A  World  of  Prayer

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about A World of Prayer

In this unique collection, nearly a hundred prominent men and women from every religious tradition and region of the world share a favorite prayer and offer their own reflections on its meaning.

The contributors include Nobel Peace Prize winners Lech Walesa of Poland, Mairead Corrigan of Ireland, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu of South Africa, as well as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Rabbi Jacqueline Tabick, theologian Hans Küng, and well-loved spiritual writers Richard Rohr and Joan Chittister. Artists and musicians such as Pete Seeger and Yusuf Islam are also included, along with many more who share prayers and reflections sure to resonate with readers of all faiths.

The prayers include classic and familiar texts from every religious tradition. But some of the selections are surprisingly personal, offering a glimpse into the heart of many great souls of our time.

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List of Contributors

  1. Swami Agnivesh - social justice and human rights activist; India
  2. Chungliang Al Huang - Taoist, philosopher, performing artist and Tao master; USA/China
  3. James Alison - Catholic, priest-theologian, author and retreat leader; Brazil/UK
  4. Brother Alois - Catholic, Prior of Taizé; France
  5. Dr. Suhair Hassan Al Qurashi - Muslim, President of Dar Al-Hekma College for women, interfaith dialogue practitioner; Kingdom of Saudi Arabiav
  6. Dr. Swee Chai Ang – Christian, doctor, co-founder Medical Aid for Palestinians; UK
  7. M. Syafi'i Anwar - Muslim, Senior Research Fellow Indonesia Program at Harvard Kennedy School, former Executive Director of International Center for Islam and Pluralism, Indonesia; USA/Indonesia
  8. Zainah Anwar - Muslim, founding member Sisters in Islam and Musawah, author and columnist; Malaysia
  9. Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa - Muslim, co-founder and co-director of The Interfaith Mediation Centre, Kaduna; Nigeria
  10. His All Holiness Bartholomew - Orthodox Christian, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome & Ecumenical Patriarch; Turkey
  11. Camila Batmanghelidjh - a woman of all faiths, psychotherapist, founder of The Place 2 Be and Kid’s Company; UK
  12. The Revd. Marta Benavides - Christian, peace and human rights activist, leader Global Movement for Culture of Peace; El Salvador
  13. Paulus Berensohn - potter, poet, visual artist, and dancer; USA
  14. Fr. Daniel Berrigan, S.J. - Catholic, priest, peace activist and poet, founding member of Plowshares Movement; USA
  15. Dr. Pushpa Bhardwaj -Wood - Hindu, interfaith and peace activist; New Zealand
  16. Leonardo Boff - Catholic (Franciscan), liberation theologian, author; Brazil
  17. Faole Bokoi - Christian (Seventh Day Adventist), “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel,” Manari Village Chairman; Mt Koiari, Papua New Guinea
  18. Rev. Dr. Marcus Braybrooke - Christian (Anglican), author and President of the World Congress of Faiths; UK
  19. Rev. Ernesto Cardenal - Catholic, revolutionary priest and poet; Nicaragua
  20. Dr. Sheila Cassidy - doctor, human rights activist and psychotherapist; UK
  21. Archbishop Elias Chacour - Christian, Palestinian, Israeli citizen, Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee; Israel
  22. Vannath Chea, MPA - Buddhist, sociologist and past President of Centre for Social Development; Cambodia
  23. Sr. Joan D. Chittister, OSB - Catholic, Benedictine nun, author and international speaker; USA
  24. Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron - Buddhist, American Tibetan Buddhist nun, teacher, author, founder and Abbess of Sravasti Abbey; USA
  25. Fr. Boyet Concepcion - Catholic, missionary worker, missionary worker, Philippines
  26. Venerable Robina Courtin - Tibetan Buddhist, nun, teacher and founder Liberation Prison Project; USA/Australia
  27. Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio, S.J. - Syriac priest, Islamic-Christian harmony builder, Mar Musa Monastery; Syria
  28. Mrs. de Lys Mariama Walet Mohamed - Muslim, Director West Africa tours; Mali
  29. John Dear - Catholic, peace activist, author and lecturer; USA
  30. Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni - Buddhist, teacher, feminist and abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery; Thailand
  31. Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv - Catholic, Executive Director of Spiritual Directors International; USA
  32. Fr. Laurence Freeman, OSB - Catholic, Benedictine monk, Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation; UK
  33. Professor Maureena Fritz, PhD, NDS - Catholic (Our Lady of Sion Sister), author and founder of the Bat Kol Institute, Jerusalem; Israel
  34. Dr. Rubina Gillani - Muslim, medical doctor and public health specialist, Country Manager for The Fred Hollows Foundation; Pakistan
  35. Fethullah Gülen - Muslim, scholar, spiritual leader and poet; USA/Turkey
  36. Kirsty Sword Gusmao - Goodwill Ambassador for Education Timor-Leste, founding Chair of Alola Foundation, Chair of UNESCO’s National Commission;Timor-Leste/Australia
  37. Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama - Buddhist, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists; India/Tibet
  38. Brenda Heather-Latu - Christian (Protestant), lawyer, Samoa’s first female Attorney-General, Chair of the Pacific Leadership Foundation Board; Samoa
  39. Dr. Obery M. Hendricks Jr. - Professor, author and commentator on American religion and politics; USA
  40. The Rt. Revd. Richard Holloway - Scottish Episcopalian/Anglican, former Bishop of Edinburgh; Scotland
  41. Daisaku Ikeda - Buddhist, President of Soka Gakkai International; Japan
  42. Yusuf Islam|Cat Stevens - Muslim, musician and philanthropist; Dubai, UAE
  43. B.K.S. Iyengar - world renowned yogi and yoga teacher; Pune, India
  44. Dadi Janki - Administrative Head, Brahma Kumaris; Mount Abu , Rajasthan; India
  45. Monica Jeddah Otto - Christian, development activist and feminist; Papua New Guinea
  46. Shaykh Muhammed Hisham Kabbani - Muslim, Islamic scholar and deputy leader of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order; USA
  47. Dr. Inderjit Kaur - Sikh, Head of Pingalwara; India
  48. Bruce Kent – Catholic, peace activist, Vice-President Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Pax Christi UK; UK
  49. Simon Keyes - Director, St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation; UK
  50. Azim Khamisa - Muslim, peace activist, award-winning author, founder Tariq Khamisa Foundation; USA
  51. Daisy Khan - Muslim, Executive Director American Society for Muslim Advancement; USA
  52. Shaykha Halima Krausen - Muslim, local Imam, founder of Initiative of Islamic studies; Germany
  53. Dr. Sunitha Krishnan - anti-trafficking campaigner; India
  54. The Revd. Una Kroll - Anglican, doctor, female priest, author and ecumenist; UK
  55. Professor Dr. Hans Küng - Catholic, renowned theologian, founder and President of Global Ethic Foundation; Germany
  56. Professor Chung Hyun Kyung - Christian (Presbyterian)/Buddhist, theologian, eco-feminist, teacher Korean Zen Buddhism; USA/S. Korea
  57. Dr. Joanna Macy - Buddhist, scholar of Buddhism, systems theory and deep ecology; USA
  58. Mairead Corrigan Maguire - Catholic, peace activist, Nobel Peace Laureate, Co-founder Peace People, Northern Ireland, and Vice Chair, Nobel Women’s Initiative; Northern Ireland.
  59. Nelson Mandela - international statesman and visionary, Nobel Peace Laureate and first President of a democratic South Africa; South Africa
  60. Katherine Marshall - Senior Fellow Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, international development activist; USA
  61. Dr. Wanjiku Mathenge - Christian (Protestant), doctor, Regional Medical Advisor to The Fred Hollows Foundation; Kenya
  62. Elizabeth May - Christian (Anglican), leader of the Green Party, and Member of Parliament; Canada
  63. Rabbi Michael Melchior - Jewish, Israeli former Minister and member of Knesset, Rabbi in Jerusalem, interfaith leader, Chief Rabbi of Norway; Israel/Denmark
  64. Amjad Mohamed-Saleem - Muslim, Head of Communications, The Cordoba Foundation; UK
  65. Didacienne Mukahabeshimana - Catholic, peace and reconciliation activist; Rwanda
  66. Professor Chandra Muzaffar - Muslim, social justice activist, President of the International Movement for a Just World; Malaysia
  67. Dr. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani - Baha’i, author and teacher; France
  68. Professor Chris O’Brien, AO - Catholic, surgeon, established Chris O’Brien Lifehouse at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney, Australia’s largest comprehensive and integrated cancer care facility; Australia
  69. Canon Dr. Paul Oestreicher - Anglican/Quaker, human rights and peace activist; UK
