Two visitors from the Royal Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

One of the very best things that happen at BYU every year is the Annual International Law and Religion Symposium.  Here’s the program for this year’s meetings:

http://www.iclrs.org/content/blurb/files/Symposium%202015%20Program%20Web%20Version.pdf

As a by-product of the 2015 meetings, I was able to attend a special joint lecture this afternoon by Dr. Yahya Al-Btoush, the Grand Mufti of the Jordanian Armed Forces, who spoke in Arabic, and Father Nabil Haddad, a Melkite Catholic priest who founded and directs the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center and who spoke in English.

Unsurprisingly, they denounced ISIS, called for peace and justice and human rights, and declared that terrorists misrepresent and distort Islam.  I agree with them on all of this, of course.  But what I liked most was the obvious fact that they’re genuinely good-humored and mutually respectful friends.  That sent a message far more powerful even than the words they spoke.