Muslim Jewish Conference


The Muslim Jewish Conference is an annual inter-cultural, inter-religious conference based in Vienna, Austria. MJC is a dialogue and leadership project that targets future leaders from sectors of economics, academics and politics in the start of their careers.
The first annual Muslim Jewish Conference has taken place from the 1st until the 6th of August 2010 at the University of Vienna.
60 Jewish and Muslim students from all over the world with a common goal of establishing peaceful relations between both religions participated. The conference consists of discussion committees, guest speakers, open dialogue panels and social events.
The second annual Muslim Jewish Conference takes place from 3 July until the 8 July 2011 in Kiew, Ukraine.

Thematic Committees

The 2010 conference was split into three thematic committees:
Additionally, a group was introduced by the conference; the Muslim Jewish Connection. This organization founded by a Rabbi David Goldberg in 2008 focuses on education for youth and adults in the Middle East. The MJCii led groups in workshops in Education during the seminar.

Organising Committee

There are currently 15 Students working together on this project, bringing valuable experience and diplomatic skills to the team as well as expertise in cross cultural dialogue. Coming from eight different countries Austria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Libya, Turkey, Israel and the United States of America, the core team is already well trained in interfaith communication.
The Organisation Committee:
The Muslim Jewish Conference is officially endorsed by the United Nations' Alliance of Civilizations, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the University of Vienna. The project is partly financed by the Karl Kahane Foundation as well as by private donors.

Patronage & Honorary Committee 2010

The first 'Muslim Jewish Conference' found itself under the official patronage of the President of Austria, Dr. Heinz Fischer
The 2010 members of the Honorary Committee:
Grand-Rabbi Marc Raphaël Guedj is the President of the Geneva-based interreligious Foundation 'Racines Et Sources', which brings Rabbis and Imams together to work for peace. He is the former Chief Rabbi of Geneva’s traditional Jewish congregation. Rabbi Guedj is a member of the Editorial Committee of the World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace at UNESCO.
Dr Faouzi Skali is an anthropologist and ethnologist; professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Fes, Morocco, and author of many publications including "La Voie Soufi" and "Traces de Lumiere". He is also the Initiator of the Mediterranean Institute for Dialogue Project and Director of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. Dr. Skali has coordinated a colloquium to follow the festival called Giving Soul to Globalization, a meeting place for humanitarians and international leaders in the business world to work together to develop more space for spirituality in the working world. He was recognized in 2001 by the UN, among seven world personalities, having contributed to the Dialogue of Civilisations.
Walter Ruby has served as Muslim Jewish Relations Officer for The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding since March 2008. A strong proponent of Muslim-Jewish communication, reconciliation and cooperation, he organized the FFEU-sponsored Weekend of Twinningsm of Mosques and Synagogues Around the World in November 2008 and 2009.. A reporter before joining FFEU, Ruby served as the New York and United Nations correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and Moscow correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and The Forward. During the 1990s Ruby was a co-founder of Encounter, a pioneering Internet community composed of Palestinians, Jews, Israelis, Arabs and others, focused on fostering dialogue and joint projects.