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Karen Armstrong is one of the most provocative, scholars and original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world. She has written more than 20 books around the ideas of what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common, and around their effect on world events. In the post-9/11 world, she is a powerful voice for ecumenical understanding. In 2008, Karen Armstrong won the Annual TED Prize. As she accepts her 2008 TED Prize, she talks about how the Abrahamic religions -- Islam, Judaism, Christianity -- have been diverted from the moral purpose they share to foster compassion. But Armstrong has seen a yearning to change this fact. People want to be religious, she says; we should act to help make religion a force for harmony. She asks the TED community to help her build a Charter for Compassion -- to help restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine. You can watch her address when receiving the award by clicking on her picture. More information concerning the work being done to write and implement the Charter by people across the globe can be found at the