The Centre for Studies, Training and Social Analysis and the ACTON Institute held the conference Abrahamic Relations: History, Challenges and Perspectives. The event began with welcoming remarks by the president of the Catholic Association of Propagandists and the San Pablo CEU University Foundation, Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza. The president referred to the teachings of Solomon in the Holy Scriptures – intelligence is a listening heart – and invited those present to make “an act of intelligence, that is, an act of listening” during this day. 

The welcoming ceremony was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio of His Holiness in Spain, Mons. Bernardito Cleopas Auza, who stressed the importance of organising events that reinforce Abrahamic relations: “it is something that needs to be done urgently”. During his speech, he stressed the importance of “continuing to transmit His call and His teachings“, and he also stressed the importance of peace and harmony: “the path of peace is the path of the children of Abraham”.

The co-founder and president of the Acton Institute, Kris Alan Mauren, also spoke at the event and stressed the need to explore the three religions to understand them and generate greater acceptance between them. “Cultural traditions have great value and help us to address today’s cultural challenges,” he said.

Learning from our traditions

The first lecture of the conference dealt with the relationship between Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions. María Jesús Viguera, honorary professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the Complutense University of Madrid, who was unable to attend in person, analysed the relations between these three religions during the period of Al-Andalus. Viguera stated that “coexistence was not always peaceful, but there was an obvious legal situation that allowed the simultaneous application of legal codes for each population group”.

In this regard, the Professor of Medieval History at the CEU San Pablo University, Alejandro Rodríguez de la Peña, stressed that in the intellectual field “the legacy of Abrahamic relations is extraordinary,” while “in other aspects, there is a history of violence and intolerance,” he added.

For his part, Reuven Firestone, professor of medieval Judaism and Islam at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, stressed the importance of Spain in the study of the relationship between the three Abrahamic religions. During his talk, the professor analysed the complicated relations between them and stressed the value of religion today. “We do not have to abandon our beliefs because they include difficult aspects. This world still needs religion, and the solution is to learn about our religious traditions and histories,” he concluded.

Science and economics in the three Abrahamic religions

In the scientific field, Nidhal Guessoum, professor of physics at the American University of Sharjah, highlighted the creation of translation schools, the development of cultural translation movements and the existence of an open interfaith culture as some of the factors that promoted the development of knowledge in these three religions.

The economy also played a leading role during the congress, and Benedikt Koehler, a member of the Institute of Economic Affairs, analysed this issue in Islam. During his talk, he explained the importance that this religion has given to trade from the outset: “Muhammad took an active interest in commercial affairs and economic regulation, unlike Judaism and Christianity, which did not encourage the accumulation of wealth or long-distance trade at the outset”.

Alejandro Chafuen, international executive director of the Acton Institute, analysed economic thought in Christianity. During his speech, Chafuen analysed the different economic currents that have addressed this subject throughout history and highlighted the Catholic roots of an economy based on private property and the free market.