We, the members of the Board of the Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC), gathered this week in Paris, bringing together imams and rabbis from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom. It is particularly meaningful that we met in the European city that is home to the continent’s largest Muslim and Jewish communities.
While in Paris, we were pleased to visit UNESCO, where we held productive discussions with Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr. Nayef Al-Fayez, and the Director of Culture and Emergencies Entity, Ms. Krista Pikkat, about future collaboration. We look forward to working together to preserve Europe’s sacred heritage, including protecting places of worship and documenting the historic sites of former mosques and synagogues across the continent. We believe that safeguarding this shared heritage strengthens our common future.
At a time when our societies face growing polarization and the effects of conflicts beyond Europe’s borders, we reaffirm our conviction that there is a moral imperative for Europe’s religious communities to work together. As Muslim and Jewish religious leaders, we recommit ourselves to building a Europe that is a safe and welcoming home for people of all faiths and beliefs, ethnicities, and minorities—a Europe strengthened by its diversity and enriched by the perspectives of all its communities.
We believe that dialogue is not an optional exercise but an essential responsibility. Simply coming together, listening to one another, and cultivating genuine relationships enriches us personally and collectively. It enables us to overcome misunderstandings, challenge prejudice, and build the trust that is indispensable to strong and cohesive societies. We have found that the more open we are to learning from one another’s faith traditions, the more deeply we come to understand and appreciate our own.
As we look ahead to celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council in Strasbourg, we renew our commitment to this unique partnership. Over the past decade, we have built relationships founded on trust, friendship, and mutual respect. We refuse to allow conflicts abroad to undermine what we have worked so diligently to build together.
There are voices that seek to pit Muslims and Jews against one another. We reject this narrative unequivocally. Our friendship, our cooperation, and our shared commitment to the common good stand as a living counter-narrative. We stand together in condemning antisemitism, Islamophobia, and every form of hatred, discrimination, and religious intolerance.
As religious leaders, we recognize that our responsibility extends beyond the communities we directly serve. We are committed to contributing to European society as a whole by fostering dialogue, strengthening social cohesion, promoting religious freedom, and demonstrating that religious diversity is a source of resilience and hope rather than division.
As we conclude our meeting, we renew our pledge to continue working together with courage, friendship, and hope. At a time when division often dominates public discourse, we remain convinced that respectful encounter, shared leadership, and enduring trust offer a powerful example for Europe and beyond.
Signed,
Mufti Nedzad Grabus
Mufti of Sarajevo
Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich
Chief Rabbi of Poland
Imam Yahya Pallavicini
President, EuLeMa
Vice President, COREIS Italy
Chief Rabbi Moshe Lewin
Special Advisor to the Chief Rabbi of France
Vice President, CER
Imam Tarafa Baghajati
Chair, Austrian Muslim Initiative (AMI)
Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior
Chief Rabbi of Denmark
Mufti Faid Mohammed Said
Head of Fatwa, London Central Mosque
Chair, Aman Foundation UK
Chief Rabbi Izhak Dayan
Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki
