanctify a people. Therefore, this land and these shrines should be honored and preserved, in His name, for all the children of Abraham and all who revere Him.
4. As believers of diverse faith traditions, we voice together our unchanging commitment to honor and protect the holy shrines of all faiths. We specifically acknowledge the importance of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem - the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, and in particular at this time Al Aqsa Mosque - as sacred places that must be respected, accessible and suitably maintained for all believers.
5. Our devotion is not to structures of stone made by the hands of men, but to the traditions, the faith, and the values they enshrine, and the holy teachers whom they honor. It is these great faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam that, when practiced as taught, are the truest instruments of peace and our greatest hope for the future. As ambassadors of peace from these faiths we join together with one heart to realize enduring peace in the Holy Land, the Middle East and all the world. Based on the Holy Scriptures of the Koran, the Bible and the Torah we find our common foundation of faith in God's Holy Word. On this foundation true believers can and will stand as one family under the one God (Allah) of all to bring the Kingdom of Peace.

On this day of March 31st, 2005, in Amman, Jordan, united in love, we Jews, Christians and Muslims pledge to stand as one and defend the faith of all. As our father Abraham offered even his son in complete trust in God, we too are ready to offer the blessings you have given to us, this land and all that we hold holy, for the sake of all whom you love. With the guidance of God and the Blessing of True Parents, we pledge our lives, our honor, and our continuing devotion to realize one Holy Land for all the children of Abraham, and from there to build a world of justice, peace, freedom and happiness for all the children of God.