Can religion improve peace prospects in the Middle East?

Political leaders have shied from dealing with religion partly because they view it as playing a negative role in the conflict. And partly, Dr. Abu Nimer says, because the norms of international politics have been to separate religion from politics and therefore from negotiations.

"Israeli and Palestinian national leaders, as well as American diplomats, are conditioned to see religion as a problem rather than a resource for peace-­building," says Yehezkel Landau, who was active in interfaith efforts in the Holy Land and now teaches at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. "They let the zealots monopolize it in the public arena rather than call upon the moderate and pragmatic leaders to have a public role."

But to play a role, religious leaders must be willing to speak out and perhaps pay a price, the experts say. In the past, many have been unwilling to do so.

According to Forward, the American Jewish weekly, the council's statement represents the first time Israel's chief rabbis have spoken of ending the occupation of the West Bank. It's the first time top Muslim clerics have agreed to work with Israelis on the peace process.

The very existence of the council constitutes a major milestone.

The historic breakthrough occurred in Alexandria, Egypt, in 2002, following 9/11. Thanks to then-Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, the first Middle East interfaith summit of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders took place at Al-Azhar, the world's chief Islamic learning center. The group issued the Alexandria Declaration, proclaiming their commitment to ending the violence.

But it was a gathering of individuals, not institutions, Rosen explains, and as individuals retired or changed positions, the continuity of the effort faltered.

Still, the meeting spurred other developments. A new World Congress of Imams and Rabbis has met twice, and will have a third meeting in 2008. Christians and Muslims in Nigeria drew on the principles of the declaration to reach their own peace agreement. And the Council of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land, formed in 2005, is now institutionalizing the effort begun in Alexandria.

"If the council follows through on its six points, it could make a vital contribution to the negotiations and to reconciliation," says Mr. Landau. "They are in a position to say that making peace with adversaries is a religious and moral imperative, not just a political expediency."

Clerics of the three faiths have a greater desire to be engaged because they recognize that their communities are jeopardized by the rise of extremism, says Rosen, an adviser to the chief rabbis.

Ads, fact-finding missions might help

Others experienced in peace efforts in the Holy Land say that it's important the leaders are coming together in this way, but there are more visible steps to take.

"I'd like to see religious leadership engage in joint activities that have a profound spiritual and emotional impact on both sides – through the use of ritual and teaching and ethical gestures to each community," says Marc Gopin, director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

To compete with the voices of religious extremists, Dr. Gopin adds, they should mount sophisticated advertising campaigns that make religious justifications for the three religions moving forward together, and for making peace.

Abu Nimer points to such steps as using their status to promote human rights, or undertaking fact-finding missions to places like Gaza. One constraint on top Jewish and Muslim leaders: They are political appointees, and if their governments fail to support the peace process, it may be difficult for them to act. (The Palestinian president and Israeli prime minister currently back the council.)

"The religious leaders have limitless areas of joint work – if they are willing to take the risk," Abu Nimer says. "We now probably have a real window of optimism [after Annapolis]," but people want concrete change.

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