Will religions and their leaders ever come together?

Not by merging religions into one. Many religions expect mankind one day to be united under one religion, and this unity grows gradually as people's thinking and attitudes change.

All over the world there are prophecies that mankind will one day be united under one religion. Many religions speak of a golden age in which people come together. Nowhere, however, is there a prophecy that all religions will merge into one. These are two very different things.

True unity cannot be forged by putting different teachings and forces together and placing them under one shared flag. What comes about in this way does not last. Unity grows rather like a snowball that gets bigger as it rolls.

It begins with a movement that comes from God. Step by step it changes the way people think and the attitudes they hold. In this way something new comes into being and gathers strength until it becomes the largest community. This community does not rest on race or origin, but on a teaching meant for all people. People from every part of the world join it and feel bound to one another as equals.

The verses above describe this path. Truth prevails, people compete in doing good, and before God it is not descent that counts but righteousness. Muslims are convinced that the unity of mankind will come about in this way under the flag of Islam. This happens not through pressure, but as hearts change freely.

Until then, people of different religions can already work together to ease suffering and meet one another with respect.