  70. Jacqueline Ogega - Catholic, peace activist and feminist, Director of Women’s Program, Religions for Peace; USA/Kenya
  71. Dr. Eboo Patel - Muslim, founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core; USA
  72. Zoya Phan - Burmese peace activist, International Coordinator Burma Campaign UK; UK/Burma
  73. Dr. Jenny Plane Te Paa - Anglican/Maori, first indigenous Anglican seminary Dean; New Zealand
  74. Canon Patience Purchas - Anglican, one of England’s first women ordained priests, Director of Ordinands; UK
  75. Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP - Catholic, author, former Master of the Dominican Order; UK
  76. Tariq Ramadan - Muslim, Islamic scholar, author and academic; UK/Switzerland
  77. Christina Rees - Anglican, writer, broadcaster, consultant and campaigner for women in the Church; UK
  78. Sogyal Rinpoche - Buddhist, author, teacher and spiritual director of Rigpa; France/Tibet
  79. Patricia Roberts - Christian/Taoist, Spiritual Director and Tai Ji teacher; Arequipa, Peru
  80. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM - Catholic (Franciscan), priest and founding Director of the Center for Action and Contemplation, New Mexico; USA
  81. Rabbi Dr. David Rosen, CBE,KSG - Jewish, International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee; Israel
  82. Zainab Salbi - Muslim, founder of Women for Women International; USA/Iraq
  83. Swami Niranjan Saraswati - Indian, Sannyasin, Spiritual successor to Swami Satyananda Saraswati; Bihar, India
  84. Pete Seeger - American folk singer, civil rights and peace activist, environmentalist; USA
  85. Rula Shubeita - Christian (Greek Orthodox), Arab Palestinian, tour leader and guide of Holy Land pilgrimages, peace activist; Israel
  86. His Holiness Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj - leading spiritual master, head of Science of Spirituality, Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission; USA
  87. Bhai Sahib, Bhai (Dr.) Mohinder Singh - Sikh, Chair of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ); Birmingham, UK
  88. Dr. Huston Smith - author, comparative religions scholar and Professor of Religion; USA
  89. The Rt. Revd. John Shelby Spong - Christian (Anglican), progressive theologian, retired Bishop of Newark; USA
  90. Rev. Helen Summers - Interfaith Minister, founder and Director of The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne; Australia
  91. Rabbi Jacqueline Tabick - Jewish, first UK female rabbi, Chair of the World Congress of Faiths; UK
  92. Dr. Elsa Tamez - Christian (Methodist), Liberation Theologian and author; Costa Rica
  93. Tshering Tashi - Buddhist, author and businessman; Bhutan
  94. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu - Christian (Anglican), Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town; South Africa
  95. Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit - Lutheran pastor, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches; Switzerland/Norway
  96. Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann AM - Catholic/Indigenous Aboriginal, teacher, artist and writer; Australia
  97. Lily Venizelos - environmentalist, President of Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles (MEDASSET); Greece
  98. Professor Dr. Amina Wadud - Muslim scholar and feminist; USA
  99. Yenny Wahid - Muslim, Director of The Wahid Institute; Indonesia
  100. Lech Walesa - Catholic, founder of Solidarity, Nobel Peace Laureate and former Polish President; Poland
  101. Dr. Val Webb - progressive theologian and author; Australia/USA
  102. Dr. Deborah Weissman - Jewish, teacher, President of the International Council of Christians and Jews; Israel
  103. Claudette Antoine Werleigh - Catholic, former Prime Minister of Haiti and Secretary-General of Pax Christi International, peace envoy; Haiti
  104. Archbishop Rowan Williams - Christian (Anglican), Archbishop of Canterbury; UK
  105. Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg - Jewish, Senior Rabbi, Masorti Synagogues, interfaith practitioner; UK
  106. Pastor Dr. James Movel Wuye - Christian, co-founder and co-director of The Interfaith Mediation Centre, Kaduna; Nigeria
  107. Xinran - author, journalist and broadcaster on Chinese culture; UK/China
  108. Dr. Sakena Yacoobi - Muslim, social activist, educator, founder of Afghan Institute of Learning; Afghanistan
  109. Hamza Yusuf - Muslim, scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna College; USA