An exchange of views between Buddhists and Muslims has taken place in many parts of the world, the most recent being the Paris Dialogue Conference held at the UNESCO headquarters in 2003. These dialogues have been organised to initiate a new round of discussions on how the two religions together can respond to the political, economic, religious, social and cultural challenges of the 21st century.

In 2005, the GHFP was joined by the Buddhist Dharma Master Tsin Tao, the founder of the Museum of World Religions, Taiwan, and Dr Alon Goshen-Gottstein of the Elijah Interfaith Institute to organise and facilitate a dialogue in Morocco between Buddhist and Islamic scholars. This was in part a preparatory meeting for the Symposium on "The Crisis of the Holy", which was to take place four weeks later in Taiwan.

The dialogue was held on 7-8 November 2005 at Dar Moulay Boubker, Mr. Simon Guerrand-Hermes residence in Marrakech, Morocco. Mr Ahmed Toufiq, the Moroccan Minister of the Habous and Islamic Affairs, welcomed participants at the opening event. The discussions touched upon core issues of purpose and the interface between the human and the divine.

The participants acknowledged that:

• the imperfect forms in our religions that harm the image of the divine and damage faiths;
• the necessity for our mystical experience to lead to greater change in society;
• the idea of compassion as a way forward to inter-religious understanding and harmony.

In part due to the carefully specified qualities of the conference space, the participants from diverse faiths and traditions were able to share thoughts and perceptions, and together develop insights into social and spiritual issues.