VATICAN CITY: The Vatican on Friday called on religious and civil authorities to stop inter-religious violence in a message to Muslims for the coming end of the Ramadan fasting month in early September.
"May the civil authorities safeguard the primacy of the law by ensuring true justice to put a stop to the authors and promoters of violence," Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, wrote in a letter.
Calling inter-religious violence "a pressing subject, at least in certain areas of the world," the Vatican identified several underlying causes for the phenomenon, including "the manipulation of the religion for political or other ends" and "discrimination based on ethnicity or religious identity."
The findings came from a joint study by the council and a committee on religious study of the Islamic Al-Azhar Univeristy in Cairo, Egypt.
"Teaching by religious leaders, as well as school books which present religions in an objective way, have, along with teaching in general, a decisive impact on the education and the formation of younger generations," the council said.
The council called Ramadan, a month-long period during which Muslims abstain from food and drink during daylight hours, "a favorable occasion to convey to you the heartfelt wishes of serenity and joy."
"Throughout this month, you have committed yourselves to prayer, fasting, helping the neediest and strengthening relations of family and friendship. God will not fail to reward these efforts," the letter said.
