A Time for Peace

February 5, 2026

Today the human family is ensnared in armed conflicts that engender despair, anxiety, and the unending slaughter of innocents.

We are a group of religious leaders from the United States and Iran. With profound sympathy for all victims of war and oppression, we together implore our governmental leaders and those of other countries to take concrete steps towards reconciliation before even greater catastrophes befall us.

Now is the time for religious leaders everywhere to take meaningful, constructive steps toward lasting peace and to extinguish the flames of enmity and hatred. Mutual trust must be forged between nations and faith communities, grounded in our sacred texts that call us to extend good will even in the hardest circumstances.

Genuine peace means more than the cessation of hostilities. It entails cooperation across differences to address injustice, poverty and hunger, environmental degradation, and threats to public health. 

To realize true peace which blesses all parties to conflict, religious leaders must call those wielding political power to oppose all aggression and tyranny, to acknowledge the rights of others, and to uphold universal human rights. Religious leaders with moral authority, sustained by their communities, must courageously stand for human dignity and nonviolent means of resolving conflicts. 

The Golden Rule--do unto others as you would have them do unto you--is a cornerstone of our shared heritage and comes from God speaking directly to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. If action to transform violent conflicts is not taken now, the horrors of war and devastation will spread and engulf thousands, if not millions, of innocent lives. We can not allow that to happen. 

We stand ready to partner with governments, other faith communities, and civil society organizations to prepare the ground for genuine peace and cooperation, allowing hope to overcome cynicism and despair. And we pray that such a concerted effort, across national and communal borders, will bear fruit, so that our children and grandchildren can share an increasingly interdependent world in which all inhabitants flourish in lasting peace and security. 

Initial Signatories

Professor Dr. Gholamreza Aavani
Professor Emeritus, Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran; Member of the Iranian Academy of Sciences (Iran)

Dr. Reza Davari Ardakani 
Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Tehran;  Member of the Iranian Academy of Sciences and former President of the Academy from 1998 to 2023 (Iran)

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon
Executive Director, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) (U.S.A.)

The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane D.D.
Eighth Episcopal Bishop of Washington, DC, Ret. (U.S.A.)

Ayatollah Mohaghegh Damad
Dean, Department of Islamic Studies; The Academy of Sciences of Iran; Honorary President, Religions for Peace (Iran)

Rabbi Amy Eilberg
Peace and Justice Activist; Author; Educator (U.S.A.)

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb
Director, Shomeret Shalom Ordination Program; Visual and Performing Artist (U.S.A.)

Ann Graber Hershberger
Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) (U.S.A.)

Professor Rasul Jafarian
Department of History at the University of Tehran; Director, Central Library of the University of Tehran; Permanent Member, Iranian Academy of Sciences (Iran)

Imam Dr. M.Mehdi Kazmi
Executive Director, Auliya Council. Mahopac, New York (U.S.A.)

The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane D.D.
8th Episcopal Bishop of Washington D.C.

Luke 1 0 was formed in 2019 by a small group of Christian academics and denominational religious leaders, many of whom had years of experience working with leaders in the Middle East, especially Academic and Religious leaders from Iran. On occasion when in Iran they had the opportunity to also meet with civil society leaders and representatives of the Iranian Government. Since our early beginnings of peacemaking through building trust and respect and reaching out to our neighbors in love embracing God's Holy Word, we have expanded the work of Luke 1 Oto include academic and religious leaders from the Jewish and Muslim communities.

With the ongoing conflicts between so many countries today, it is time to say; "ENOUGH. It is now "A Time for Peace" for those who are in enmity with one another. The core teachings of the Holy Books of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are sacred texts. And today the disputations between Iran, the United States and far too many other countries are fearful and must end. We have become the destructors rather than the constructors of God's world.

It is now time to begin the hard work of peacemaking. From the spirituality of the three Monotheistic Faiths, we are confronted by the ugliness of the word, enmity. From a Biblical perspective enmity defines the current shape of the world that we live in. It is being in a deep state of hostility with our neighbors and our God. Enmity is a word that defines the reality that we are enemies of one other. Enmity is a selfish, rebellious, self-centered behavior impacting our ability to love one another as our God loves each of us as experienced and written in the shared Holy Books of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.