Archbishop's Christian-Muslim initiative continues in Sarajevo - further details

The Building Bridges conference gathers together Muslim and Christian scholars for public and private discussion and will run from May 16th-18th at various locations in Sarajevo. This year speakers will focus on Christians, Muslims and the Common Good, seeking to understand how their traditions and beliefs inform their approach to public life.

The conference is being co-hosted by the Rais al-Ulama Dr Mustafa Ceric, Metropolitan Nikolaj, and Cardinal Vinko Puljic. The meeting will be chaired by Dr Williams.

As with previous Building Bridges conferences, the event consists of a mix of public and private sessions, with papers being presented and discussed in public followed by further deliberations by the scholars in private session. An extract from the Archbishop's programme, together with a list of conference participants, appears below.

Notes for editors:

1. Extracts from the Archbishop's Programme:

Saturday 14 May
Afternoon The Archbishop will travel to Sarajevo.
Evening The Archbishop will attend a reception given in his honour by the British Ambassador and Mrs Rycroft.

Sunday 15 May
11 am The Archbishop will preside and preach at a Eucharist service held for the Anglican Community in Sarajevo at the Franciscan Church.
Afternoon Tour of the city

Monday 16 May
9am Public conference session at the Bosniak Institute
Believers and Citizens: Faith and National Identity in Christian and Muslim Perspective
Chaired by Dr Enes Karic
Papers from Ms Maleiha Malik and Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali
Followed by questions
11 am Conference moves into private session for the remainder of the day

Tuesday 17 May
9 am Public conference session at the Bosniak Institute
Seeking the Common Good: Governance and justice in Muslim and Christian Perspective
Chaired by Monsignor Mato Zovkic
Papers from Professor Tariq Ramadan and Professor John Langan SJ
11 am Conference moves into private session for the remainder of the day

Wednesday 18 May
9 am Public Conference Session at the Bosniak Institute
Caring together for the world we share: Christians, Muslims and global poverty
Chaired by Bishop Maksim Vasiljevic
Papers from Archbishop Rowan Williams and from Mr Tim Winter
11 am Conference moves into private session for the remainder of the day.
Evening Conference Concluding Reception at the National Theatre in Sarajevo
The Archbishop will return to the UK on Thursday 19 May.

3. Conference participants

Dr Seyed Amir Akrami
Lecturer, University of Tehran.

Dr John Azumah
Senior Research Fellow, Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Centre, Ghana.

Dr M A Zaki Badawi
Principal of The Muslim College, London.

Mr Vladimir Ciric
Researcher in Christian-Muslim Relations, Belgrade.

Dr Vincent J Cornell
Director, King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, University of Arkansas.

Professor Ellen F Davis
Associate Professor of Bible and Practical Theology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Miss Lejla Demiri
PhD Student in Divinity, University of Cambridge.

Professor David F Ford
Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge.

Dr Resid Hafizovic
Professor, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Sarajevo.

The Venerable Dr Michael Ipgrave
Archdeacon of Southwark, Church of England.

Dr Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Dean of International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, Malaysia.

Dr Fikret Karcic
Professor, Faculty of Islamic Theology, University of Sarajevo.

Dr Enes Karic
Professor of Qur'anic Studies, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Sarajevo.

Professor John Langan SJ
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Professor of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University.

The Revd Professor Daniel A Madigan SJ
Director, Institute for the Study of Religions and Cultures, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome.

Ms Maleiha Malik
Lecturer in Law at School of Law, King's College, University of London.

Dr Aref Ali Nayed
Visiting Fellow, The Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge.

The Rt Revd Dr Michael Nazir-Ali
Bishop of Rochester, Church of England.

Professor Tariq Ramadan
Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

Dr Mona Siddiqui
Senior Lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies and Head of Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Glasgow University, Scotland.

Dr Adnan Silajdzic
Professor, Faculty of Islamic Studies, University of Sarajevo.

Deacon Srdjan Simic
Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Belgrade.

Dr Franjo Topic
Professor, Sarajevo Theological Seminary and Croation Cultural Society 'Napredak'.

Bishop Maksim Vasiljevic
Bishop of Hum and Vicar (Auxiliary Bishop) of the Metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia.

Professor Miroslav Volf
Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology, Yale University Divinity School.

The Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams
Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England.

Mr Timothy J Winter
Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge.

Professor Frances Young
Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology, University of Birmingham.

Monsignor Mato Zovkic
Professor of Sarajevo Theological Seminary.