Dalai Lama and Islam conference images

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On April 15, 2006, His Holiness the Dalai Lama traveled to San Francisco to attend an historic event, embracing his Muslim brothers and sisters, and including other world faiths, to foster mutual understanding and to celebrate our common humanity.

For centuries, Buddhists and Muslims have lived peacefully together as one family in Tibet. This historic gathering was initiated last year when Imam Khorasani of the Bay Area met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the two discussed their mutual desire to overcome the negative perceptions that currently abound in the media regarding Muslims and their relationships with other faiths and peoples. The purpose of this summit was to dispel the illusion that certain religious groups are inherently intolerant and to take back the world stage from the voices of dissension and mistrust who have taken it for political purposes.

At a time when the world is experiencing and witnessing more suffering and rising tensions between faiths, it was the goal of this gathering to promote open discourse about our commonalities centered on dignity, respect, love, and compassion. This event was the first step of many to gather with one voice representing the overwhelming majority of people of faith who live moderate and normative lives of service, mercy, and compassion. The goal: a world without violence, respectful of diversity. This gathering demonstrated to the world that a calm dialogue between a broad cross section of Muslim and other scholars and religious, community, and business leaders highlights the ideals and precepts of each faith that speak from the center of the heart and resonate through all faiths.

The Organizing Committee is deeply grateful for the opportunity to have assisted in this historic gathering to overcome the negative perceptions that currently abound in the media regarding Muslims and their relationships with other faiths and peoples. We are honored to, in some small part, play a role in assembling this summit to begin to dispel the illusion that certain religious groups are inherently intolerant and to take back the world stage from the voices of dissension and mistrust who have taken it for political purposes. We extend our gratitude to all who helped with this event and for those who participated and attended, to make it such a profound success.

The Organizing Committee

Fons Vitae, Zaytuna Institute, The Myers Group, The Kirlin Foundation, Islamic Society of California