SYDNEY'S Muslim leaders have offered to open their mosques and school halls to Catholic pilgrims for World Youth Day as the Catholic Church seeks to ease tensions between the two faiths.The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils is also considering staging mixed-faith sporting competitions and mosque open days for the largest religious gathering to be staged in Australia, which will bring Pope Benedict here for the first time.
The Catholic Church has given a commitment that it will not try to convert members of other religious denominations taking part in inter-faith forums and volunteering facilities.
It is also calling for 8000 people, including those of other faiths, to volunteer for the largest Catholic event on the 2008 religious calendar.
There will be roles in areas including operations and crowd management, customer service, language and translations, staffing, hospitality and catering, accommodation, production, communications, liturgy and evangelisation.
Fifteen Islamic religious and community leaders, including Sheik Shady Suleiman, representing the Lebanese Muslim Association, and the leaders of four Muslim schools, were briefed by the Catholic Church on Monday. Jewish leaders will also be invited to attend a briefing.
The olive branch comes almost a year after Pope Benedict provoked Islamic fury when he quoted an obscure medieval text which criticised some teachings of the prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman".
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, who used his personal authority to lobby for World Youth Day, controversially came to the defence of the Pope, drawing a link between Islamists and violence.
The president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Ikebal Patel, said Sydney's Islamic leaders had responded positively to the overtures of the Catholic Church and saw World Youth Day as an opportunity to "break down barriers" between the two faiths.
Some mosques would be willing to open their doors to inter-faith forums, and could even invite Catholics to Friday prayers. At least four or five schools present at the meeting would be willing to offer their school halls for boarding.
"I think as Muslims in Australia we want to demonstrate very positively we are part of the community. There is not inherently that much difference between Islam and Christianity and this is an opportunity to educate the general community and Christian faith."
The co-ordinator of World Youth Day, Bishop Anthony Fisher, said the event had had a positive impact on all faiths in the countries in which it had been held.
"Peace and co-operation between people of faith - especially the three great monotheistic traditions of the book - is an inspiration of most young people and given the tensions in our world, it is an urgent message for us to all hear," Bishop Fisher said.
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